PODS to city: Sign rules unworkable

The company had nine months to make its signs fit Clearwater's rules. But the company says the storage units are in use so much there hasn't been time to fix them.

By MONIQUE FIELDS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 12, 2001

CLEARWATER -- A year after PODS agreed to abide by a city ordinance restricting the size of signs on its storage containers, the company is asking the city to reconsider its position.

The problem, PODS representatives say, is the storage units are rarely returned to the manufacturing plant for retrofitting because they are sent from one job to the next. As a result, only 350 of 1,000 PODS targeted for change have been retrofitted with smaller signs in the last year, said Jacquelyn Cosentino-Georges, a legal risk manager for PODS.

PODS -- which is short for Portable On Demand Storage -- didn't mandate that all units be sent to the manufacturing plant because that would cause delays for customers.

"Most of the time when people want to move, they don't want to wait," Cosentino-Georges said.

In some cases, PODS units have been retrofitted, but the driver didn't flip the sign to make it smaller after entering Clearwater, she said.

The St. Petersburg-based company now says it cannot "in good faith give a reasonable forecast of when we might be able to complete the retrofitting."

City officials say they are at least open to reconsidering the matter.

"The question we have to weigh is, do we want to deny the citizens of Clearwater the service of PODS," said Garry Brumback, an assistant city manager.

On any given day, there are about 40 PODS units stationed in Clearwater.

The company has promised to submit a proposal to the city in the next few weeks, Brumback said. But a decision will ultimately fall to city commissioners.

The ordinance, passed Aug. 3, 2000, allows portable storage units to sit on residential property for up to four days, four times a year. The units can be adorned with two signs that are no larger than 12 inches by 18 inches each. The units must have a placard on them indicating the date they were delivered and can't impede the right of way of motorists or pedestrians.

Residents say they want the ordinance enforced. They are irked because PODS helped shape the existing ordinance and the company had a nine-month grace period before the city cites errant storage units.

They liken the signs to roadside billboards and say they detract from a neighborhood's character.

"They're just ugly," said Saundra Curry, president of the Clubhouse Estates at Countryside Inc., a homeowner association. "If you're going to have an ordinance and not going to enforce it, what's the purpose of the ordinance?"

Both Curry and Grovewood area resident Dave Campbell say they have tried to rectify the issue with PODS by reporting problems to the company. Campbell sat in on meetings with city officials and acted as a liaison between the city and residents late last year. But soon he found that PODS wasn't receptive to his telephone calls, and he talked with city officials about taking other action. He is frustrated that the company wants to revisit the ordinance.

"I think that's ludicrous," said Campbell. "I hope the commissioners can see through this."

PODS representatives say the company is trying to be a good neighbor.

"We've never set out to be anything but cooperative," said Cosentino-Georges.

Under the grace period, PODS had until April 29 to comply with the ordinance, said Jeff Kronschnabl, development services director. In May, he warned PODS that the city would start issuing citations that carry $81 fines. Seven citations were issued in June and July because signs on containers were either too big or the containers sat on the residential property longer than four days. No citations will be written while the matter is under review, but Kronschnabl said when he has called the company with concerns, representatives have addressed them.

After the citations were issued, PODS scheduled a meeting with city officials. On July 26, they asked the city to reconsider.

Commissioners say they haven't made up their minds, but it will take some persuading to make any changes to the ordinance.

"I'm very concerned with the character of neighborhoods," said Commissioner Bill Jonson. "The thing I don't understand is why they are not able to comply with the existing city ordinance."

Commissioner Ed Hart agreed: "It's difficult for us to change the rules after the fact," he said. "They need to prove to us why they can't comply to what they originally agreed to."

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