THE LONG GOODBYE TO POLE SIGNS
On Wednesday, Mammoth’s four remaining Town Councilmewmbers weighed how to handle six remaining nonconforming pole signs.
A pole sign is a tall, freestanding outdoor sign elevated high in the air by one or more visible metal poles, like you might see in front of a McDonald’s.
The effort to remove pole signs dates back nearly 40 years, when the town began regulating signs as part of its broader effort to beautify Mammoth. Early town ordinances attempted to phase out nonconforming signs, but deadlines were repeatedly extended.
In 2011, the town revisited the issue during a comprehensive sign code update.
After extensive discussion of options including attrition, amortization and compensation for sign removal, the town adopted a 15-year amortization period for existing nonconforming signs.
That period ended in July 2026, giving the town legal authority to begin the abatement process.
Today, the remaining non-compliant pole signs belong to Mammoth Liquor, Shell Gas Station, Schat’s Bakery, Motel 6, Spa Creations (formerly Mammoth Properties) and Holiday Haus.
Two of the signs may qualify for a waiver if they meet criteria for “special topographic circumstances,” where a conforming sign would impair visibility or the business’s ability to communicate with customers.
In public comment, the owner of the Shellmart, Ken Sample, made a plea to keep his sign intact.
“The biggest problem that people that work with corporations like Shell have, is that mothership Shell has its opinion of what they think is wonderful, and the Town of Mammoth Lakes has what it thinks is wonderful,” he said. “Sometimes it creates a giant headache for the person who has to engage with both parties and make them happy.”
The council broadly showed little interest in immediately forcing removal.
Instead, they directed staff to meet with affected businesses to explore voluntary compliance, potential exceptions for businesses where visibility challenges exist, and whether existing signs should be allowed to remain.
So, for the time being, you won’t see any cranes taking down those signs.
Town Hires Consultant to Analyze
Mammoth Crossing
Also on Wednesday, the council authorized a professional services agreement with Kosmont Companies to provide financial advisory services related to the proposed Mammoth Crossing project and a potential tax-sharing agreement with the developer.
A tax-sharing agreement works by allowing a developer to retain a portion of tax revenue, typically Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), over a set period of time to offset a project’s financing gap (see April 4, 2026 issue for further explanation).
But the town hasn’t agreed to that yet.
The hiring of the consultant is an information-gathering step and does not commit the town to approving the project or entering into a development agreement,.
The consultant will work with the developer’s financial team to evaluate the project’s “feasibility gap,” which is the difference between the project’s projected value and the cost required to make it financially viable, and establish a baseline for any future negotiations.
Council directed staff to work with the consultant to ensure the scope of work addresses council’s requested analysis and approved the agreement with Kosmont Company.
The developer is required to fully reimburse the town for the consultant’s work.
Another Raise!
Lastly, the council unanimously approved a future salary increase that will raise councilmember compensation from $1,131.90 to $1,245.09 per month, amounting to an extra $1358.28 per year.
Law prevents the council from raising Town Council salaries more than 5% each year. This specific raise covers the past two years.
In order for the salary increase to take effect, there has to have been a new election, and new council members have to be seated. The increase will not apply to current council members and cannot take effect until after the November 2026 election and the seating of the new council.
The raise was approved without discussion.
