Amador County – Amador County Supervisors last week discussed some business owners needs as they considered expanding the used of banners, as allowed by county code.

Amador County Planning Department Planner Cara Augustin said 17 people attended a workshop with the Supervisors’ Land Use Committee on Nov. 2, and discussion included banner quantity and quality, and having fines for not keeping banners in good condition. They also discussed square footage requirements.

In a report of the meeting, she said discussion looked at the size and number of banners depending on the building or road frontage. They also discussed exempting non-profit banners, to be allowed all the time and not be considered part of the frontage percentage.

Augustin said quality and quantity are important to businesses, and they discussed having more flexibility for the time in which banners can be displayed. Current code says a business can only use a banner for 90 days total in a year.

Discussion also focused on limits for requiring only professionally created banners. There was also talk of the “need to maximize exposure,” and having banners not just for advertising but for permanent display, such as for hours of operation. Augustin said there is also the issue of having Christmas season needs, versus the year-round needs to have signs all the time.

In discussing potential changes to the county sign ordinance regarding banners, Supervisor Richard Forster said some businesses double or triple their business with banners.

A Roundtable Pizza representative said “right now our sales are so low that we are in danger of closing.” He said it was a “$1 million-plus restaurant when we opened” and now it makes about $900,000. He said “banners are very important” and they see about a 10 percent increase when banners are used.

Susan Manning of The Feed Barn said she needs three banners. One is permanent, for Tri-County Wildcare. Others are periodic, for cat & kitten adoptions, and dog adoptions. She said they change banners on PVC pipes regularly, and also put small signs on their fence.

Manning asked Supervisors to not enforce the current code, because “only allowing one banner for 90 days is not enough.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.