Mobile signs, board candidates top design review talks

By Karen Brainard

Tom and Kathleen Cole, owners of Jewelry World at 1338 Main St., asked the Ramona Design Review Board last Thursday to address mobile signage at next month’s meeting.

The Coles’ 1937 Chevy truck with its wooden advertising signs was evicted from the Sun Valley shopping center parking lot where the jewelry store is located, said Tom Cole. The truck has been at that site for about 10 years.

“We utilize it all over town,” said Cole.

A new property management company for the retail center told the Coles they had to remove the truck to be in compliance with the lease and county sign ordinance.

Cole said the landlord, John Farkas, told him the design review board has specifics on mobile signage and, if it approves the truck, he will allow it to remain.

The design review board agreed to address such signage at its Sept. 29 meeting. The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane.

Board members also decided to invite interested board applicants to make presentations at the September meeting. Three terms expire in September. Chair Debi Klingner has expressed the desire to remain on the board. Members Carole Wylie and Reed Settle have decided not to seek another term.

One potential applicant attended the Aug. 24 meeting. Ramona resident Michiyo Kirkpatrick said she has a master’s degree in fine arts with an emphasis in graphic design. Kirkpatrick, who teaches as an adjunct professor at several of the San Diego community colleges, said she worked in the graphic design department of the county’s Department of Public Works for five years.

According to Klingner, Ramonans Carol Fowler and John Rajcic also have expressed interest to serve on the board.

In other business, member Greg Roberson, who is also a member of the Ramona Village Design Group, talked about the “Project Ramona” workshops held recently with consultant Howard Blackson. Roberson said the project will create design standards that will help support the specialized zoning, known as form-based codes. For those standards, Roberson said the design review group will have to consider several items currently not covered in the board’s design guidelines such as cell towers, truck signs and outside vending machines.

The form-based codes and design standards address Ramona’s town core and how it can develop with businesses and build upon what it has, said Roberson.

“There’s some real exciting things that came out of that.” Roberson said. “I have to say really it was quite exciting to the entire group.” Roberson added that the village design group will probably be meeting with Blackson in the next few weeks.