City Council voted unanimously Thursday to move forward with an ordinance that restricts renovations of non-conforming signs, human signs and helps preserve historic signs. That vote, however, was on a placeholder for changes that will be put into the ordinance during the second reading in November.
Large portions of the changes to the sign ordinance were met without much opposition, such as preserving historic signs in St. Petersburg. Examples of historic signs include the Kress Building, World Liquors, Banyan Motel, El Cap, Sunken Gardens and the old downtown YMCA.
The proposed changes would allow historic signs to have "chasing" and "flashing" lights that are not otherwise allowed on any other city signs. Historic signs that are beyond repair, Lazzara said, could also be eligible for replacement with a similar sign that would follow the historic sign codes.
However, members of the business community and the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce took issue with roughly half the changes because they were not "business friendly."
Human signs, or humans holding signs, was a key issue. In the proposed ordinance those holding signs would be limited to be one per property and on private property only. They would also not be allowed to spin, twirl or otherwise move the sign around.
Council member Karl Nurse said the city shouldn't regulate "tackiness" but safety. He proposed allowing the human signs to spin/twirl/etc but maybe not so close to the curb.
Representatives from Liberty Tax Service said passing those restrictions would kill jobs in a bad economy. Michael Bass, who owns his own Liberty Tax Service franchise said the restrictions are unnecessary and not a safety issue.
"If you go too far away from the curb, there efficiency would be diminished, therefore limiting their effectiveness," Bass said.
Local business owner and city council candidate Dr. David McKalip said the ordinance shouldn't just be amended for final reading, it should be voted down.
"Vote this thing down in its entirely and go back and get it right," he said. "Respect the First Amendment.
McKalip said a lot of the public input has been ignored and there is a myth that there is a safety issue at hand.
"I promise you, I will sue this city" if the city passes the strict sign ordinance, McKalip said.
Chris Steinocher, head of the St. Petersburg Chamber, also took issue with the proposed time change of electronic message signs. Currently the messages can shift every six seconds while the city admin proposal was five minutes.
He said now allowing human signs and having strict electronic message restrictions would "discourage business from moving here," he said. " ... They will go somewhere else."
Both arguments swayed council enough for council members to ask city staff to rewrite the ordinance regarding human signs and electronic message centers. The new proposal will be voted on in November.
Council member Jeff Danner said a refined ordinance could be voted on in two weeks.
"We adopt the ordinance as drafted for tonight, give (staff) two weeks, come back with some clear definitions," in regards to setback with human signs from the curb, dwell time for message on electronic signs and 25 or 50 percent construction for non-conforming signs.
Considering the years of military duty I did in Germany, which a lot of soldiers did after Vietnam, and during that time seeing historical evidence of what the Nazi's did...plus the fact my Father was in WW2...I would never normally even use the word. To me..it's practically another ''n'' word and should not be joked so lightly. Take some time to review what the Nazi's did and then after that argue in any form in their behalf. Take that to grammar class on your way to the zoo to poke animals with sticks. The aricle we are responding to is about human signs. I am not the one who brought it up. If you do human signs for a living, I do apologize...but hopefully you would interpret my comments as an advocate for better work conditions for you. You should be glad there are people trying to outlaw it. By the way..how is the health insurance plan with that job? Also..my error with ''their'' is a spelling error..not a grammar one. You read blogs to see good grammar? That's like only wanting to be a human sign in Florida in cool weather. I will try and be more polite I did not stop to think someone here may do it to make money. Sorry. Needing to think before we comment is not a requirement here, though. Are you new to Gulfport Patch? You are the one who sounds like you just moved here by correcting grammar and being spelling police.
And...''no''...I don't spell very well. So what. You wrote (copy and paste): ''It's cherylwith a c, not cherly with a c.'' ...uh...it looks like ''you'' can't even spell your own name because you have it listed as ''cherlywithac''..no spaces. You better get those eyes checker. I will ''gladly'' call you cheryl from now on and try to spell it better..it's certainly easier. And on those bums...the jails missed the ones in downtown St Pete I see all day, everyday while wroking there. i don't mind theones down there really, but as i said...I don't like them coming up to my wife's car window or anyone else's at intersections. What? You are Ok with that? Bums are not as harmless as you indicate you feel about them. They probably come to paradise here from Kansas because it's so nice here.
Are you going to tell me how to use spell check or not? Are you having a bad day? Don't read these blogs to cheer up if you are going to get so sensitive. Frankly, it hard to understand why you are so venomous in your defense of human signs. If you do that for a living...don't be shy...tell us...and ''then'' maybe we can cut some slack to ya. But don't go around telling people what they can say and what they can't. You and I are meaningless in the big picture here. I probably like it here better than you do.
I referred to his comment like that because he failed to realize I was referring to ''business'' insurance...''not'' car insurance. ''He'' is the who first missed the chance to be polite. He could have, for example said I made a good point, but....(then add what he also thought was ''also''responsible). Instead, he implies I was wrong. ''That'' was what was rude...''not'' me saying I was surprised insurance companies allowed human signs. Anyway..it was a weird the way the car/business insurance topic was ''crossed'' by ''Rider''. I told him I thought he was correct also. If you review...I was more polite to him than he was to me. ''THEN''...you and your big mouth came along and he hid behind your skirt. Frankly I think the way he has wormed his way thru this is pretty slick and I think it's a little amusing.
Hmmm....''furthering the discussion'' you say? Why don't you get back to trying that. All you want to do is OCD on how you percieve Rider's feeling being hurt. You are what they say...''getting out there''. Your ''garbage man'' comment is a rediculous analogy. Besides...think about if ''Rider'' happened to do that for a living? You should stop and think about how he would prefer to be called a City Appearance Technician...otherwise you would have just hurt his feelings and been impolite to him. Is he paying you to comment for him? He is not paying you enough, but you are giving him his money's worth. I would ''fan'' you, if I could, if for no other reason than because you are making me try and spell better.