At least a dozen individual downtown business owners—some entrenched in the Garlic Capital since the 1960s and others who set up shop less than a year ago—are stunned the city banned a wide variety of signage they say helps bring people through the front door.
Earlier this month, Gilroy City Council approved on final reading an ordinance banning A-frame signs, balloons, streamers, flags and handheld signs—including people who wave signs at passing traffic. City officials have begun notifying business owners of the changes via mail, with warnings and fines-up to $500 for repeat offenders-to follow.
“They (Gilroy City Council) should have asked our opinion first,” said Bruce Ganzler, one of the owners of Garbo’s Antiques and Collectibles, who now tucks the business’s A-frame sign in a culvert next to the front door.
Several small business owners said it’s more cost effective to hand out business cards or place a sign compared to advertising in traditional print media.
Elsa LeDon, a Gilroyan for the past 20 years, opened downtown’s Queen of Hearts Boutique five months ago. On the recommendation of her neighbors, LeDon was looking to purchase a flag to help potential customers find the business.
LeDon’s plans immediately changed when she opened up a letter from the city detailing the newest signage restrictions prohibiting the very flag she was going to invest in.
“How will people find me in a sea of abandoned or condemned buildings?” LeDon asked. “I currently have no A-frame signs or flags and no one knows where to find me.”
Without the option of placing a sign or flag outside her shop, LeDon is concerned her visibility that’s limited enough by abandoned buildings nearby will diminish.
“We’re really trying to bring new businesses to downtown Gilroy,” she added. “We really want to see it thrive and become more of a desirable place for people to come. I don’t want to see downtown Gilroy become a ghost town.”
Setting higher standards?
City officials point to the sign ordinance as an example of Gilroy setting higher standards—standards they hope will someday attract more businesses and tourism.
“It’s something that needs to be done to raise our standards here in the community,” Mayor Don Gage said. “We need to clean up our city if we want to attract businesses to the downtown or any place else.”
Rather than banning all A-frame signs and flags, LeDon said she wishes the city had allowed each business one well-maintained and attractive sign to draw in customers. Other downtown business owners agree.
Some, like Job Camarena, owner of Wes’ Shoe and Boot Repairs, depend on certain signs that are easily recognizable as a way of directing customers to his business. With the smallest building on his block, he said, he’s used a four-foot high wooden boot, painted red, as a wayfinding tool since 1984.
The boot itself has been around longer than his business has, Camarena laughed, adding it was a hand-me-down from the previous owner.
“If I have to get rid of it, it’s going to be very unfortunate,” he said. “Signage like this should be kept, but I realize some people are abusing them. That’s what happens—everybody pays when somebody messes up.”
“It’s ridiculous. There are more important things the city should be focusing on,” said Daniel Pina, who owns the Fifth Street Coffee Roasting Company with his wife, Yolanda. “Parking is just a nightmare. I don’t see signs as a problem.”
From concept to ordinance
The latest sign ordinance was the product of two years of meetings of the Sign Ordinance Review Task Force, a sub-committee chaired by Council Member Dion Bracco. Vice-chair Council Member Peter Arellano didn’t attend a single meeting of the task force in 2013, according to city records. The task force included downtown property owners, realtors and car dealership managers. Steve Ashford, who owns Ashford’s Heirlooms with his wife and is also a private contractor, sat on the task force.
Before the sign ordinance was voted into law, Ashford said the ordinance already on the books, which set forth limitations on A-frame signs, was not enforced.
“If they didn’t want to enforce it, why did they let it get so bad that now everybody has to lose their A-frames?” Ashford asked.
Enforcement of the prior sign ordinance, now usurped by this month’s ordinance, was, admittedly, a low priority for the Community Development Department’s Code Enforcement team, minutes from the task force’s meetings show.
“If they would have enforced the last sign ordinance, it probably wouldn’t be coming to this,” Camarena said.
Gilroy is currently looking to add muscle to its enforcement arm with two part-time, temporary employees who will be encouraging compliance with the ordinance over a six-month period. Those two employees, tasked with enforcing the sign ordinance, will cost the city up to $46,914 in total, Assistance Finance Director Barbara Voss said.
After the noticing period wraps up, the newly-minted code enforcement officers will issue businesses an administrative citation if they violate the ordinance, and they’ll have 10 days to comply. If corrective action isn’t taken, the city will charge a $100 penalty for the first violation. Repeat offenders can receive a $200 fine and ultimately a $500 fine for additional violations within a year, Code Enforcement Officer Scott Barron noted.
“Downtown businesses are not thriving at this point,” said Jane Miller, an antique dealer at Collective Past Antiques. “Downtowns are not thriving. Why make it harder for downtown businesses? We need all the help we can get. Given they’re not a hazard, I don’t really see what the problem is with signage. I’d rather see them regulate than takeaway.”
Unless there’s a change in city policy, which many downtown business owners are hoping for, LeDon plans on keeping up a legal banner from her grand opening. Though she opened five months ago, it works in showing passersby she’s in business and not abandoned like some nearby buildings.
“Every time a new person comes in, it’s a grand opening,” LeDon said.
