COSTA MESA : Council to Discuss Holiday Banner Issue

The City Council tonight will discuss whether a mall may continue to fly 48 red holiday banners that violate the city’s sign ordinance.

Banners reading “Season’s Greetings from Triangle Square” hang over public sidewalks and are therefore considered illegal advertising, according to city staff.

City workers cited Triangle Square last month for the violation but have allowed the banners to remain until the council decides what to do.

Rich Shapiro, a Triangle Square partner, said he had not sought a permit for the banners because he felt none was needed to hang the banners, which fly from lampposts maintained by the mall.

City Manager Allan L. Roeder, however, noted last week in a staff report that he could not have recommended approval of the banners since the city forbids private advertising on public property.

Shapiro said the banners were meant to be “greeting cards” to the community, not advertising.

Mayor Sandra L. Genis, who complained to city workers about the banners, now believes the issue can be resolved.

“It really isn’t a bad idea to have holiday banners,” Genis said. “We just have to make sure that we somehow regulate it.”

The council will discuss whether to change the municipal code to allow seasonal banners or decorations within the public right of way. If the council changes the law, it would apply to the whole city, not just Triangle Square.