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Sign Rules Will Be In Spotlight In Tarpon

Mark Schantz/SUNCOAST

Lori Rinehart, who recently opened Treasures From Heaven Consignment Shoppe, in downtown Tarpon Springs, said the city's sign code regulations are overly restrictive.

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: January 2, 2009

TARPON SPRINGS - An earful of comments from business leaders and residents likely awaits city staff Wednesday night during a town hall meeting to discuss revisions to the city's sign ordinance.

Interim City Manager Mark LeCouris and city planners will hold the fact-finding meeting starting 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum in Craig Park.

The meeting will give merchants a chance to talk about what types of signs they would like to have, both permanent and temporary, LeCouris said. The session will not be a line-by-line review of possible sign rule changes, he cautioned.

The city needed to amend its existing ordinance to reflect case law, LeCouris said. City officials want a sign ordinance that helps local businesses survive, but they also want to prevent sign clutter, he said.

In interviews this past week, some business owners said Tarpon Springs could do a lot more to streamline its sign regulations, make them less restrictive and help shopkeepers attract customers.

Paul Menzer, owner of Menzer's Antiques on Tarpon Avenue, said he and other antique merchants would like to place flags in front of their shops to lure motorists into stopping and browsing. Several years ago, when the city allowed flags in front of shops, Tarpon Avenue had a festive look that attracted customers, he said.

Lori Rinehart recently opened Treasures from Heaven Consignment Shoppe to raise funds for area spouse abuse and homeless shelters. She says the city has to do more to help downtown businesses that are not on Tarpon Avenue.

So far, Rinehart said, few people have found her shop, which is along the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, at 17 N. Safford Ave. Restrictions in the sign ordinance hamper her ability to alert potential shoppers to the presence of the shop, she said.

The current regulations only allow sandwich board-type signs in front of the shop they are advertising. The signs pointing the way to her business need to be on Tarpon Avenue, where the shoppers are, Rinehart said.

Pole-mounted directional signs of the type along Main Street in Safety Harbor would go a long way toward getting shoppers to businesses adjacent to Tarpon Avenue, she said.

In addition, the current rules place tough restrictions on the use of banners and balloons for advertising, Rinehart noted.

"In this economy the city needs to do everything it can to help business survive," she said.

George Pandos, owner of recently opened Furniture and Mattress Emporium, on Tarpon Avenue, said when it comes to advertising sign rules, Tarpon Springs "is the most anti-business city in the country."

High school students he employed to hold signs along roadways alerting motorists to his business have been threatened by police with being ticketed and arrested, Pandos complained. This sort of roadside advertising is protected by the First Amendment, he said.

The city has hassled him about other things he has done to try to promote his business, Pandos added.

In response, LeCouris said city officials work with business owners and do what they can to address legitimate concerns. They also, however, want to prevent the proliferation of sign clutter and protect the public from unsafe roadside nuisances, he said.

People holding commercial signs and waving could distract motorists, creating traffic hazards, LeCouris said. In the same vein, the city wants to prohibit the long-term parking of motor vehicles covered with advertisements along public rights of way, he said.

Some of these sign issues could be better addressed once the city assumes control over East Tarpon Avenue, LeCouris said. For example, the Florida Department of Transportation, which now has jurisdiction over Tarpon Avenue between Pinellas Avenue and U.S. 19, doesn't allow the directional signs used in Safety Harbor, he said.

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