by Parnia Mazhar
and Ryan McDonald
An ordinance drafted with the help of local retailers manages to stir resentment among city business owners? Call it a sign of the times.
The ordinance, regulating A-frame signs in Hermosa Beach went into effect last week. Some retailers displaying the signs were shocked to receive correction notices, informing them that businesses were obligated to register the signs and pay a $535 one-time fee, plus a $90 annual fee, amounts that many business owners have called excessive.
“I’m okay with fees and permits, but I think thinks particular fee is extreme and prohibitive for small businesses here on Pier Avenue,” said Catherine Gimple, owner of Splintered Heart, a local clothing store. “It seems contradictory for promoting small businesses and this retail destination that we have, now that this whole pier has been upgraded to be pedestrian-friendly.”
According to senior planner Kim Chafin, the fee is not a revenue-generator, but is designed to cover enforcement and monitoring costs associated with A-frame signs, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If the City Council was concerned that the cost was too high for small businesses to afford, it could consider collecting the fee in installments or subsidizing the fee out of the general fund, decisions that could be made when the council is presented with its city fee study later this year, City Manager Tom Bakaly said.
Regulation of A-frame signs is not a new issue in Hermosa. Other cities in the South Bay, including Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance, have blanket bans. Several years ago, Hermosa began “Operation Clean Sweep,” a code enforcement program in the downtown area in response to complaints about cluttered streets and sidewalks.
In August of last year the City Council directed code enforcement staff to make enforcement of existing A-frame sign regulations a low priority as the city debated how to address A-frame signs. Meanwhile, a working group composed of local businesses including Wicked+, Gum Tree Cafe and Gift Shop and Spyder, and Kim MacMullan, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau, helped the city draft regulations.
An ordinance emerged from the Planning Commission in April, and the City Council passed it May 24. Under the new regulations, A-frame signs would be permitted on Pier and Hermosa avenues, but not on Pier Plaza or Pacific Coast Highway. During the public hearing on the ordinance, only one person spoke, and did so in favor of the ordinance. During discussion, Councilmember Stacey Armato expressed some concern over the cost, but ultimately joined her colleagues to pass the regulations  4-1; then Mayor pro tem Hany Fangary opposed them out of concerns over aesthetics.
Following passage, the city sent out a letter July 15 informing business owners of the change. They also held an informational meeting with the chamber of commerce on July 31.
Nonetheless, many business owners felt taken by surprise. Emily Baum, who gives piano lessons out of a small Pier Avenue studio, received the city’s letter informing her of the updated ordinance, but she assumed it was junk mail.
Baum was among the businesses to receive a correction notice last week. She attended Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to explain her concerns, and said that she and other businesses would certainly have opposed the ordinance back in May had they been aware.
“It didn’t hit me until I received the [correction notice]. Had I known they were voting, I would definitely have shown up,” she said. “I had to reschedule piano lessons to be here tonight.”
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that there is a $535 annual fee for merchants to have A-frame signs.
