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Sandwich board advertising signs have not
been banned in downtown Safety Harbor. Arguments over them ought to
be. Safety Harbor City Commissioners must be applauded for bending
over backwards to attempt to resolve disagreements over sandwich
boards, but there is more the city could do that would help
alleviate the conflicts.
Until a few years ago, such advertising by
businesses simply was not allowed in Safety Harbor, downtown or
elsewhere. The city exempted itself from such rules, but even along
Main Street, businesses were forbidden to post a sandwich board
sign. After extensive discussion and endless committee meetings, it
was recognized that such signs were not necessarily a visual
blight, but in fact added to the quaint character and charm of the
downtown business district. Sandwich boards then were encouraged as
part of an effort to develop a more pedestrian-friendly, walkable
community. Rules were written, but only enforced in the face of
complaints.
Complaints, however, began to multiply.
Many of them were nearly juvenile in nature. “If he can do
it, why can’t I?” “Hers is too big and
doesn’t look professional.” Some were even petty. A few
Main Street businesses resented that off-Main businesses placed
signs on Main Street.
Two elements of the existing rules came to
be widely ignored. One was that businesses were to only place signs
in front of their own storefronts. A second was that sandwich
boards were only to be posted during business hours. When a
business closed for the day, its sign was supposed to be off the
sidewalk.
As Vice Mayor Kathleen Earle noted at a
recent commission meeting, the downtown business community is not
unified on this issue. The city agreed to a moratorium on its own
rules and then repeatedly extended that moratorium. The current
extension lasts until the end of this year. At that point, the city
has said, it will begin enforcing the rules already written. One
sign per business, in front of the business location and only
during business hours.
That rule, however, does not satisfy or
even address the concerns of off-Main Street businesses, who were
intended all along to benefit from the use of sandwich boards as a
way to enhance their reduced visibility and encourage growth within
the designated business district. Earle noted that the city has
agreed to help fund better signage on Main Street for off-Main
businesses, promising “signs that are not anything like the
ones we have right now, which are so small they really don’t
serve any purpose.” Furthermore, the commission informally
has agreed to rewrite the rules for business facade improvement
grants to clearly include items such as decorative awnings, awnings
with signage and hanging signs.
Another important step would be to revisit
the original concept of downtown streetscaping to include more than
Main Street. The city made a substantial investment in sidewalks
and streetlights on Main, but mostly has ignored the cross streets
and the streets parallel to Main that also are part of the downtown
business district. A few alleyways have been paved, but little
effort has been expended on expanding the streetscape concept and
appearance to include the off-Main businesses, which also are part
of downtown. Perhaps if the side streets were more clearly a part
of the business district, the need for sandwich boards would not be
as great.
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Front Page 
Op-Ed 
