City Sign Ordinance Rankling Some Businesses

A city ordinance limiting businesses to one sign is upsetting some Yakima merchants as code enforcement officers work to make sure the rule is followed.

City Codes Manager Joe Caruso explains the ordinance this way:

You want a sign in the window or you want that sign that sticks in the sidewalk like a flag you have to make a choice which one.

Caruso says he has had to tell many business owners to reconsider signage.

The ordinance has been in place for years, but a citizen survey called for a cleanup of certain areas of the city. CIty officials then decided to begin enforcing the sign ordinance, setting off the current grumbling.

Caruso says the city plans to revisit the sign ordinance and hold a study session on the issue within the month. He believes he will get an easing of the sign standards after the city deals further with the issue.