At Tuesday’s board of supervisors’ meeting, Chairman Kevin Cann brought a public discussion item to the floor regarding enforcement of the County’s nearly 20-year old sign ordinance.

Cann explained that the board has been receiving an increased number of complaints about the ordinance from new business owners, and said he had empathy for those individuals.

“When someone asks me why do I have to comply when the person across the street doesn’t, I don’t have a good answer,” Cann said. “If we are going to enforce it (the ordinance), we enforce it, or we change it.”

In 1991 the board of supervisors adopted a sign ordinance that is fairly restrictive, and was designed to maintain the historical flavor of Mariposa, particularly in the historic overlay district.

The board took a number of comments from concerned residents and business operators, and one of the primary complaints was the level of ambiguity contained in the ordinance, and its lack of rules regarding signage that exists now and didn’t 20-years ago.

Dell Knell, a retired business operator, presented the board with a letter, and spoke from it at the podium. She read, “I would like the board to take action regarding the ordinance because of the ‘tackiness’ that has slowly perpetrated our streets.”

Ron Iudice, who owns Seventh Street Properties, read a letter from one of his tenants, Steve Lach, who operates Mariposa Brewing. Lach decried the 32 square foot maximum size, saying it was “too small to drive traffic to the side streets.” Lach recently moved his operation from the fairgrounds to Seventh Street and wanted to know, “Why are we being threatened with fines and penalties in this economy?” He also asked why the taco trucks that operate in Mariposa aren’t required to comply, since they are certainly over 32 square feet in display space.

Ruth Sellers, a member of the Historic Sites Commission, said, “Signage is to retain the historic value of our town in the historic overlay. People on the side streets signage is not our issue.”

Realtor Tolley Gorham told the board that this as an inforcement issue, but that citizens filing complaints against other citizens is not the way to enforce the ordinance. He asked the board to find some agency to enforce the ordinance, even if it was the sheriff’s department.

Eleanor Keuning, also a member of the Historic Sites Commission, said the ordinance doesn’t address the sandwich boards that are multiplying in the downtown area.

Resident Ruth Catalan said, “The sandwich boards are hideous. They are dangerously proliferating on our street. We should get rid of the sandwich boards. They are dangerous and don’t add to the ambiance of Mariposa.”

Lester Bridges, who operated NAPA Auto Parts in both downtown Mariposa and now in its expansive store on Coakley Circle for decades said, “We feel if the board has a code it needs to be enforced, or addressed. Maybe we need some ‘sign police,’ or maybe we need to revisit an ordinance drafted in 1991.” Bridges is now retired, and is the president of the Mariposa Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Dulcich, whose family has operated in downtown Mariposa for decades, told the board, “We’ve seen a lot of changes in downtown Mariposa, some good, some not so good. I go downtown almost every evening, and I am always having people ask me where the Comfort Inn is. They can’t find it.”

Dulcich added, “Businesses have to be represented to the public. I think our ordinance is a little too restrictive. Businesses have to survive. They are the backbone of the commuity, so we have to promote business.”

Supervisor Jim Allen addressed the statements made by Keuning and Gorham. He told Keuning that off-site signs are prohibited by the ordinance, which would include the sandwich boards. He asked Gorham, “This is a civil issue, not a criminal issue. Do you really want the sheriff’s office enforcing this ordinance?”

Cann said, “It’s clear that we have to fix some quirks. That’s why we’re taking this input. But the first time a tourist falls over a sandwich board and sues Caltrans, our world downtown will change.”

The board will bring the issue back with suggestions for alterations, amendments and enforcement. A date for that effort wasn’t announced.