BUENA PARK : Council Changes Mind on Banner Law

In an unusual move, the City Council this week reversed a decision made just two weeks ago restricting the use of temporary signs throughout the city.

Mayor Don L. Bone argued that the ordinance could prevent local groups from advertising their events. He persuaded fellow council members Ken Jones and Rhonda McCune to vote down the second reading of the ordinance.

“I don’t like to see an ordinance that prohibits street banners,” Bone said. Several organizations use banners to announce events, one of the biggest being the annual Silverado Days celebration. The ordinance, he said, would prohibit the banners because they exceed the law’s size limitations.

Although Jones and McCune voted in favor of the proposal two weeks ago, they sided with Bone. McCune said she didn’t see the urgency in passing the ordinance if there were potential problems.

It is the latest setback for the beleaguered ordinance, which has been before the council several times in the last few months.

The ordinance would allow political signs in the public right of way, provided they do not exceed size limits. Only one sign would be allowed per block, and only for 30 days before an election.

The provisions for real estate signs, which were formulated with the consent of the local Board of Realtors, allow only one for-sale sign on each property and would limit the number of open-house signs.

Assistant City Atty. Andrew Arczynsky told the council that the original ordinance was unconstitutional because political signs are the purest form of freedom of speech. Both political and non-political signs must be treated the same, he said.

Because the ordinance was rejected, “it starts the process all over again,” Arczynsky said. The Planning Commission would have to review a new proposal, then send it to the council for a series of public hearings. However, the council did not indicate whether the ordinance would be resurrected.