Home

Steamboat Springs — Several business owners on streets off Lincoln Avenue say they're in crisis and could be in danger of failing if they don't get city help with sign rules.

Steamboat Springs code officials met with a few of the business owners Thursday to talk about their options. The businesses wanted rules relaxed on sandwich boards and banners, but the city representatives urged them to seek other solutions. The group agreed to pursue semi-permanent signs on the corners of Lincoln.

Code enforcement officer Barb Wheeler and Tracy Barnett, manager of Mainstreet Steamboat Springs, arranged the meeting of the minds. It took place in a model unit of the new Howelsen Place development. The meeting sometimes grew tense as participants hunted for a compromise.

"I think something needs to be done immediately," said Leslie Faulkner, who owns Sweet Potato Lingerie on Eighth Street.

She expressed frustration with rules banning sandwich boards and limiting banners. City officials said they couldn't just toss out those rules and that businesses should create a sign plan to present to the city. But the businesses can't afford to put together an expensive proposal, Faulkner said.

"The problem is, we're losing a lot of money, and we can barely keep our doors open," Faulkner said.

Business owners said any sandwich boards would be well designed and appealing.

But "we can't regulate taste," senior city planner Jonathan Spence said.

Sandwich boards also would add clutter to sidewalks, he said. And if the city relaxed the rules, every business would put out a board or banner, rendering them ineffective, Spence said.

"Part of the charm of Old Town is it doesn't have the schlock of sandwich boards and banners," Spence said.

But some historic downtowns have eased rules, Faulkner pointed out. For example, Alexandria, Va., started allowing sidewalk signs. Barnett and the city staff members agreed to review that city's plan.

Businesses' problems are urgent, and their effects are widespread, Faulkner said.

"We're talking about tax revenue, too," she said. "We make money; we give it to the city."

That brought cringes to the faces of the city employees. They're painfully aware of the revenue stream, they said, alluding to city budget cuts that will affect their hours and pay.

City staff members pointed out that they called the meeting because they want to help.

"We have people on Main Street, and we want to get them to the side streets," Wheeler said.

Mark Scully, of Green Courte Partners, which owns Howelsen Place, proposed a plan. He would get his signage consultant on a conference call to discuss a temporary fix. The group decided to focus on street-corner signs that can be bolted to the sidewalk. Those could direct pedestrians to businesses on side streets.

Scully's sign consultant could put together a sample, and if the city accepted it, that could become the standard. More permanent signs could be added later. The city would like those to include community information, too, Spence said.

Scully was confident his sign company, ASI-Modulex, would come up with sketches in no time.

"We get these guys, they'll have it done in a week," he said.

Spence was optimistic the city would be open to permanent street-corner signs.

"If you come up with something like that, that's something I can get behind," he said.