Last year I found out that you cannot hang a sign on a business unless you are a certified sign installer with the city (There is a yearly licensing fee) And this isn’t just signs that require electrical hookup, this is any permanent sign. A downtown business owner told me that after having one of his employees make a custom wood sign for his business (no electrical or lighting) he was NOT allowed to hang it himself, he had to pay a certified sign installer to bolt it to his building. I guess drilling a couple of holes and holding a level requires a special license.
(Image: Siouxfalls.business)
Now the city is considering a pipe in a statue’s hand as a ‘sign’
Initially, city officials told him that according to zoning rules there wasn’t sufficient square footage on the property for the addition of the fiberglass statue. He hired a lawyer to work through that issue, but he couldn’t get the city to budge on another one: Mr. Bendo will go up without the pipe in his hand because that makes him a sign and the business already has one.
“I’ve never heard anything so dumb in my life,†Wallenstein said.
That’s because code enforcement under Former Mayor Bowl Cut & Buck Teeth didn’t want to allow people to have anything that looked out of place or to kitsch. That’s why people were getting tickets for 8.5″ grass, including a city councilor.
Some on FB have suggested they dress up Mr. Bendo. One person said they should make him into a Pirate. I have suggested they make a giant dress for him and have him in drag. Or put a bullwhip in his hand and a bondage ball in his mouth. Let’s see what code enforcement says than?