HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - Item 24 Zuniga, Diana
From: Jessica Hurtado <admin@corazoncoffeebar.com>
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2025 12:42 PM
To: eComment
Subject: Agenda Item No.24
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana.Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Dear Santa Ana Council Members,
My name is Jessica Hurtado, and I am the owner of Corazon Coffee Bar, located at 811 N Main St. I am writing
to respectfully request your support for the use of A-frame signs in commercial areas such as the one where my
business is located.
Since our A-frame sign was removed, we have consistently heard from customers that our location is difficult to
find. These signs are invaluable for small businesses as they significantly enhance visibility, drive foot traffic,
and boost revenue. Allowing A-frame signs would not only benefit Corazon Coffee Bar but would also be a
valuable tool for the growth and success of other small businesses in Santa Ana.
Thank you for considering the positive impact this simple form of advertising can have on our local business
community.
Sincerely,
Jessica Hurtado
Owner, Corazon Coffee Bar
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Zuniga, Diana
From: Jeffrey Katz <
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2025 1:02 PM
To: eComment
Cc: Amezcua, Valerie; Lopez, Jessie
Subject: Agenda Item No. 24 - A-Frame Signs
Attachments: 25-05-05 - Comment re Item No. 24.pdf
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana.Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Please distribute the attached and include in the public record.
Jeffrey A. Katz I Attorney at Law
Email:
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JEFFREY KATZ
Ward 3
Santa Ana, CA 92706
May 5, 2025
Santa Ana City Council
20 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Re: Item #24 (A-Frame Signs and the Dignity of Our City)
Dear Esteemed Members of the Council,
Let me start by acknowledging what you already know: governing is hard. Choices aren't always
between good and bad; often, they're between "bad" and "oh dear God, what have we done?"
Which brings us to the humble, if insidious, A-frame sign.
I understand Councilmember Lopez is bringing forth a proposal to allow these signs in
designated commercial areas. A generous spirit, no doubt. But I urge you, with great respect
and even greater concern, to send this idea back to the drafting board—or preferably, into a
tasteful, city-approved recycling bin.
Let's begin with the facts. Under our current Municipal Code, A-frame signs are not permitted.
(SAMC Section 41-861(1).) Not restricted. Not conditionally allowed. Prohibited. And wisely so.
They are, by their very nature, transient, uneven, and chaotic. Like a drunk uncle at a wedding,
they never quite know where they belong. They clutter sidewalks, block ADA access, blow over
in the wind, and very quickly fall into disrepair—advertising not just a business, but a city that
seems no longer to care.
More troubling, this proposal comes at a time when Santa Ana is in very real danger of losing
the battle for beauty. Drive our corridors and ask yourself: are we closer to Pasadena, or to a
place forgotten by design? While other cities beautify, we too often compromise. A-frame signs
might seem minor, but symbolically they are huge. They signal that we are willing to sacrifice
city character for convenience. That we are content to surrender visual order in favor of visual
noise.
Santa Ana is not just any city. It is a city of architecture, history, heritage—of murals and
missions, not mess. Aesthetics are not trivial here. They are a strategy for identity, for economic
development, and for civic pride. Every sign matters. Every sidewalk view matters. And when we
treat our public spaces with less care than we do our living rooms, we invite not just clutter, but
decline.
Now, I can already hear the well-meaning argument: "This helps small businesses." Let me be
perfectly clear—I love small businesses. I frequent them. I argue in their defense at cocktail
parties. But helping our small businesses shouldn't come at the cost of our sidewalks. There are
far better tools at your disposal: grants for better permanent signage, fagade improvement
programs, city-sponsored wayfinding systems. Empower merchants, yes. But don't do it by
turning our streetscape into a sandwich board circus.
Some will argue aesthetics are just "nice-to-haves." But in Santa Ana, they are essential.
Particularly with the sunsetting of Measure X on the horizon, we are a city that must compete—
to attract investment, support small business, draw regional visitors, and make people proud to
live here. And people—residents, customers, and entrepreneurs alike—choose places that feel
taken care of. Where the visual environment communicates a sense of order, ambition, and
community pride.
Good aesthetics are not accidental. They are the result of intentional policy and standards. We
cannot preach revitalization while rolling back the very tools that protect and shape a high-
quality public realm. We cannot ask residents to clean up their front yards while authorizing
businesses to scatter sidewalk signs up and down our blocks.
And then there's enforcement. Who, pray tell, is going to monitor these signs? Decide if they're
in the "designated" areas? Check if they're up to code? If they're placed properly? Code
Enforcement is already operating like an overworked triage nurse. Let's not give them a city full
of tripping hazards to manage.
In closing, I ask you: what kind of city do we want to be? One that leans into its history, its
culture, and its potential? Or one that gives up on its streetscapes, one folding sign at a time?
Santa Ana deserves clean sidewalks. It deserves beauty. And it deserves better than Ms. Lopez's
requested ordinance.
With all due respect, and a healthy dose of civic affection,
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