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Soon they could be waving goodbye

Motorists honk. Children wave back. But a sign ordinance threatens these roadside characters.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published January 28, 2007

LARGO - A 7-foot-tall aqua-colored Statue of Liberty sways back and forth on the sidewalk near East Bay Plaza, waving and blowing kisses at passing cars.

Motorists honk. A little boy in a red Chevrolet Prizm smiles and waves back.

"I'm a natural clown," brags Hezron Watson, 26, the man inside the Lady Liberty outfit.

He peers through a mesh flap in the neck of the costume.

"I've always been a people person."

But characters like Watson may soon be a rarity.

City officials, in the midst of revising the city's sign rules, said it's time to regulate the characters, too.

Liberty Tax Service has hired Watson and 10 other "wavers" to catch the attention of passers-by and persuade them to stop by.

And it works, said Liberty office coordinator Don Blackwell.

"I think our wavers are one of the most important parts of the business," Blackwell said.

The characters, who often hold signs saying things like, "Have Fun & Get Your Taxes Done," attract about a third of his customers, he said.

But some officials said parts of Largo have become a virtual carnival, with sign-waving people dressed as patriotic characters, cell phones and pizza slices.

City commissioners have asked their staff to draft an ordinance, which is slated to come before commissioners in March.

* * *

Most city commissioners aren't passionate about the subject of roadside character advertising.

Then there's Commissioner Gay Gentry.

"Surely, in all of marketing, people have figured out that there's a better way to get people to do business with you than dress somebody up," Gentry said recently. "It is not safe for somebody to stand on the road where traffic is going 45 mph, if they're lucky, and stand there in a costume."

But Commissioner Mary Gray Black said she doesn't think it's fair to regulate the sign-waving characters.

"I would ask that the businesspeople not be restricted from something that we as commissioners do every election when we stand on the corner, dangerous as it might be, and wave 'Vote for me' signs," Black said. "If it's good enough for us, then I think it should be good enough for those who pay a tax to run a business in the city."

Some other cities, like Clearwater, also regulate such activity. There, characters aren't prohibited. But the city bans signs for commercial purposes held by people in public rights of way or visible from the rights of way, said Bob Hall, the city's development services manager.

In St. Petersburg, when it comes to characters, anything goes.

Sally Eichler, director of code compliance assistance, said she isn't aware of any restrictions that address people in costumes standing outside businesses on private property or public rights of way.

Largo staffers initially recommended including characters as part of the sign category, which would have effectively banned them.

City Manager Steve Stanton ticked off the reasons for a ban.

"It looks tacky, it's unsafe for traffic, it distracts drivers and it is dehumanizing to the person you pay to do the work," he said.

But most commissioners thought outlawing characters entirely was overkill.

Instead, they asked the city to regulate them by limiting how often businesses can have them. One option, officials said, is to treat sign-waving characters as a special event, allowing businesses to pay for a permit to have the characters two or three times a year, for about 15 days each shot.

* * *

Blackwell said that type of restriction could hurt his business, which uses characters daily for four months during tax season.

Small businesses like his often can't afford high-priced advertising like commercials, he said. And the costumed characters, who get paid about $7 an hour, can be even more effective because they add a "personal touch."

Fast Facts:

Proposed sign code changes

- Regulate costumed characters and other "nontraditional" signs.

- Prohibit tall pole signs.

- Allow low-profile monument signs, ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall, depending on the type of business and number of tenants.

- Allow small directory signs in addition to other monument signs on multitenant projects.

- Make sign codes consistent in Clearwater-Largo Road and West Bay Drive redevelopment areas.

- Relax sign rules during major road construction.

[Last modified January 28, 2007, 05:42:28]