CAMARILLO : Restrictions on Banners Loosened

The Camarillo City Council voted Wednesday to loosen restrictions on the use of banners and allow businesses to hang the signs for up to 120 days a year.

Under the old ordinance, merchants could post banners only for grand openings.

The council tentatively approved the measure in a 4 to 0 vote, with Councilman Ken Gose absent. Under the measure, businesses have two choices. One option is to hang banners for 30-day periods four times a year. Or, businesses could hang the signs for 12 three-day periods, once per calendar month.

The ordinance includes a sunset clause requiring the council to review the measure in November, 1993, a matter that divided the council.

Council members Charlotte Craven and David M. Smith said they saw no need for the clause. “I really think we’re sending the wrong message,” Craven said.

But Mayor Stanley J. Daily and Councilman Michael Morgan disagreed. An ordinance “is harder to remove . . . once it’s started,” Morgan said.

A motion to approve the measure without the sunset clause died on a 2-2 vote.

Planning Director Matthew A. (Tony) Boden said a measure to set permit fees for merchants who want to hang banners will be brought to the council at a future meeting.

Camarillo merchants have applauded the council for expanding the ordinance, saying that banners will help them stay afloat in the flagging economy.