Northpinellas: Sign removal worth the wait

Anyone who thinks the city of Clearwater's sign ordinance has been too burdensome on local businesses should note the history of one familiar sign on Cleveland Street.

A Times story recorded the dismantling last Friday of the blue and white, diamond-shaped sign that sat for many years on the roof of the Goodyear tire store at 1196 Cleveland Street. The 5,200-pound behemoth with its neon letters and 464 chaser lights was so big that it had become a relic -- one of the few of its kind left standing at Goodyear stores around the country.

Many of those signs came down because communities with a progressive attitude created new laws that required signs to be smaller and closer to the ground. In 1985 Clearwater passed a controversial sign ordinance designed to eliminate big, garish signs that marred the local landscape. A seven-year amortization period built into the new ordinance gave businesses time to recover the value of their existing signs and prepare to invest in new ones. By the mid '90s, Clearwater code inspectors armed with tape measures were working through commercial strips and making businesses take down illegal signs. That effort continues today, with enforcement activity now focusing on the downtown area.

The sign above the Goodyear store violated the 1985 sign code because it was too big and was placed on the roof of the building. But it wasn't until this year, 16 years later, that the city got around to forcing the store to comply.

Better late than never.

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