HUNTINGTON BEACH : Beach Blvd. Sign Cleanup Initiated

City Planning Commission Chairman Kirk Kirkland is leading a drive to clean up unsightly business signs along Beach Boulevard, which he says have turned the city’s major commercial strip into “Bleak Boulevard.”

At Kirkland’s request, the Planning Commission voted unanimously last week to urge the City Council to call on city staff members to crack down on the illegal signs.

During a presentation before his colleagues, Kirkland showed slides he had taken of more than 60 Beach Boulevard businesses that have signs he criticized as too tall, too large, barely readable or otherwise “tacky.”

“Driving down Beach Boulevard, you become so immune to the cacophony of signs, you don’t notice the terrible run-down condition of so many of the signs,” Kirkland said.

Alluding to the city’s newly adopted nickname, “Surf City,” he added: “It’s unfortunate you have to go down Bleak Boulevard on your way into Surf City.”

As planning commissioners acknowledged, however, their call for stricter code enforcement concerning the signs may be difficult to realize. Due to recent budget constraints, the city’s code enforcement department has remained small, with only five officers in charge of seeing that codes are followed citywide.

“Due to lack of staff, code enforcement is reactive and cannot be responsive to the extent we’d like,” said Michael Adams, the city’s community development director. Adams, however, said his staff will prepare a report for commissioners and council members outlining the history of the signs and what the city might do to correct the problem.

“I know we don’t have the people to do the necessary code enforcement,” Kirkland said, “but it’s just a crime to hold Beach Boulevard in such contempt when it could be such a beautiful entree to the city.”