Simi Valley Considers A Ban On Feather Signs

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) —  Simi Valley is considering a ban on feather signs.

That city would become one of the first in Southern California to push such a ban.

Feather signs are the tall banners that are attached to the ground and flap in the wind.

KCAL9's Peter Daut says many business owners love them but many residents find them eyesores and a nuisance.

Daut spoke to Colin Keane, a business owner who says he relies on the signs to advertise his vape shop which is tucked away in the back of a shopping center.

"Without the flags out there, there's no way of anybody knowing driving by that we're here," Keane says.

The city could soon pluck all feather signs. The City Council introduced an ordinance this week to ban them.

Daut also spoke to someone who would love to see the signs down as soon as possible.

"It clutters the street; it creates safety hazards. The community really looks better and functions better without them," says Peter Lyons of Simi Valley Environmental Services.

Simi Valley allowed the temporary signs several years ago during the recession to help struggling businesses. But now, in what ironically could be its own sign of the economy, the majority of neighborhood councils consider them a nuisance.

"They don't look like they're maintained sometimes. Sometimes they're just flapping and torn," said Simi Valley resident Kathy Guitierrez.

It's unclear how many other Southern California cities have gotten rid of feather signs, but Keene worries that without them many smaller business could soon be gone with the wind.

"This affects us as a small business because this is all we can really afford to do," he says.

If the proposal is adopted by the council at its November meeting, all feather signs would be banned beginning Jan. 1.