Many colorful murals have popped up over the years on the walls of buildings in Old Town Yucca Valley. What most of the business owners didn’t know was that they had to get a permit from the Yucca Valley Planning Commission before painting their mural.
The town’s ordinance governing murals requires that murals reflect a “Desert Western” theme, be painted in complementary, harmonious colors (no fluorescent colors), and couldn’t advertise what was sold in the shop. In this second part of a two-part report on Tuesday’s Yucca Valley Town Council meeting, managing editor Tami Roleff delves into the issue…
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Yucca Valley Town Council, the council saw numerous examples of murals that did not conform to town regulations. Many residents spoke in favor of the murals, saying that making the businesses paint over them would be a travesty. Brian Holy of Chet’s Appliances says people love the Maytag mural.
“We get people from not only the town of Yucca Valley, out-of-staters, out-of-towners, coming in, seeing that mural, they want a picture with it. A couple from Sweden stopped by to take a photo of the Maytag man. He’s iconic. He adds to Old Town Yucca Valley. I hope the council says it’s ok to keep it because people love that sign.”
Kimberly Buzzelli, owner of The End, said, “Murals make people stop in town, people say I would have driven right by. But they’ve seen photos of my mural on Instagram. People don’t know where Yucca Valley is, but they know my mural and they stop.”
Clint Stoker agreed. “In addition to having people stop, murals add to sales, add to Instagram traffic, and encourage people to stop and look. And they have improved the appearance of Old Town.”
Jeff Burgess, of Desert Curios, said his business dropped off dramatically after the town made him paint over his “Zen Spaceman” mural.
“We immediately noticed a 30 to 40 percent drop in the number of people visiting our building.”
Council members also liked the murals in Old Town, and agreed with many residents that the Desert Western theme may be outdated.
Councilmember Merl Abel suggested a new theme for Old Town murals.
“In old town, the theme is eclectic, which is a theme in itself.”
Councilmember Rick Denison agreed.
“I love the Maytag man, the Zen spaceman. They’re very good, very thought-provoking. The spaceman could be a desert theme. I would lie on sleeping bags in my driveway with my children at night and watch the space station fly by, saying there’s a man inside the space station.”
The council members felt that perhaps the regulations for murals should be loosened for Old Town, and maybe the permit fee should be scrapped. The planning commission will take up the issue at a future meeting.
