By Cecily Barnes
When city officials ordered pumpkin patch manager Brady Gibson to deflate a large plastic, pumpkin-shaped balloon two weeks ago, they had no idea they would spark a controversial debate over Saratoga's sign ordinance.
Some residents were outraged that the festive ornament had been removed, going so far as to say they were embarrassed to live in Saratoga. Others felt the city had done well by enforcing the ordinance. But people of both dispositions had definite thoughts on Saratoga's sign ordinance, and no one was happy that the city had been portrayed as the Grinch that stole Halloween.
On Oct 22, a pumpkin patch at Saratoga and McFarland avenues was forced to deflate and remove a 20-by-20-foot, $2,950 inflated pumpkin because the city's sign law forbids large balloons and similar attention-getting devices on commercial property.
After residents caught word of what occurred, Community Development Director Paul Curtis was bombarded with phone calls. Soon after, he figured out a way the friendly balloon face could be reinflated. According to the zoning restrictions, Curtis explained, the pumpkin patch was not supposed to be there at all.
"The zone allows Christmas tree sales, but not pumpkin patch [operations]," Joseph Oncay, city code administrator, explained.
However, for $365, Curtis is authorized to issue temporary-use permits good for ten days or less, which allow for outdoor sales and the right to display typically prohibited signage. Curtis contacted pumpkin patch owner Kevin Kooney with this offer, but Kooney declined, saying it wasn't worth paying the $365 fee for only two more weeks of pumpkin sales.
"The city could have told the pumpkin patch to take their pumpkins ... home, but in light of the fact that they've been there, we did not," Oncay said. "Also, we believe the intent of the ordinance would allow that type of use, so next year we will require the property owner to apply for a variance."
Saratoga's sign ordinance forbids the display of "streamers, banners, balloons, flares, flags, pennants, twirlers and similar attention-getting devices" on commercial property.
But 19-year-old Brady Gibson, manager of the pumpkin lot, thinks city officials were just being Halloween grinches.
"It's not like it was some God-awful pumpkin that was an eyesore when you drove by it," Gibson said.
Some Saratoga residents are absolutely appalled that the city enforced this code so stringently.
"I thought it was handled very poorly," said Saratoga resident Gail Caratozzolo. "Common sense should have been applied. Rules or no rules, have them fill out a form and expedite this thing."
Resident Nancy Varnell felt the same way.
"It's so embarrassing, it makes you wish you didn't live here," Varnell said. "I wish that, before they took it down, they had tried to find a way to work it out and get a variance."
But Curtis and Oncay say they were just doing their job.
"We're just enforcing the citizens' laws and ordinances," Oncay said. "Had we not enforced the ordinance, we would have been remiss in our duty."
According to Curtis, the city does not proactively enforce the sign ordinance. Instead, city officials just respond to complaints.
The city's sign ordinance has been a contentious issue for other businesses. This past June, Dolce Vita's Sasha Lunginovic received a citation for displaying a "2 for 1 on Tuesday" banner in front of his restaurant. Also, residents have raised the issue of garage sale signs. Presently, the city allows only one garage sale sign on a person's property for advertisement. Some who hold garage sales claim additional signs are needed to direct patrons to the sale's location.
"The current sign ordinance does not provide for off-site directional signs," Curtis said. "But we're reviewing several sections of the sign ordinance."
Saratoga's sign ordinance is very clear about its purpose: "to preserve the natural beauty of the city, to maintain the orderliness of the community's appearance, to conserve its residential character and to protect the public safety."
Oncay stressed that he was simply enforcing the ordinance.
"If Saratoga residents want these types of festive decorations, than it's up to the citizens to express that they want their city council to have the ordinance modified," he said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, November 6, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved