The Oro Valley Town Council decided last night to not add monetary enforcement("Fines") to as a means of enforcing the temporary sign and outdoor display rules. This was the consensus of the majority on council."Haven't we already discussed this?" noted Council Member Hornat. "Its working. Do nothing," he noted, referring to the "fact" that there are only 4 current violators of the temporary rules.
Council Member Waters was curious as to why enforcement would even be considered because there are only three violators. He had visited the Fry's store at Rooney Ranch that morning. This is the habitual violator we noted in yesterday's blog posting, Waters had decided that the store was in substantial compliance with current ordinances.
Council Member Snider noted that she did not believe in any fines for lack of compliance but that she believe that these rules should be made a permanent part of the sign and outdoor display ordinance.
Council Members Zinkin and Garner had requested that this discussion be added to the agenda. It was their hope, as they noted, that the Council would agree that some measure of enforcement is required even if there is only one habitual violator. Their opinion was in the minority.
Mayor Hiremath allowed public discussion at the meeting.
Dave Perry, President of the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce said that he got tremendous political capital from having the Council approve these temporary provisions annually; but that he was willing to forgo these "kudos" if indeed the temporary rules were made permanent. He said he would not support any fines for lack of compliance.
Citizen Don Bristow discussed the public safety aspect of outdoor display rules. The Council, however, did not discuss the public safety aspect of enforcing the sign and display rules. For example, the Americans Disabilities Act requires that 4-foot widths be in place for safe passage.
Council members agreed to consider whether the the temporary sign and outdoor display rules will be made a permanent part of the town code as a future council meeting item.
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2 comments:
I'd like to repeat...
If you watched Wednesday's Council Meeting, you know the cleanup at Fry's was part of a set-up for this meeting. It seems Mr. Waters went over to Fry's, on Oracle, Wednesday and said he measured the display. He said everything was perfect.
Isn't it amazing after 1 1/2 years, Fry's chose Wednesday to comply with the rules? Isn't it amazing the Vice Mayor chose Wednesday to measure outdoor displays at Fry's. Where has he been for the last 1 1/2 years?
The Vice Mayor again demonstrated his dislike of a fellow council member when he, angrily, asked why this item was even on the agenda.
Council wants no fines to enforce the SIMPLE rules. Thus, 3 or 4 business will continue to disregard those rules. That is so unfair to all of the businesses who take the time to learn the rules and comply with them.
As Mr. Bristow stated, these rules contain ADA regulations for safety. Do the Council and these non-complying business not care about ADA regulations or the safety of Oro Valley citizens?
The mayoral/council election cannot come soon enough for me.
There are currently four violators of the temporary sign/outdoor display rules, to which Hornat replies, "It's working. Do nothing."
Snider does not believe in any fines for lack of compliance.
What is the incentive to comply if there are no consequences for non-compliance?
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