Santa Maria Sun / News

No sign language, please

BY HENRY HOUSTON

On July 3, a sunset clause that had allowed the use of “sandwich board” signs in Santa Maria finally faded to black, ending a two-year period intended to give businesses a chance to research and employ alternative forms of advertising. Many local business owners, however, feel they were ultimately left cold in the dark night.

Sandwich board signs used to be allowed in the city; a ban came about in 2008 with an accompanying sunset clause limited to the Downtown Specific Plan area. The clause aimed to help enhance economic vitality in Santa Maria’s commercial core.

But after a chorus of business owners in Santa Maria contested the ban during this year’s Aug. 17 City Council meeting, the sunset clause rose again. Still, it only offers a brief window of light for businesses—and only businesses in an area bordered by North Fesler, South Morrison, East School and College, and West Curryer.

Jeannie Marlett, who owns Christian Designs Bible Book at 615 East Main Street—outside the area where sandwich board signs are still technically allowed—said she’s suffering under the ban to the tune of $100 to $200 a day.

“Customers we’ve had for years thought we were closed,” she said in her empty store. “[Our sign] wasn’t in the way; it was eye-catching.”

That fact was the very argument levied against sandwich signs in the first place.

During the public comment period at the Aug. 17 council meeting, Nancy Stewart—who sits on the Code Compliance Board and is a longtime member of Santa Maria Valley Beautiful—criticized sandwich board signs.

“The signs have a negative effect,” she said. “Some of them are blocking the sidewalk; a person in a wheelchair could never get by. I think the sandwich board signs just look terrible.”

Stewart went on to claim that the signs are in terrible condition and their lack of aesthetic appeal may prompt tourists to avoid the city.

Jerry Knotts, who owns JR’s Drive-In, said the sign ban has cost him an astonishing 50 percent in sales on Sundays—“and burger sales are off by 300 a week.”

“It’s flawed,” said Roger Craig, owner of Pacific Window Tint. “The big corporations are coming in with their signs and banners; I wanna see some fairness; I wanna see Santa Maria a great place for business. Otherwise, small businesses will be gone, and you’ll have a ghost town with a Costco and a McDonald’s in the middle of it.”

Enforcement has also been criticized by opponents of the ban: “I drove around town after getting a letter in the mail, and everyone else had signs all over, and nobody’s enforcing anything,” Knotts said. “The city library’s café broke five of the rules, and code enforcement could see this from out the window, but he wouldn’t do anything.”

The City Council voted 4-1, with Mayor Larry Lavagnino dissenting, to extend the sunset clause for another year, because, according to Councilmember Hilda Zacarias, “it needs more time because more people should be involved.”

For Mayor Lavagnino, though, the most important people involved in this issue are involved: local business owners.

“It doesn’t help the guy who is outside the Downtown Specific Plan,” he said. “I have not seen a problem with sandwich board signs. These are different times than it was four years ago; the economy is different. We represent [the local businesses], the people. If it’s a hardship, we need to look closer.”

The mayor wanted to extend temporary sandwich board leniency to everyone in the city, rather than just those in the Downtown Specific Plan area. He also wanted to standardize the signs that will be used and extend the sunset clause for another two years.

The majority of the council shot down his proposition; only Alice Patino voted in support of his two-year clause for all.

“What I saw was, ‘I don’t like sandwich board signs,’” Lavagnino said. “They have no empathy for businessmen to survive. I’m not going to make an arbitrary decision: ‘I don’t like signs, so tough luck, guy.’ I wanna give you a shot.”

Santa Barbara County and the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara have completely banned sandwich board signs; the cities of Lompoc, Buellton, and San Luis Obispo have heavily restricted their use.

The Santa Maria City Council also banned bow signs and restricted election signs—allowing them up for four months a year, and confining them to vacant lots—on a 4-1 vote with Alice Patino dissenting.

Contact contributor Henry Houston through the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.