(CLARITY) – Have you ever noticed that the signs in Simi Valley are really small? Well, that’s because of an ordinance the city made a long time ago in the 1960s. Before that, there were a lot of signs everywhere, like in Van Nuys or Long Beach. The new city ordinance was intended to make the town look better.
Under this new rule, there are lots of requirements and considerations for signs. For example, business owners can’t use signs that move or light up, or that change messages more than once every 30 seconds. They also can’t use inflatable signs, except for a short time for special promotions. And they can’t use really big pole signs or signs that move or turn around. They also can’t use permanent banners or streamers that might distract drivers.
Here are ten possible reasons why a city like Simi might want to limit the size and height of signs:
- Aesthetics: Tall signs might look bad or be too noticeable in certain parts of the city.
- Traffic visibility: Big signs might block people’s view of traffic or traffic signals, which could cause accidents.
- Light pollution: Signs that are too tall or too bright might create too much light at night and disturb people who live or work nearby.
- Safety: Tall signs might fall over in strong winds or bad weather and hurt people or damage cars.
- Property values: Tall signs might make people who live or work nearby not want to be there, which could affect how much their property is worth.
- Advertising saturation: Limiting the size of signs might prevent there from being too many signs and make it less cluttered.
- Branding consistency: If all the signs have to be the same size, it might look better and be easier to recognize a brand.
- Neighborhood character: Tall signs might not fit in with the look of certain neighborhoods and make them look worse.
- Historical preservation: In some places, tall signs might not match the look of a neighborhood from the past and ruin efforts to keep it looking the same.
- Zoning regulations: There might be rules about the size of signs in different parts of the city.
If you want to learn more about the sign rules in Simi Valley, you can look on the city’s website. If you own a business and don’t like these rules, you can share your thoughts in the comments below.
