Punta Gorda businesses ask city to ease temporary sign rules as LDR rewrite begins

Business owners and vendors told Punta Gorda City Council members at a July 7 small-business workshop that current rules limiting temporary street-level advertising make it hard for customers to find set-back businesses.

June Connors, a vendor at the Punta Gorda Mercantile, said her stall is set back from the street and that shoppers regularly tell her they did not know the Mercantile existed. “We were just wondering what we can do to maybe help advertise that whole mall area, but especially the Mercantile,” she told the council.

The matter was echoed by other downtown merchants and by Realtors who said they rely on feather flags and temporary signs for open-house and event marketing. “When marketing homes for open houses, I’ve used the feather flags that state ‘open house,’ and I’ve had no flak,” said Leighton Ingram, a District 1 realtor.

Sarah Desrosiers, owner of Downtown Cava at the historic train station, said her business received code-compliance notices after placing feather flags while nearby construction made it appear the business was closed. “We had to put the feather flags out to make sure people knew we were open,” she said, and asked the council to consider exceptions for nonresidential and industrial areas.

City council members and staff told merchants the city is about to begin a comprehensive rewrite of its Land Development Regulations (LDRs), and that an article addressing signs is one of the LDR’s 19 elements. A council member said the sign rules can be reviewed as part of that process; a city staff representative encouraged businesses to participate in upcoming charrettes and workshops tied to the LDR update.

Council and staff also noted a practical complication: county-owned parcels and right-of-way inside the city boundaries are subject to Charlotte County sign rules that differ from the city’s, which creates inconsistency for businesses located near county land. City staff said they would explore whether coordination with the county could allow temporary street advertising that is consistent across both jurisdictions.

The conversation drew support from volunteers and civic groups. Kim Koch, chief financial officer of Team Punta Gorda, said the volunteer group could help fund or install banners on light poles and work on maintenance of existing welcome signage.

Next steps: city staff said they will consider sign-code changes during the LDR rewrite, hold outreach with small-business stakeholders, and investigate coordination with county sign regulations. No ordinance changes were adopted at the workshop.