Gilroy City Council members during their regular Monday night meeting indicated they are interested in a policy that allows nonprofit organizations and other groups to display banners over Monterey Street through downtown, but wanted staff to take a closer look at the proposed fees and consider how to avoid embarrassing content without restricting freedom of speech.
The Council also wants staff to report back on alternate placement options to erect a permanent archway sign over the downtown artery, welcoming visitors and residents who arrive by automobile.
The permanent sign and temporary banners would be erected between two pairs of poles across the street from each other already in place downtown – one between Fourth and Fifth streets and one between Fifth and Sixth streets. The poles were originally put in place in 2011 as part of the Sixth Street Streetscape Project, and were intended solely to hang banners across the street above traffic.
The Council voted unanimously at Monday’s meeting, following a lengthy discussion, to approve the design concept of the permanent archway welcoming signs, but some members thought the placement on the existing poles might incorrectly suggest the downtown is far smaller than City officials and businesses consider it to be.
The archway sign concept proposed by City staff reads “Historic Downtown Gilroy” in large, steel lettering, with a leafy pattern on each end of the text where the arch meets the poles. The poles would be topped with steel garlic bulb-shaped ornaments.
Councilman Dion Bracco noted that almost as soon as motorists and their passengers see the first sign while traveling through downtown, they will almost immediately see the next one, but backwards.
“Plus, someone is going to assume this one-block area is the historic downtown. I want to know how much it costs to do it right,” Bracco said.
The Council also voted unanimously to send the temporary banner policy back to staff.
The purpose of the downtown banner policy is to allow community groups, nonprofits or the City itself to promote local events, fundraisers and perhaps even causes. The poles have only been used one time to hang banners since their erection, according to Downtown Association President James Suner who spoke at Monday’s meeting.
Council members discussed the possibility of limiting the poles’ use to downtown-based nonprofits, downtown events, City-sponsored events or a combination of these. Acting City Attorney Andy Faber said if the City tries to restrict banners with certain content, “It can become a First Amendment issue.”
Mayor Don Gage added that there should be a requirement in the policy that the banners be aesthetically pleasing before they are hung, as he noted that weather and age can take a toll on such placards when they are used year after year.
And several Council members noted that the proposed fee of $200 to display each banner is too high. City staff said the cost is to pay for staff time for hanging and removing the banners.
Council voted unanimously to charge the fee for the first year the policy is in place, but to revisit its effectiveness after one year.
