S. Tahoe gathering input on outdoor displays
South Lake Tahoe is hosting a community meeting to receive public input on outdoor displays in front of businesses.
The meeting is Jan. 30 from 5:30-7pm at Lake Tahoe Airport.
Item to be discusses include:
- Should additional commercial area be allowed in front of businesses? If so, how much?
- Should any types of commercial retail products be allowed?
- Should the products be related to the business or ancillary to the business?
Some examples would be good.
I think sandwich boards of an average size range would be fine.
Retail products? would this be like a bin of sale items, and/or a rolling rack of clothes on sale?
I think the wind doohickies at the gallery in the crescent shopping center are nice, but maybe I wouldn’t like a 100 plastic pinwheels staked out front of a business.
Think of a European tourist area and you envision tables outside of restaurants.
I suspect the retailers at the Village are going to show up in force for this one. They by far make up the largest concentration of outdoor displays of retail goods in the city. I believe that with the right atmosphere (as advocate points out and it is not necessarily “tourist areas”) this is entirely acceptable and should be encouraged. Unfortunately very few businesses between the “Y” and the Village (not to mention the 50 corridor itself) provide the atmosphere for this type of displays or outdoor dining experience.
Whatever decisions are made expect a public outcry somewhat like parking meters down the road. Especially from those who did not attend the meeting.
Bob:
I completely agree with your speculative remarks. Along with the outcry from the usual cast of characters will come the comments such as “I never heard anything about this!”; or “The City is trying to shove this down the community’s throat!”; or “If this is so great why did the City keep it so quiet?” But none of those comments will be made until after this matter has been reported on in this publication. The fact that this topic would have been scheduled on at least one City Council agenda which is publicly posted on the City’s website in advance of the Council meeting will be entirely ignored by those who make no attempt to be informed about the content of those meetings until after the occurrence.
There’s a time and place to be restrictive and add regulation. Now isn’t one of those times. Let the poor businesses do what they need to pick up business, for now. Anything truly unsightly would likely harm business, so I don’t see what excess business inhibiting regulation would do to help. And any outdoor display would be minor enough to be reversible if it were truly outlandish. I really don’t understand the question. Sounds like some officials have much extra time on their hands. Really no more urgent issues facing SLT?
I agree with DougM – truly, any restrictive or added regulation should not be put on businesses in this time – almost all are hanging on by a shoestring or after this lack of snow will no longer be in business. People need to wake up. No more regulation and taxes especially in the more dire times. I think this may be hard for others to understand unless they are job creators (business owners). Thank you for your post DougM, I truly do not understand either this “pressing” issue of signs in our poor town.
And as far as “public input” meetings go where the City is concerned – many of us stopped attending those a long time ago when everything was already decided by the City – the meetings are a way to placate the public into thinking they have any input at all when the decision is already made.