Car dealerships in Sunnyvale may soon find an expanded menu of options for advertising through signs.

The city council, at its April 27th meeting, unanimously voted to add two items to the list of study-issue priorities for the Community Development Department. City staff members will now investigate reviving the Auto Dealer Decorative Banner Program and revising the sign code for auto dealerships.

These tasks were added to a seven-item list; any items delayed by these additions will be continued on the priority list for the next calendar year.

City will pay for the
sewer lateral service

At the April 27 city council meeting, funding was restored to the sewer lateral service, a program that sends city staff to repair the links between residences and the larger sewer system. Such a repair can cost up to $5,000.

The program was cut for the 2003/2004 fiscal year due to the budget crisis, but the council heard complaints from residents almost immediately after the decision.

Council appropriated $63,694 from a wastewater fund reserve to cover the service just through the end of this fiscal year, on June 30. The service is slated for the upcoming budget. In previous years, the service was paid for through a surcharge—approximately 38 cents—on all utility bills. That charge will resume starting July 1 under the presumption that the service will be part of the 2004/2005 budget.