In voting 5-1 against electronic billboards, commissioners said they needed more information and were passing the matter along to the City Council to resolve.
Commissioner Louise Balma was the dissenting vote and Commissioner Dennis Marinek was absent.
The vertical feather signs made of cloth and attached to tall flexible poles have cropped up along Coast Highway and in other commercial sections of the city touting everything from car dealers to fast-food restaurants.
The revised ordinance is tentatively set to go to the council for review March 28.
Electronic digital billboards, which have messages displayed on large digital screens, would be allowed on city land under lease with provisions recommended by planners, which now goes to the council.
Commissioners, with the exception of Bob Neal, said that if the council agrees to allow electronic billboards, it should require that two traditional static billboards be removed for each new electronic billboard.
Neal said it was unfair to require two billboards to be removed for every new electronic billboard. He said that would allow only companies that already own billboards in the city to put up electronic signs or require a business to buy two existing billboards to remove to be able to install a new electronic billboard.
"I think we're pushing the private sector out if we do this," Neal said.
City residents who addressed the commission strongly objected to the billboards.
"Once they go up, these eyesores will be there forever," said Lisa Hamilton of Oceanside.
Resident Joan Brown said electronic digital signs are fine for Las Vegas and Los Angeles but not for Oceanside.
City officials see the electronic billboards as a potential revenue source for a cash-strapped city.
Tom Missett, who represents a company that has proposed an electronic billboard on city land, said the city could make $1 million a year leasing land for the signs.
Under a 1998 court agreement, five billboards were allowed to remain in the city ---- one along North Coast Highway south of Harbor Drive and four along Highway 78.
Besides the billboards, commissioners were divided on whether to ban hand-held twirling signs but finally agreed to allow them. Some business owners said the signs were critical.
Sheila Morris, whose family owns Copperwood Barber Shop, and Derrick Parker of Gems N' Loans, said the twirling signs have brought new customers to their businesses.
"We've been able to see a 90 percent jump in new customers coming in because of these signs," Parker said.
Parker said he would have to lay off four workers, two of whom are disabled veterans, if the city bans twirling signs.
Morris said her shop depends on sign twirlers.
"We'd like to think Oceanside is friendly to small businesses," Morris said.
Resident Helen Howland said she likes the hand-held signs.
"I think they're kind of cute to look at," she said.
Commissioner Jay Scrivener said he would allow twirling signs for special events, but not regularly.
"These signs or the spinners are tacky," Scrivener said. He said spinning, hand-held signs drive tourists away because they create an image that Oceanside is "a low-rent town."
AAP SAYS: IT WILL BE IF YOU DON'T LET BUSINESSES ADVERTISE
The question of whether to allow electronic billboards arose from a request by a San Marcos advertising agency last year to place one on city land at the foot of Rancho del Oro Road overlooking Highway 78.
Under that proposal, the city would collect 15 percent of the advertising revenue that the sign produced.
Commissioners did agree on portions of the revised ordinance, which would bring the city into compliance with free-speech rulings.
Courts have ruled that cities can restrict the size, placement and design of signs on private property but cannot regulate what the signs say.
The revised ordinance would remove city restrictions on sign content.
The new ordinance, which updates rules set as far back as 1986, also sets uniform regulations citywide, rather than set separate standards for the city's coastal area west of Interstate 5 and for the rest of the city
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/ocean ... z1mwEdfKQR
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( 0 / 0 )I know it must be tax time because I'm seeing sign twirlers dressed up like the Statue of Liberty in front of all the tax service offices...
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( 0 / 0 )San Carlos. California -- Mayor Andy Klein answers your questions about fire partnerships, sign twirlers, and how the city got its nickname.
Louis Gascoigne: Mayor, may we please introduce an ordinance which limits obnoxious sign twirlers? I think we know the folks I am talking about, they're probably out on El Camino/Holly/San Carlos Ave as I am typing this. It's one thing to have an occasional event, but nearly every day for weeks is just obnoxious in my opinion.
Answer: I understand the frustration that took place for many of our citizens with the sign waivers on the corner of San Carlos Avenue/Holly Street and El Camino. This was a one-time disturbance brought on by the closing of a long valued business in town. I don't feel that an ordinance is necessary at this time, if it begins to happen more often then we should explore our options.
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( 0 / 0 )The economic decline isn't enough to persuade city officials to allow the ad twirlers, who they maintain are distracting to drivers.
February 06, 2009|Susannah Rosenblatt --Don't even think about hawking sub sandwiches or mattresses on a corner in Huntington Beach.
The economic free fall wasn't enough to persuade Surf City officials to allow those ubiquitous sign spinners onto their sidewalks. The twirlers, many equipped with flashy moves or costumes, are just too distracting to drivers, officials decreed this week.
Although a host of communities in California and beyond have prohibited sign holders in recent years, plunging sales and climbing unemployment spurred the Huntington Beach Planning Commission to revisit the ban.
