Field banners to wave through season

Deirdre Newman

Youth-sports groups will not have to deal with the hassle of taking

their sponsorship banners down after every game and rehanging them

for the next one thanks to a law approved by the City Council Monday.

The law regulates sponsorship banners on public baseball and

softball fields and temporary signs advertising city-sponsored events

on public property.

The council began discussing restrictions of banners after members

of the Mesa Verde Villa Homeowners Assn., who live near California

Elementary and TeWinkle Middle schools, complained in the summer of

2003 that the banners were visual eyesores.

Notably absent from the discussion Monday were any of these

homeowners or representatives of youth-sports teams. Most residents

participating in the discussion were City Council meeting regulars.

Some favored making the teams take the banners down after each game.

“To leave them up for a long period of time does create visual

blight in our residential neighborhoods, especially with our home

values,” Beth Refakes said.

Others wondered why the council was even thinking about regulating

banners.

“People are dying all over the world, and you guys are worried

about banners being up for three or four months?” Costa Mesa business

owner Igal Israel said.

If passed on second reading, the rules would require nonprofit

organizations that partner with the city, have at least 90% residents

on their teams, maintain open registration regardless of skill level

and provide an everyone-plays philosophy to get a permit from the

recreation manager to put up sponsorship banners.

The rules will be enforced by the city’s code-enforcement

department and the fields’ ambassadors, volunteers who monitor the

city’s fields.

Banners, which can be any color, can stay up during the entire

sports season but only on the outfield fences and facing only the

field’s interior. They also can’t be more than 32 square feet.

Other provisions include making sure the banners are tautly

fastened to the fences at a minimum of four spots.

Councilmen Allan Mansoor and Chris Steel dissented. Steel echoed

the area’s homeowners’ concerns.

“When this [issue] originated, many of the concerns by the [Mesa

Verde Villa Homeowners] association were that banners would affect

their property values,” Steel said. “I think it’s a legitimate

concern. I think they should be taken down daily.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].