Grants Pass Now

It’s no secret that the city’s proposed sign ordinance has some business owners more than a little concerned. In order to meet together and discuss problematic parts of the proposal, Dean Saxon (of Copper Barrel Coffee and Artistic Embroidery) and Richard Emmons (of Richard Emmons Consulting) organized a March 3rd meeting, which was attended by others who either shared their apprehension or wanted to help ease it. The purpose was to make other business owners aware of key points of the proposed ordinance that might adversely impact their businesses.

David Fedosky, who owns the Guild Building and Consolidated Financial, expressed dismay over the direct impact the proposal would have on him. While he was assured the company’s business sign would be grandfathered in, this simply means that he will have ten years to come into compliance with new regulations.

Some were worried about the value of their propety. Signage is an asset, and money can be lost on a property if the new owner has to take into consideration the thousands of dollars it would take to ammend an existing sign or whether it’s worth buying in an area that doesn’t allow them to advertise with their sign to the degree they would like.

Lisa Woodruff, President of Logan Design (http://www.oregonsigns.com) knows her business will be affected because she will not be able to identify herself with a professional freestanding sign in a location visible to potential clients. While she acknowledges that in the short-term outlook, the passing of this proposed ordinance would probably be good for her business as many signs would probably have to be re-done to conform to the new ordinance, she stands with fellow business owners and believes that anything which would negatively impact the growth of business in the Grants Pass Community is bad for her business.

Geoff Farrer of DelTaco believes that the city utility easement (CUE) area rules would take away character from the Grants Pass area. The CUE standards will allow signs within the CUE if they meet the following standards:

1. A maximum height of 8 feet
2. Maximum allowable area of 32 square feet
3. Freestanding signs may not project over the right-of-way
4. Signs may be removed by Utility, at Utility’s cost, but replacement must occur at the expense of the owner/leaser
5. No “Changing Image Signs” permitted in the CUE.

Along with taking away personality from Grants Pass, a discussion ensued on the increasing tourism into Grants Pass. The less unique a town is, the less attraction there is for potential visitors. While the state may still over-ride decisions made that affect I-5/199, most feel it is still important to allow high visibility signs along this area. Bringing the freeway overlay to the council was strongly urged. It was stated that the Grants Pass community has reinvented itself and is now a growing and thriving community again thanks to everyone and the support of citizens. Taking away signs or restricting them to levels that may decrease the number of people who come in to visit and make purchases could have a negative financial impact on area businesses.

An additional consideration is the wording of the abandoned signs section. While at first glance it sounds like a great idea to enforce the removal of a sign within 30 days after the date of abandonment (which is considered to be 60 days), a major issue to consider would be vacant rental property. Very often the sign adds to the value of a rental property, but they don’t always sell within 60 days.

In light of these many issues, business owners were glad for the opportunity to share their concerns with city staff and are hoping to work together with City Council to amend the proposed sign code in order to make modifications that will not only be agreeable to business owners and others who will be affected, but that will be beneficial to the entire Grants Pass community. - Gina Locke