Simi campaign sign rules exemplary, grand jury says




SIGNS OF THE TIMES—Campaign signs line a roadway in Simi Valley during the 2010 election. Simi was lauded by the Ventura County grand jury for having clear rules about placement of campaign signs. Acornfile photo

SIGNS OF THE TIMES—Campaign signs line a roadway in Simi Valley during the 2010 election. Simi was lauded by the Ventura County grand jury for having clear rules about placement of campaign signs. Acornfile photo

Politicians are in full campaign mode for the June 5 primary elections, and sidewalks and medians throughout Ventura County are becoming crowded with brightly colored political signs.

But before candidates continue to roll out the propaganda for fall’s midterm elections, they’ll need to keep in mind that some cities may be adjusting policies about where those signs can go.

The potential changes to the rules, which regulate when and where election signs can be placed, follow a months-long investigation by the Ventura County grand jury, a panel of 19 volunteers who provide government oversight for the county.

“Grand juries are interested in making sure all policies are transparent and that they’re easy for the public to use,” said Andrew Ludlum, the grand jury’s foreperson, who was elected to speak on behalf of the group.

The jury’s investigation evaluated political-sign placement policies in the county’s five largest cities: Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. It was sparked by a complaint about the unlawful removal of political posters.

The investigation found that four of the cities—including Camarillo and Thousand Oaks—had confusing policies that could be rewritten to provide clearer direction to candidates. Simi Valley, on the other hand, was found to have “exemplary” guidelines.

“We thought the City of Simi Valley’s policy was clear and concise and had good examples,” Ludlum said. “It doesn’t mean they (the other cities) have bad policies. We just feel that they can be clearer, easier to understand and be less complicated.”

Although the jury can recommend that cities make their regulations simpler to understand, it cannot require them to change the policies.

“We don’t have enforcement power. We make recommendations, and the only enforcement power that we have is simply by publicity,” Ludlum said. “But by law, they are required to respond to us . . . within 60 to 90 days.”

The responses from each city are expected to include agreements or rebuttals to the grand jury’s findings about the rules in each area.

For example, the jury said that Camarillo’s regulations were “unnecessarily complicated” because they required candidates to know the city’s zoning maps for residential, commercial and industrial/agricultural areas.

Camarillo officials said they plan to clarify some items in the city’s sign-placement policies when they respond to the investigation in the coming months.

“We feel that our sign regulations are clear and understandable, but we may be simplifying our handout that we distribute that outlines sign regulations,” Camarillo Community Development Director Joe Vacca said.

The grand jury found that Thousand Oaks’ policies were complicated because they only used excerpts from the city’s municipal code, making the regulations difficult for candidates to understand.

Officials from Thousand Oaks said the city plans to respond to the grand jury’s findings within 60 days.

The grand jury hopes that other cities use Simi Valley’s regulations, which were updated before the June 2014 elections, as a model.

Before each local race in Simi Valley, candidates are invited to attend a half-day orientation and are given written policies and an illustrated flyer reminding them of the regulations.

Some of these rules included placing the name, telephone number and address of the candidate on the sign and stating that signs cannot be larger than 12 square feet.

“I have to give credit to our code enforcement department,” Simi Valley Deputy City Manager Samantha Argabrite said. “They really spearheaded that action and made sure our regulations were clear and our candidates understood them. They really took the lead on putting the flyer together.”

Ludlum said the grand jury chose to evaluate the regulations because local elections are so important. They’re the linchpin of a “pure democracy,” he said, and provide a path for regular citizens to take office, make laws and effect change.

If cities had clearer policies in place, Ludlum believes more community members would feel comfortable getting involved and running for local office.

“A local election is something a local citizen can get involved in instead of a politician with staff and resources,” he said. “With it being average citizens in local elections, if they make mistakes— in terms of the campaign sign policy and all their signs get taken down—it can be expensive and not easy to replace.”