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Do temporary banners and signs hawking “sales” or “special events” make our town look cheap? Or are they all just one part of “sharpening our competitive edge?” That’s been the question Mammoth’s Planning Commission has been debating lately, a conundrum dating back several years. In a special meeting Wednesday, the Commission discussed the results of a recent survey taken by 56 businesses, including about one-third of Chamber of Commerce members regarding signage and its usage.

And that data could prove useful in the long run when it comes to delineating a difference between outdoor sales and special events, a daunting task, with lots of gray area. As Commissioner Dave Harvey pointed out, “What about vendors with special events that aren’t sales?” Commissioner Colin Fernie acknowledged that, “The line between sales and events has been blurred.” That later led to a discussion about what image such signs impart to visitors.

With Town Code Enforcement a non-entity (the last time we had any was some five years ago or more), signage has gone up willy-nilly; some are at least passable, others not so much. What does all this discussion add up to?

“Talk about a race to the bottom,” Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney remarked, adding that the way she understands it, Mammoth has been downgraded from the Sears to the Pic ‘n Save of ski towns. Chamber of Commerce President Jack Copeland suggested there’s a little more to the issue. “There’s a big difference between being a low-cost provider of a service and being a discount provider of a service,” he said. “If we position ourselves for discounts, that is what we’ll become.” Copeland, a supporter of a stringent sign code, further posited that should Mammoth be perceived as the $.99 Store of ski resorts, it would have impacts on revenues, property values and taxes, and salaries and benefits.

Property owner and businessman Paul Rudder indicated it’s important to ask why there is such pressure on businesses to have such signs. “Obviously there’s a significant portion of business that think it’s important to have them.” He cited some businesses located well off the main roads that depend on sandwich board and other advertising to make their location know to visitors.

All of this, however, it still more of the same discussion we’ve been having for years. While it’s not fair to say that the Town’s been wasting its time updating its Zoning Code (we needed to do that anyway), regulating signage has little or no real meaning until the Town installs a new Code Enforcement Officer, even a part-time one that could be paid for by addition citation revenue brought in. The Town might not be racing to the bottom, but without teeth it would sure be spinning its wheels.

Planning’s problem lately seems to be a timidity when it comes to spending some of its political cache as the Town’s second most influential lawmaking body. Example: there wasn’t consensus to approve even a draft of a letter of support for the position that, if everyone liked the wording, would have been sent to the Town Council, a move that should have been a no-brainer. Council hasn’t had a Code Enforcement Officer on its radar lately, and the idea of a letter might help get the position more consideration, especially now during the budget workshop process leading up to next fiscal year’s budget. Instead it will be pitched verbally to Council during Commission reports.

As Chair Rhonda Duggan put it, “We need to play more cards.” In short, if you want it, get out there and lobby for it.

(Photo: Kirkner)

Wayfinding signage could be seen going in around trailheads throughout Mammoth this week. 140 signs will be placed on non-Forest Service land and another 110 will be placed on forest land.

The signage was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), as well as local Measure R.

Planning dudes, dudettes abide by use-permit

Rock ‘N Bowl moved one step closer to actuality this Wednesday at the Planning Commission Meeting in Suite Z. Architect Bruce Woodward presented and answered questions regarding the project, a 12-lane bowing alley with pool tables, darts, 3 golf simulators, a restaurant and bar.

Some of the specs: the two story, 25,300 square foot building, to be located between the Castoff and Southern California Edison on Chateau Road, will be 33 feet tall at the tallest, with a front yard setback of 20 feet.

The building will include four colors: the primary color is a tan vertical ribbed metal siding, and green vertical ribbed siding, raw steel lapped siding, and brick red horizontal ribbed siding will be used as accent colors. The project will provide a color mock-up on site prior to the construction of the building, as well as a sample board that can be turned to show the metal in shade and sunlight.

Rock ‘N Bowl will provide 37 on-site parking spaces, and 17 additional spaces will be offered off-site, most likely through an agreement with one or more property owners to do shared parking. A sign of steel, stained wood and halo-lit letters reading “Mammoth Rock ‘N Bowl, food, fun and games for everyone,” will sit at the Northwest corner of the lot. Due to Sign Ordinance constraints, the sign square footage has been reduced from 31.5 to 29.5 square feet.

Lighting will be night sky compliant, and Community Development Director Mark Wardlaw pointed out that “the municipal code has noise regulations, and we enforce those.” The bowling alley will be open on weekend nights until 1 a.m., with weekday hours to be determined.

The most contentious issue remained the number of parking spaces. As The Sheet previously reported, Woodward and team were able to winnow down the 140 parking spaces originally required by the town to 37. Now town staff, including Wardlaw, Senior Planner Ellen Clark, Associate Planner Pam Kobylarz, and Senior Associate Civil Engineer Peter Bernasconi, have determined that because of the parking demand for all uses, Rock ‘N Bowl must provide a total of 54 spaces. The current lot only has enough room for 37, therefore the additional 17 will be provided off site. Rock ‘N Bowl will also provide 5 on-street parking spaces that will help supplement the overall parking, but pursuant to code, these spaces can’t be counted toward the total.

Another concern was the sign, which Sign Ordinance dictates must stand at a maximum of 8 feet. The Commission and staff debated whether 2 10 ½ foot vertical steel beams supporting the sign could be allowed to exceed that 8-foot height limit if they were a ‘necessary structural design issue,’ which Woodward admitted they were not, or if they might be necessary for visibility come winter. Woodward explained that he “wanted something you can see when looking down Old Mammoth Road. The sign will still be considerably smaller than most old signs in town.”

Some of the Commission’s other concerns included snow storage, given the Rock ‘N Bowl site was previously used for just that; the texture of concrete on the building, which Woodward pointed out accounts for only about 1% of the overall building material; roof color; and landscaping. Woodward was amenable to all suggestions, although Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney’s concern that any shrubs would be “trashed” in snow storage areas, and her suggestion that Woodward use “perennials and wildflowers, like Roberto’s and the Post Office,” sparked a debate within the Commission. “I respectfully disagree,” said Vice Chairman Jay Deinken. “At my home we’ve had bushes and plants that come back just fine from winter.”

Overall the Board had few complaints with the project. The public was also largely behind it. “I’m fully in favor of this project,” said Dave Harvey. “Many of us in town have been waiting for this project to come along. In this economic environment, it’s great we’ve got someone willing to take a risk.” Of issues like parking and signage, Harvey had only this to say: “If we’re going to be a feet-first community, let’s act like it.”

The Commission found the project to be categorically exempt from CEQA, and approved both the Use Permit and Design Review.