No doubt, sign codes are necessary. But when the code takes days to wade through that is a bit much.
Wouldn't it be great for the Glenwood Meadows tenants (and likely the upcoming VCR tenants if the development passes by voters) if our local municipalities would sit down and revise it all down into a simple, appropriate and acceptable couple pages tops?
Dorothy Atkins:
"...The conversation was side-tracked however when local businesswoman Shirley Tipton, owner of The Aspen Emporium and Flying Circus, criticized the city for not only making the sign code application difficult for a new business owner, but for generally making the process of opening a new business in the a commercial core a bureaucratic nightmare.
“Going through the sign application process is way less fun than a root canal,” Tipton said. “It has been confusing and onerous and certainly not clear.”
Tipton suggested that there be an adequate appeal process for signs not following protocol and she questioned the reasoning behind allowing for window advertisements, but restricting the size of sign letter cutouts.
Tipton’s business was one of the first new stores to open since City Council directed staff to crack down on signage-related clutter about a year ago, she noted.
“It might be interesting to test your own process,” Tipton said. “And it’s not incredibly friendly.”
Community Development Director Chris Bendon echoed Tipton’s concerns about how difficult the city makes it for small business owners to open and suggested that the city either create a kind of starter kit for new entrepreneurs that would outline the ins-and-outs of Aspen policies and taxes or have a staff position dedicated to assisting new business owners.
“At this point, it’s sort of learn the hard way,” said Bendon on how most new owners figure out local laws and policies.
Council agreed and noted that the issue deserves its own work session. The sign code is just the tip of the iceberg, Councilman Derek Johnson said.
“It would be good,” Mayor Mick Ireland said on creating a guide for new business owners. “The experience you had should not be replicated Shirley.”
City staff’s request on sign protocol came after police officers — at the direction of city planners — cited and fined La Crêperie du Village, a new restaurant at the corner of Mill Street and Hopkins Avenue, for having a sign that was several feet to large by the city’s standards.
“I apologize for the discomfort that that causes, really for anyone in the community that hears about an enforcement action that is less than pleasant,” said Bendon of the confrontation between the police and the business owner..."
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