The Hermosa Beach City Council Tuesday night voted to restrict the use of sidewalk signs commonly displayed outside local businesses around town. The vote was 4-1.

Last December, the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission agreed to make recommendations to the City Council that would have allowed it to implement several amendments to the city’s code to permit such signs commonly seen on the downtown pier plaza, and along both Hermosa and Pier avenues.

The issue has had many business owners upset, feeling these signs serve as important makeshift advertisements, drawing attention to both stores and restaurants. 

“Staff noted with these opportunities for placement of pedestrian-oriented signs, the addition of portable or sidewalk was unnecessary and would lead to visual clutter and a proliferation of obstacles along city sidewalks,” said Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld. “From an administrative and enforcement perspective, it is more advantageous to either retain the prohibition or if sidewalk signs are permitted, to allow the signs without permits and without extensive regulations which can be achieved by simply specifying one type of permissible sign.”

Over the past year, dozens of business owners banded together at the recommendation of the Planning Commission to discuss both their concerns and potential solutions to the issue affecting many owners who were required to put their signs away after the city told them they were in violation of local laws.

Councilman and Manhattan Beach business owner Michael Keegan, claimed the sidewalk signs don’t make or break a business and considered them visually obnoxious.

“As a retailer, if you look for signs to draw business then you have a flawed business plan,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake to allow them because they create clutter and I don’t think this is the look we want for our business community.”

The issue came to the forefront last year after the city hired a code enforcement officer, filling a seven-year vacancy in the position. Bob Rollins was appointed to the position last April, and his duties focus on citing people who violate the city’s sign and zoning codes.

Some signs such as window signs, temporary banner signs, wall signs and pole signs are already permitted within town. However, the City Council claims these sidewalk signs pose a liability for Hermosa Beach among people who are involved in an accident and pursue legal action against it. The council also contends the proliferation of signs create unwanted visual blight specifically in the downtown area.

Mayor Sam Edgerton was the lone dissenter on the matter and said the signs call attention to some businesses tucked away on the pier plaza.

“Owners on the plaza contend these signs bring in business,” he said. “The situation in my opinion is that it’s perfectly OK to have these signs as long as there is enough clearance for people to negotiate around them.”