"I just think it's unfair to pick out some businesses and say the kinds of signs they depend upon are illegal," said Joe Shaw, a former planning commissioner who voted to overturn the ban before he left the panel. "Especially in this economy, if they bring people to a business where they can spend money, all the better."
Though planning commissioners in December supported allowing the sign spinners, City Council members weren't convinced: They voted 5 to 2 on Monday to streamline Huntington's sign ordinance and to continue keeping ad spinners out.
"The signs are just getting larger and almost more obnoxious," said Councilman Don Hansen, who voted to uphold the ban. He described sign twirlers as "a form of visual blight."
Huntington Beach isn't the only Southern California city to consider sign wavers tacky. So-called human directionals have been outlawed in Fountain Valley, Irvine, La Habra, Lake Forest, Riverside and El Cajon, among other places. Tustin allows the sign holders under strict guidelines, including the mandate that "human signs shall not spin, twirl, swing or gyrate."
In some cases, sign-twirling companies have fought back, saying that the bans are unconstitutional. Such legal scuffles helped bring dancing condo advertisements back to Palmdale and Sacramento after initial resistance, said Mike McCullough, vice president of sales and marketing for EyeShot, a Lake Forest-based human directional company.
With the housing market on the skids and builders' marketing budgets shrinking, the sign spinning business itself is down: Residential advertisements were once the industry's "bread and butter," McCullough said.
Recently, smaller retailers have been contacting the company, exploring ways to drum up business. Still, downturn or not, don't expect grooving gorilla suits or waving Lady Libertys in Huntington Beach any time soon.
"I hope we're not leveraging our hope of economic growth on the backs of the sign-twirling industry," Hansen said. "I don't think that's our way out; I don't think that's the job that most folks are pinning their hopes on."
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( 0 / 0 )Surprise sign ordinance up for review Tuesday.
Surprise is expected to extend its temporary sign policy another year to allow business owners to display low-cost, alternative signage, which had been prohibited two years ago.
Under the policy, business owners can display temporary signs such as A-frames, banners and employ the use of " sign walkers." If reapproved Tuesday by the City Council, the extension would be through September 2012.
City officials said they believe extending the deregulation of Surprise’s sign ordinance — the original ordinance was approved in September 2009 and was extended last year until next month — benefits the business community as some store owners continue to struggle in the economic downturn.
Surprise chamber officials have said the advantages to posting temporary signs are numerous as the signs are oftentimes less expensive compared to permanent ones, allowing business owners to focus their money elsewhere while increasing advertising efforts at significantly less costs.
Prior to September 2009, A-frame signs were prohibited and banners required a permit under the city’s sign ordinance. Sign walkers were not allowed under city code.
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( 3 / 175 )Just about the time you finish reading the message, you notice the sound of grinding metal as your car and the one in front of you become one.
That's what officials in the village of Glen Carbon are trying to prevent as they mull a ban on sign walkers — those who stand near roadways and try to lure motorists into businesses.
more...
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( 3 / 174 )Village is preparing a ban on sign walkers
Lady Liberty, Mario and Luigi and a guy with a cardboard guitar.
You've seen them. Everyone has. That's the problem.
Sign walkers — those who stand near roadways and try to lure motorists into businesses — are being eyed as distractions in the village of Glen Carbon.
On Monday, the Building and Development Committee discussed the issue and the possibility of a ban.
Glen Carbon Building and Zoning Administrator Will Shashack said the growing number of sign walkers in the village is beginning to pose problems.
"We are getting more and more complaints with regard to ... sign walkers," Shashack said. "Apparently the problems are becoming a little more obvious with distractions to traffic. I've even had complaints from business owners at adjacent properties."
"They feel like there are some issues with sign walkers who are distracting from their own businesses," he added.
An ordinance will be written banning sign walkers that will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which will conduct a public hearing. That ordinance could then go to the village board.
Shashack said he believes it's in the best interest of public safety to do away with the sign walkers and, apparently, he's not alone.
"I did a little research on it. O'Fallon does not permit them. Highland restricts sign walkers. So does Carbondale," he said.
Shashack said sign walkers are becoming more aggressive, covering territory not in front of the business they are advertising, and taking extreme measures.
"There have been two times that the police have actually had to go out to deal with those activities that were very much a problem when they chose to put girls out on the street in bikinis," he said.
Committee member Larry Kacer agreed that the sign walkers do divert people's attention from the road. article continues...
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( 3 / 180 )The action comes amid concerns about safety, though one business owner says the practice is a crucial part of his marketing strategy.
Call it a sign of the times.
Concerned about distracted drivers, the Champlin City Council voted Monday to restrict use of human sign walkers and define them in the city code. Sign walkers are workers who move about near busy intersections carrying -- and sometimes waving, bobbing or spinning -- placards advertising nearby businesses.
The council voted to require these workers to stay on private property. Signs can't be waved, and they must be 10 square feet or less. The code amendment takes effect in September.
