city of ann arbor’s new sign ordinance
Notice to small business owners in downtown Ann Arbor: the city has a new sign ordinance, Chapter 61, that regulates signs and sandwich boards, because the bureaucrats who run our fair city have nothing better to do with their time than to make life even more of a struggle for already struggling small businesses. I have just been issued a Notice of Code Violation that prohibits me from putting out my sandwich board on the corner of Ann/4th Ave and the metal sign I place in the garden outside my store. The city administrators were eager to give Google several hundred free parking spaces to encourage that corporation to open an office here in Ann Arbor, yet just as eager to let small businesses know they don’t give a damn about us. If this pisses you off, please write your council reps to let them know they should be supporting us, not making it harder to stay in business! www.a2gov.org
Here’s the text of the letter I sent to the mayor and my council rep. I encourage anybody who cares about our LOCAL downtown merchants to contact City Hall on this one:
I read a post from my friend, Vicki Honeyman, that she has been issued a ticket for a violation of the sign ordinance (sandwich board on North Fourth and a metal sign in her front garden on Ann St.)
I have to say, with ALL the benefits being showered on companies like Google, it makes me absolutely sick that small local businesses are being harassed with this type of minutia. It’s hard enough for a small retail operation like Vicki’s shop (Heavenly Metal) to weather this economy without getting slammed by the city for trying to create a bit more visibility for her place.
I understand there are rules about these things, but seriously, North Fourth and the surrounding neighborhoods have a funky downtown charm, and sandwich boards and well-made hand-crafted signage are totally suitable for their surroundings. Why has the city decided to go after this particular part of town when there are eyesores aplenty elsewhere? I can’t imagine any of the people who actually live and work in this area of town would ever complain about this, but rather, idiotic rules are being clumsily applied across the board, without one shred of contextual analysis. Sadly, this is typical of ordinances of this type.
It’s not as if they are hanging huge, garish banners across the road (which seems to be acceptable in certain downtown spots) or plastering their logo all over the city in permanent fixtures (like the hideous “art” bike racks).
In any case, I just wanted to send in a note of SUPPORT to all the LOCAL retailers who are totally busting their behinds on a daily basis, only to get hassled by officious bureaucrats for pretty much a non-issue.
I know this isn’t your balliwyck, but I wanted to send you a note. Copying my council representative (sabra).