Car Dealer Given OK to Fly Balloon
The City Council has upheld a controversial decision by its Planning Commission to allow a car dealership to fly a 24-foot-long helium-filled balloon above its business on Beach Boulevard.
The commission granted Mike McCarthy Buick permission to fly the advertisement, shaped like a hot-air blimp, 200 feet above its rows of cars and trucks at Beach Boulevard and McFadden Avenue.
A group of about 60 nearby homeowners filed a petition against the decision, saying the blimp would be unsightly and decrease property values.
The council earlier this month allowed the dealership to fly the balloon but set the maximum height at 100 feet rather than the 200 feet the company had requested. Two other Westminster car dealerships have similar advertising balloons that fly at 100 feet, council members said.
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