It was a complaint regarding the appearance of his business signage that recently caused Dos Luceros owner, Jesus Angel, to take it down from street view. In an effort to save his business, Angel went before Town Council to see if a solution could be reached.
It was only days before the meeting that he was asked to remove his sign by Lenore Bennett, Zoning Inspector for the Town of Castle Rock. “I lost $2000 in 4 days when I had my sign down…that affects everybody…because if I’m losing $2000, and I’m not paying taxes on that 2000, then multiply that by multiple businesses that are being affected by the code.”
This was the first time during his two years of operating the business that he had been asked to take down his sign. But because a fellow resident made a call to the Town regarding the appearance of his sign, it was brought to the attention of Mary Shaw, Castle Rock Zoning Manager.
“The intent of the sign code is to provide a reasonable balance between the right to advertise goods and services and maintaining both safety and the character we all enjoy about Castle Rock,” stated Shaw. “A property owner/tenant has the right to appeal strict enforcement of the zoning regulations through the public hearing process with the Board of Adjustment.”
Per Shaw’s suggestion, on December 15, 2015, he walked a few blocks through the snow to plead his case before council. “I was asked to take my sign down near the intersection of Wilcox and Briscoe Streets,” Angel stated during the public comment. “After speaking with Lenore and Miss Shaw, I was given no other option other than to come here and discuss this with you.”
His comment concluded, and Mayor Paul Donahue suggested that Angel speak to Bill Detweiler, Director of Development Services for the Town. And after a short meeting with Detweiler outside council chambers, a temporary agreement was reached.
“Because I went before the Town Council and spoke to Detweiler, I brought it to their attention and they are reviewing it,” he continued, “If I had not, because of that complaint, I would have had to take it down and that would be the end of it.”
For now, he will he will be counting the days until the fate of his sign is decided. And while he thinks the code needs updating so his sign can be seen and have better placement on the other side of Wilcox, he is satisfied that things have been handled fairly.
“The agreement is now that they’ve allowed me to put a new sign out and they will review it over the next six weeks,” he said. “If they let me keep up the sign, great. If not, I will have to figure out a ‘Plan B.’”
