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Politics & Government

Council Discusses Village Signs, Vows to Fight for SmartMeter Victims

Stand-alone signs (the business-owner preferred name for them) were the hot item on the agenda last night.

The council chambers at Capitola City Hall were calmer Thursday night than two weeks ago, when the room was the site of a . This week’s agenda featured the less controversial, but equally pressing issue of stand-alone signs in Capitola Village.  

Many Village business owners showed up to address the council about the sandwich board amendment, which was revisited and discussed at great length before being sent back to the Planning Commission to be addressed during their first meeting in March. 

Karl Heiman, owner of , presented the council with the sample sign that the Capitola Village Wharf and Business Improvement Association, business owners, and residents had come up with as a solution to the , which business owners say are imperative for business.

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“The economic condition in the village has been pretty bad since 2008. It’s slowly getting better but there a lot of businesses hurting, and there are a lot of empty spaces,” said Heiman. “Business owners have begun to realize that having sandwich board signs helps revenues, and every bit of help we can get we really need.”

Heiman showed a sample sign that is not an A-frame design, it’s a “Stand Alone” sign that would sit on the pole, either in a hole in the cement sidewalk or on an umbrella stand that can be moved—the latter to which Mayor Mike Termini commented, “I’m not feeling love on that concept.”  

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The signs would be made by Pleasure Point Signs, would be consistent, preserving the look and feel of Capitola Village, and would require a permit for each business. The Planning Commission will discuss the number of signs allowed, placement, and size and report back to the council.

Other highlights of the meeting included:

-The council was updated on the , which the county of Santa Cruz amended on Tuesday to temporarily exclude restaurants from the provisions of the ban, which will go into effect on March 20.

-An Urgency Ordinance banning the installation of PG&E SmartMeters in the city was discussed, and Mayor Termini said passing the ordinance would only be symbolic. All councilmembers expressed their opposition to the opt-out fees.

“These meters were forced on people, they weren’t given a choice, and that was the problem to begin with. They shouldn’t be charged to undo the mistake that PG&E made,” said Councilmember Sam Storey.

Mayor Termini made a motion to draft a letter to PG&E through the City Manager that would forcefully object the users fees, instead of passing the ordinance to continue the moratorium on SmartMeters. The motion was passed 3-2 vote, with Harlan and Kirby Nicol opposing.

“We need to attack what’s happening now, which is the cost to residents,” Termini said.

-The council voted unanimously to accept the hazard abatement work at the Rispin Mansion as complete. Councilmember Dennis Norton pushed for the property to be given back to the community by removing the fence around it.

Nicol opposed the idea, saying the fence protects the $500,000 of work that was put into the mansion, keeping it from being defaced by graffiti as it had been before the work was done. No decision was made regarding the removal of the fence.

Any thoughts on the big issues from Thursday? Would you support signs in the Village? How do you feel about another symbolic move against SmartMeters? Do you want the fence removed from the Rispin Mansion? Tell us in the comments!

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