Almaden Resident
News
Small business owners find rules on allowable signage too restrictive
By Sarah Holcomb
When Almaden Valley businesswoman Martha Kelley opened her multimedia company at the corner of Almaden Expressway and Camden Avenue, and later added notary public services, she didn't think the store's location off the beaten path behind Bank of America would be a problem. Kelley simply placed an A-frame sign on the northwest pedestrian island of the intersection to notify potential customers of her business.
She instantly saw an increase in business. Kelley said at least 10 people a week would tell her the sign led them to her office.
About a year later, Kelley received a note from an anonymous group called Friends for a Beautiful Almaden asking her to stop placing the sign on the island. The sign mysteriously disappeared two weeks later.
A sign at that location is illegal. Santa Clara County, which has jurisdiction over expressways, does not allow signs along sidewalks or medians.
Under city law, citizens are permitted to remove illegally placed signs of little value, such as garage sale signs on poster board.
Kelley said she paid about $200 for her sign, which still has not been found. Kelley said her business has since suffered.
"Small businesses are closing all over Almaden, and it's losing any personality it once had," Kelley said. "People who are trying to clean it up don't realize it affects our income. We have to make a living."
She's not the only one concerned about the signage laws. Other business owners, including Charlie Major of Charlie's Cheesecake Works in the Redwood Plaza, said he would like to see ordinance changes to allow more opportunities for business owners to use signage.
Under the city's signage law, what is allowed in one neighborhood isn't necessarily permitted in another. Temporary A-frames, for example, are banned from most public streets--unless the A-frames are real estate signs directing potential buyers to open houses or the signs are located in special districts, such as downtown and along The Alameda. County-controlled expressways, such as Almaden Expressway, have another set of regulations.
While businesses in special districts have benefited from these exemptions, many businesses in the Almaden Valley have not, business owners say.
Major said he would like more signage for his business in the Redwood Plaza, but he is limited to the small sign hanging over his shop.
"Signage is all we have to tell people we're here," Major said. "We're stuck here in the back, and if someone knows we're here, they'll find us, but they'll never get here any other way."
Jamie Matthews, code enforcement administrator for the city, said signage rules exist for public safety.
Because of the size and geographic diversity of San Jose, Matthews said the city's ordinance is one of the most comprehensive in the area.
The ordinance was last updated a year ago to accommodate the different areas of the city.
"San Jose is a tapestry of communities woven together through annexation," Matthews said. "The communities were built at different times, have different architectural styles and flavors. The ordinance is very comprehensive and includes all of that."
On The Alameda, for example, storeowners are allowed to have their signs on sidewalks because the sidewalks are wider than normal, and the signs don't create a safety hazard, Matthews said.
Matthews gave many reasons for the city allowing real estate signs on city sidewalks.
"The Realtor signs are temporary in nature. They usually display information about an event, they're directional and they're usually only out on the weekends," Matthews said. "The nature of real estate as a business is different from a fixed commercial business."
Kelley argues her sign was also directional in nature, and notarizing documents is a public service.
