Council Backs Inflatable Advertising Devices

City leaders have agreed to let local business owners fly balloons and other inflatable advertising devices for 120 days a year to help them compete with businesses in neighboring cities.

After much debate, the City Council this week agreed to extend its original plans to allow merchants to hoist inflatable advertising devices from 60 days to 120 days a year. But under the proposed ordinance, business owners would be limited to 30 consecutive days each quarter.

Stanton currently prohibits balloon advertising. But as the city grapples with impending cuts in police and fire services after the defeat of a proposed public safety services fee in June, city leaders say they are seeking ways to boost local business revenue.

City Manager Terry Matz said a strong economy combined with Stanton’s pro-business policies is expected to bring a $250,000 increase in sales tax revenue for the 1997-98 fiscal year, to a total of $2.5 million.

If approved by the Planning Commission, the proposed ordinance would come before the City Council within 90 days.

“We want to provide as much flexibility as we can in terms of businesses being able to advertise their products,” Matz said. “There are a number of surrounding cities that permit this, and we want to be competitive.”

Inflatable advertising devices would be allowed only in commercially zoned areas on Beach Boulevard and Katella Avenue, where the majority of the city’s businesses are located. A 100-foot maximum height would be allowed for inflatable devices, and smaller balloon displays could be no more than 20 feet high and 40 feet long.