"Our bottom-line concern is with them being in the right-of-way and being overly distracting to drivers," said City Planner Scott Schulte, adding that he's received complaints about sign walkers using medians. "They literally are out there within feet of vehicles, and some of those vehicles are going 60 miles per hour."
That is the case for many vehicles near the city's main commercial strip, just off Hwy. 169.
Schulte studied regulations elsewhere but didn't find much guidance; other cities seem to tolerate sign walkers or have wrapped their regulation in existing codes. Champlin city code already bans stationary, temporary off-premises signs and banners, but the language wasn't specific enough to regulate sign walkers, Schulte said.
The new ordinance creates a definition of "human signs" as those held or attached to a person for advertising, or a worker costumed "for the purpose of advertising or drawing attention to a business, commodity, service or product."
In addition to rules on where and when the sign walkers can be used, the amended ordinance would require business owners to register with a $120 temporary sign permit, $100 of which would be refunded to businesses that are in compliance with the other requirements.
Champlin officials checked with the city's attorney to see whether regulating the signs would pose a threat to businesses' First Amendment rights of free speech. They were advised that it would not because the ordinance would not be regulating the signs' content.
Excel Pawn and Jewelry is one Champlin company that uses sign walkers as a part of its marketing strategy. Co-owner Mark Pearson and his partners bought the business about a year ago and imported the practice, one they've used successfully at their other locations in St. Louis Park, Shakopee and Maplewood.
The company employs sign walkers about five hours a day for four or five days a week, weather permitting, to work along 114th Avenue N., to the east of Hwy. 169. It's a valuable tool, Pearson said, to alert potential customers to special deals, like a shipment of rods and reels the business recently received, or promotions, like a recent one offering free pop to get customers in the door.
"It would be a lot of economic harm to get rid of it because some people don't like it," he said, adding that the city's regulations on exterior signs and electronic signs already hamper his ability to draw customers off the main drag.
He's open to limiting use to so many days a week or month, but sign walkers already are limited by weather, since they don't work in rain or extreme heat or cold, he said. "I understand their concerns," he said. "I think they think it junks up the city, but it's a highly effective form of advertising, and the more business you get, the more tax revenue you get."
Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409
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( 3 / 182 )By Alicia Warren / Staff Writer -
In recent years, many businesses have decided to replace immobile 50-foot billboards with frantic teenagers flipping 3-foot wide signs bearing their names as a new means of marketing.
Raising the eyebrows of countless Denton drivers, these sign spinners can be found in front of companies throwing signs in the air, dancing with the sign in hand or anything else to get noticed.
Sign spinning is a form of “guerilla marketing,” more...
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( 2.9 / 174 )Solicitors, Panhandlers Would Have To Stay Off Medians Or Risk Fines
Posted by Kim Nguyen, Web Editor
LAFAYETTE, Colo. -- The Lafayette City Council has given tentative approval to an ordinance that would ban solicitors -- from panhandlers to sign twirlers -- from medians. article continues...
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( 3 / 128 )Americans reject TSA tyranny
By Martin Hill
LibertyFight.com
7-18-11
Airlines have resorted to using sign twirlers on the streetcorners in Southern California, as an increasingly aware American public rejects the degrading and criminal treatment they receive by Homeland Security at airports across the country. Most recently, the TSA defended their agents treatment of a 95 year old woman, forcing the dying cancer victim to remove her adult diaper under the guise of 'national security'.
Earlier this month, the Rutherford Insititute announced that a legal challenge to the TSA groping had been inexplicably dismissed. [See Citing Secret Order, Federal Court Dismisses Airline Passenger Lawsuit Against DHS & TSA Over Scanners, Virtual Strip Searches & Full-Body "Rub-Downs"].
Airline traffic is down throughout the country as consumers opt to retain their dignity, rejecting the corporate cabal who willingly cooperates with the fascist style radiation and gropedowns of innocent Americans of all ages.
This gentleman pictured in La Verne CA, located in eastern L.A. County, held a large sign that read 'AIRFARE TO HAWAII $99'. He said that his company is currently offering good deals to single females and couples cohabitating together. He added that the police stopped by to make sure he did not have any tables set up, as that would be considered solicitation.
Sign holders are becoming an increasingly prevalent site on streetcorners throughout California, as desperate strapped businesses resort to cheap and taudry advertising. [HEY WTF?] It's an honest attempt to lure in the consumers who aren't homeless or among the nearly 50 million Americans dependent on 'food stamps', the modern equivalent of depression-era bread lines. [We think that's a little harsh!]
Congressman Ron Paul, who has launched a 2012 presidential bid, has proposed the American Traveler Dignity Act.It would remove the immunity from those federal employees who grope, x-ray, and take nude photos of airline travelers against their will.
Hopefully the hard-up airlines will see the light and kick out the TSA or go bankrupt before receiving a bailout by the feds.
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