Sign Crackdown in Ojai Angers Merchants

Ojai city officials are cracking down on at least 11 businesses that are in violation of the city’s sign-restriction ordinance, sending out a final warning that demands immediate compliance to avoid hefty fines.

The restrictions have infuriated several business owners who are in violation of the ordinance. They say they will be forced to spend thousands of dollars buying new signs or physically moving old ones--a big expense during recessionary times.

Some owners have also accused the city of targeting only a small contingent of individual business owners because it’s easier to collect from them than from larger companies, a charge Ojai officials have denied.

At least one Ojai business owner said he is contemplating a lawsuit against the city on the grounds that the ordinance is unconstitutional.

“The city told me that they don’t like my sign because they think it’s ugly,” said Scott Eicher, co-owner of Pat’s Drive-In Liquor, who appealed the ordinance in 1991 and was denied. “They’re making it real difficult for businesses in town to stay in business.”

City officials said they are making a last-minute attempt at seeking compliance with the ordinance, which was passed in November, 1981. The city’s Planning Commission is in charge of approving or disapproving signs.

The ordinance states that signs can be no larger than 4 feet, 6 inches in height and have to be made of wood if the business is in the city’s redevelopment area, which includes the downtown district.

The sign also must be at least two feet behind the sidewalk so it will not block the view of drivers and must have outer lighting instead of being lit from within.

The city plans to send a final warning by mail during the first week in July and will seek three consecutive fines if there is no compliance, said William Prince, the city’s planning and building director.

“The purpose (of the ordinance) is to preserve and complement the architectural setting and beauty of Ojai,” Prince said. “I think it would be fair to say the city is becoming impatient.”

Prince said most of the 11 business owners he has been in contact with are planning to comply, but others have picked up applications to appeal or replace signs and have not responded since then.

The application costs are $50 for a new sign, $25 to modify an existing sign and $100 to apply for a special sign.

The city has tentatively set fines at $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense and $250 for the third offense. After three notices of noncompliance, the city will take the business owner to court to force replacement of the sign.

In 1981, the city created a nine-year grace period, giving businesses time to modify or replace signs before the end of the period. At the end of the period, the city then notified business owners to seek compliance.

Prince said the Planning Commission has been “more than lenient” with businesses because the ordinance has been in effect for 12 years.

“What I’ve found in dealing with many businesses is that there’s a misunderstanding . . . they just don’t have the facts,” Prince said. “Some people just don’t understand municipal law.”

Some of the business owners said they were never contacted by the city during the grace period. Several of the affected businesses changed ownership during that period.

The City Council also passed a separate ordinance last month that makes sign violators responsible for any cost incurred by the city in attempting to seek compliance, including court costs if necessary. The ordinance goes into effect June 25, Prince said.

Eicher said just to remove his 10-foot plastic lighted sign would cost more than $3,000 and the cost to have a new sign delivered to his door would be $350.

“You have to be a fool to go into business in Ojai,” said Larry Briggs, owner of O-Hi Frostie, which has an illegal eight-foot, lighted sign. “My biggest complaint is that there are other businesses who have not been asked to remove their signs.”

However, Prince said several businesses, such as the Ojai Motel, have been granted special permits to keep their signs intact. The Planning Commission approved the motel’s appeal because it met most other requirements, despite being over the height limit, he said.

El Camino Lodge Motel owner Marcel Pichon, who competes with the Ojai Motel for business, said the city wants his smaller, wooden sign moved back two feet, eliminating two parking spaces.

“I don’t think it makes any sense,” said Pichon, who recently met with the commission to discuss keeping his sign. “Losing two parking spaces will definitely hurt my business. My competitor was allowed to keep his sign.”

The owners of Ojai Liquors and the Union 76 gas station on Maricopa Highway said they both plan to replace their signs. Pichon, and the owners of the Royal Cleaners said they are not sure whether they will comply or appeal the ordinance.