Issue date: February 24, 1999
By RENEE MOILANEN
Responding to complaints from local merchants about the city's commercial sign ordinance, the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce is holding a meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 24, to review the "unevenly enforced" and "extremely prohibitive" ordinance, said Donene Chamberlin, executive vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce.
The commercial sign regulations are not related to a controversial sign ordinance recently adopted by the City Council, which prohibits all signs in the public right-of-way. The commercial sign ordinance only regulates commercial signs and temporary signs in business display windows.
The commercial sign ordinance has been on the books for years, said Jeff Smith, an associate planner with the city who works on sign permit controls.
Under the ordinance, businesses may not have any signs in the public right-of-way. Also, merchants must obtain permits to put temporary signs in their display windows. They can apply for two permits a year, and each permit is only good for two weeks, creating a situation which "disallows posters for community events," Ms. Chamberlin said. Plus, she added, most merchants don't even know they need to apply for these permits.
Most merchants are unaware of the permitting system because the ordinance has been "unevenly enforced" in the last few years, Ms. Chamberlin said. Mr. Smith agreed that enforcement of the commercial sign law has not been complete, but said he hopes to step up enforcement.
"There's a number of illegal or nonconforming signs in the city," he said, adding that he's already sent warnings to a number of sign law violators.
Recently, the Chamber has received a number of complaints from local merchants about the ordinance's enforcement, Ms. Chamberlin said, which prompted Chamber officials to call the meeting.
She said that because the sign ordinance is enforced mainly by complaints, certain businesses are targeted by the law while other businesses "who might be worse offenders," go free. "It's time for us to get together with the city and find a more equitable way of enforcing the law," she said.
Ms. Chamberlin said that she would like the city to address the "extremely prohibitive" commercial sign ordinance and "find a more fair way" of regulating these signs.
At the meeting, the Chamber of Commerce will provide information and answer questions about the commercial sign law, including how to acquire sign permits. Council members Steve Schmidt and Nicholas Jellins will attend the meeting, along with Planner Jeff Smith.
MEETING: The meeting will be held at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 24, at the Chamber office, 1100 Merrill St. For more information, call 325-2818.
© 1999 The Almanac. All Rights Reserved.