OJAI : Amendment of Sign Ordinance Urged

Ojai officials have recommended amending the city’s sign ordinance to update its requirements and to provide for quick, over-the-counter sign permits.

The City Council and Planning Commission announced the recommended revisions at a public meeting held Tuesday for Chamber of Commerce members, merchants and residents.

The current sign ordinance has been the subject of much controversy in recent years. In 1990, Planning Commission officials for the first time started enforcing a stringent provision added to the ordinance in 1981, prompting some backlash among business owners.

Associate Planner Marilyn Miller said the 1981 amendment called for business signs taller than 4 1/2 feet to be replaced with smaller signs or more subtle displays that meshed aesthetically with Ojai’s natural environment. Ojai businesses were given nine years to comply with the new provision, Miller said.

A newly proposed amendment to the sign ordinance would ban plastic signs illuminated by lights inside. The Planning Commission has in recent years denied permits for inner-lit signs because they are not in keeping with the aesthetic character of the city, said City Manager Andrew Belknap. But a specific ban on such signs is not yet written into the city’s ordinance, he said.

Another proposed change to the sign ordinance would allow business owners to get their signs approved by a city staff member rather than the Planning Commission, and would greatly speed up the permit process, Belknap said.

The City Council instructed Belknap to write up the proposed amendments, which must be reviewed by the Chamber of Commerce and discussed at public hearings before they can be voted into law.