Store owners display anger over sign law

The colorful window signs at U Wash Doggie in Studio City are emblazoned in bold white letters over eye-catching red, yellow and blue backgrounds, advertising such pet grooming services as, dog teeth cleaning, $49.99.

“I like the service, but I don’t like the signs,” said customer Adolf Rosenberger, who had just paid for a full-service grooming for his dog Rosie, a black German Shepherd Labrador mix. “They’re too big.”

But owner Francisco Gamero Jr. defended his window displays. Since the signs went up six weeks ago, business has surged, earning Gamero more than $2,500. If he were forced to remove them, “it’s definitely going to affect my business,” said Gamero, who has operated his shop since 1991.

Gamero is among nearly two dozen merchants in a strip mall along Ventura Boulevard who were served notices on July 7 from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Code Enforcement Bureau informing them that their signs were in violation of the Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan. The ordinance regulates signs, displays and murals.

Enacted in February 1991, the ordinance prohibits window signs unless they state a store’s name and hours of operation, or are security signs, logos or holiday paintings, which can only be up for a designated time period. The permitted signs may not occupy more than 10% of any window area.

Business owners were ordered to remove all signs from their store windows or face fines and possible jail time, according to merchants who received written notices. They were given 10 days to comply with the regulations.

“It’s insane,” said magician Brent Geris, owner of the Magic Apple store. “I was told every sign must be removed, even down to the Visa and MasterCard logo; even my ‘open and closed’ sign.”

Geris said the code enforcement inspector who served the notice threatened him with a $400 fine and possible jail time for noncompliance.

But many merchants, some of whom have operated at the mall for almost two decades, said they were puzzled by the seemingly sudden push to enforce the sign regulations — which could harm their businesses.

“Can you imagine if all these signs come down?” Geris said. “It’s going to look like we’re out of business.”

David L. Lara, a spokesman for the Department of Building and Safety, said a code enforcement inspector visited the strip mall after a complaint from an individual that one business was violating the sign regulations. When the inspector went to investigate the matter, he found other merchants were also in violation, Lara said.

“As a general rule, when we go out on a complaint and witness or find additional violations at a property, we have to cite them all, or we wind up in a situation where someone will say ‘You’re practicing selective enforcement, ‘ “ Lara said.

Lara said it was not the first time a complaint had been received about certain merchants in this mall violating the signage regulations. He said business owners should adhere to guidelines laid out in the ordinance, get permits for any signs that are allowed, or risk being slapped with a noncompliance fee, which he said was $550.

And if a merchant continued to violate the ordinance — an infringement legally considered to be a misdemeanor — the matter could end up in court and it would be up to a judge whether to exact jail time, Lara said.

At Reno’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, owner Nick Tsaturyan, who has been in business for 17 years, is facing the same problem as other businesses.

The restaurant owner said a code inspector had ordered him to remove his neon open/closed sign, along with lighted signs and posters of boasting salads and sandwiches, lunch specials, and “the best Philly cheese steak in town.”

“I asked what happened after 17 years,” said Tsaturyan. “He said somebody complained. He said the signs are not standard.”

Tsaturyan insisted that the ads are what lure customers.

Customer Rene Loera agreed.

“If it wasn’t for the signs, we wouldn’t have found it,” said Loera, his two companions nodding in agreement. “In fact, we drove by; then we saw the signs and came back.”

The sign controversy has set the mall abuzz. On a recent afternoon, some merchants stood at their store windows measuring their signs; others stuck price tags on posters and logos. Many said they would seek further information from City Hall before taking any action.

Store owner Brian Mazor said “Art & Framing,” the only sign in his window, measured about 5 square feet, compared to his window space of about 72 square feet.

Still, he was among the merchants who received a notice from the city ordering him to take the sign down or get a permit to keep it up.

“How do you get people to identify what you do if you can’t put a sign in the window?” Mazor asked. “And it’s only two words and an ampersand.”

At neighboring Ski Net Sports, owner Claude Swonger said he was disappointed about the seemingly random enforcement of the sign rules because many merchants appeared to be in compliance. But he could understand why someone might complain.

“Nobody wants to see what looks like a flea market in a neighborhood,” Swonger said. “It just takes one shop that has too much signage, or too flamboyant signage, or signage that has been there too long … and people will think the place is looking a little shabby. People are sensitive about their property values.”

ann.simmons@latimes.com