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Poway council approves ban on moving signs
By: North County Times - | ∞
POWAY -- The City Council approved a new sign ordinance Tuesday that bans the use of "human" or moving signs for advertising in Poway.
Council members voted 5-0 in favor of the ban even though they acknowledged it will eliminate their own right to stand and wave while holding signs on city streets during any re-election campaigns they might launch.
"In looking at it and discussing it with the city attorney, there's really nothing we can do about that," Councilman Bob Emery said. "It has to be absolute. ... You can't reserve it to one or the other (group of people)."
He and other council members said they believe the ban is necessary for public safety reasons and because it will keep city streets looking good.
The revision was a response to a recent court ruling on a lawsuit that Liberty Tax Service filed against the city last year. The move came after city code enforcement officers cited the business for sending costumed employees to wave at drivers passing by Liberty's office at 13555 Midland Road.
The court found that people dressed in costumes and trying to draw attention to a business could not be considered signs under the city's old sign ordinance. The revised ordinance includes language designed to clarify the definition of "sign."
Resident and former council candidate Nick Stavros told the council he believed that banning human or moving signs infringes on people's free-speech right. Council members countered by describing moving signs as a distraction to drivers.
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WT wrote on Mar 15, 2007 6:03 AM:That sounds stupid!
Randy wrote on Mar 15, 2007 12:33 PM:The day Free Speech died in Poway! If you think drivers are distracted by moving signs, take a look at the distraction caused by cell phones and ban them!!
What? wrote on Mar 15, 2007 12:51 PM:So what happens if I have a tattoo with the name of a group of business and am walking through Poway, does this mean I will be cited? What a stupid law. A more appropriate law would be to bar sign twirlers within 50 feet of any street corner or parking lot entrance. I'm not against twirlers, but sometimes they do obstruct the view at corners.
Bobby wrote on Mar 15, 2007 3:33 PM:Humans walking around "waving" even with no signs -- are now banned? So, if I'm walking down the street, and I wave to my friends as they drive by, am I going to get cited, or arrested? This is stupidity at an all new level! What about parades -- are children in costumes now banned? Where does this stop? Aren't all "signs" distractions -- isn't that the purpose of signs, to call attention to something? Is Poway next going to ban ALL signs? What about those city signs, with so much information on them as to distract drivers on the way to Lake Poway? Is Poway now going to take their own signs down?
Randy wrote on Mar 15, 2007 8:11 PM:The Poway City Council is driving me to distraction with their conniption fits!
Gary in Murrieta wrote on Mar 16, 2007 8:37 AM:They (human signs) are numerous in Murrieta, and they are anoying. Especially if you are at a busy intersection, stopped to make a right turn and there are a bunch of people waving at you , and you are trying not to look, but to pay attention to that cross traffic. What is even more dangerous is if the sign twirlers are cute young girls and they are wearing skimpy clothing. I must admit that I have had a few close calls with traffic on occassion.
Makes sense to me wrote on Mar 19, 2007 8:40 AM:By definition, the purpose of the sign twirlers is to distract motorists. We can see how, over time, they work harder to outdo one another to grab our attention. They should be banned on the simple premise of their goal: to distract drivers. This is not a free speech issue: it's not unlike yelling "fire" in the theater, deliberately creating a danger to the public.
Wayne wrote on Mar 17, 2008 2:35 PM:That's a bit extreme. *ALL* forms of public advertising are aimed at getting attention, on or off the street, on windows, billboards, street corners, etc... Why not just ban all forms of public advertising because they are "distracting", not just the sign twirlers... ?
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