This presentation was my first experience with Power point, and served as a skeleton for a talk I gave yesterday & am scheduled to do again next month. I hope to learn more about the features and plan incorporate video & and other effects to increase the level of professionalism of the presentation. I also plan to create an on-line version to share the information on my blog.
1. IslandSign.com and the Maui County Business Resource Center Present: “A Clear New Opportunity” For greater Visual Marketing potential
2. Time Line of the Fight for Change ! August 16, 2010 – Maui News story alerts the Island to the rash of sign violations Chris Hamilton, August 16, 2010 (Amanda Cowan: photo) http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/534461/
3. Time Line of the Fight for Change ! August 21, 2010 – Maui News outlines results of Mayor’s meeting. Public invited to County Council meeting, Tuesday August 24 Chris Hamilton, August 21, 2010 (Amanda Cowan: photo) http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/534600.html
4. Time Line of the Fight for Change ! August 24, 2010 – Sol presents a draft bill for consideration by the County Council. Several Maui business people offer testimony in support of the bill. Doug Allan speaking to the Council, in support of bill #79
5. Time Line of the Fight for Change ! November 4, 2010 – Maui Weekly does a story including news of four Maui Chamber of Commerce meetings held by Pam Tumpap and Councilmember Joe Pontanilla. Sarah Ruppenthal, November 4, 2010 (no photo credits provided) http://www.mauiweekly.com/page/content.detail/id/502296.html
6. Time Line of the Fight for Change ! November 10, 2010 – Maui News reports the approval of amendments to the Maui County Sign Ordinance, just before the holidays & a new County administration. Claudine San Nicolas, November 10, 2010 (Amanda Cowan: photo) http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542722.html
7. 5 New Sign Code Amendments Title 16, Chapter 16.13 Commercial Signs
8. 5 New Sign Code Amendments Title 16, Chapter 16.13 Commercial Signs Informational sign definition and size amendments Products & services allowable now, and unlimited quantity of information signs, provided the total square foot of these signs do not exceed 10 sq. ft.
9. 5 New Sign Code Amendments Title 16, Chapter 16.13 Commercial Signs 2. Revised 16.13.070 sign area calculation methods Irregular shaped signs, or signage made up of multiple letters, logos or more than one sign panel will result in less restrictions from a more accurate area calculation
10. 5 New Sign Code Amendments 2. Revised 16.13.070 sign area calculation methods
11. 5 New Sign Code Amendments Title 16, Chapter 16.13 Commercial Signs 3. New window sign category. No permits required Promotional & Informational messages may occupy 50% of window area. Window signs under the 50% restriction do not require a sign permit.
My name is Doug Allan, owner of Island Sign. Please turn phone to silent mode & if you have questions, I would appreciate if you would save them until the end of the presentation.I was well aware of the increasing problems with the inconsistent enforcement of our sign ordinance last year & when it reached a boiling point in July, I began to get involved.The result was some valuable insights into the workings of our County government, as well as some hard won improvements to our sign code!
The August 16th article cited the core issue to center around 51 sign ordinance violation complaints, in the summer of 2010 which is over 200% above the average in recent years, and the vast majority was window sign complaints concentrated in Kahului & Wailuku.August 19, 2010 – Mayor Tavares & Councilmember Joe Pontanillahold their “Town Hall Meeting” at Pomaikai Elementary School, with around 75 Maui business people in attendance.
On August 21, the Maui News ran a photo of American Mattress identifying the large coverage that was permissible due to it’s non commercial nature, as was discussed in the Town Hall Meeting, where the crack down on window signs resulted in some ridiculous stories of shops not being allowed to picture images pertaining to the products or services found within.
At the August 24th Council meeting, Sol’s bill was sent forward to the Council Planning committee. The sign ordinance Bill finally fit in their schedule on September 27, where a collection of proposed amendments were presented. I drafted up the language to represent an ad-hoc committee of 8 other business people I had been meeting with. There are 5 proposed amendments put forth, three of which are approved by the Council Planning committee.
The acceptance of the three additional amendments being added to the sign ordinance by the Council Planning committee, results in cautious optimism with regard to a happy ending for this issue. Nicky and myself are interviewed for the article. Not surprisingly, he and I are the only two die-hard supporters who attended the County Council meeting 5 days later for “second and final reading” of the Bill. I made one last 11th hour pitch for the elusive amendment most relevant to this cause, and was fortunate to achieve an unprecedented last minute amendment moments before passage of the Bill.
This concludes the time line & I will now outline for you the 5 items that were amended by this Bill.Before I do that I will pass out the 9 page .pdf document available on the County website, under Ordinance 3794
Of the 5 amendments listed on your handout, todays talk will focus on the top 3, as these represent the greatest new opportunity for the greatest number of people.
Information signs used to be limited to information such as hours & methods of payment accepted. The exclusion of identification of products and services was the key factor that brought many window signs under scrutiny. By adding products and services to the definition, businesses are now allowed an additional sign for advertising the business name or a list of products and services. This coupled with an increase from around 5 sq. ft., up to 10 square feet under the new law, this creates a huge opportunity!
I will show some examples of the benefits of this amendment in the next slide
These examples show area reductions of 15 – 33%
I will show some examples of the benefits of this amendment in the next slide