Call the City of Tampa’s Neighborhood Empowerment office and get put on hold. You won’t wait for long, but a recording of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will talk to you while you’re on the line. The spot touts all of the exciting things happening in the area and lauds the new businesses popping up all over the place.
One of the businesses that was at the forefront of the urban core’s growth is Seminole Heights record shop Microgroove, which was founded in 2011 by Vinyl Fever alums Keith Ulrey and Carl Webb (Webb was bought out shortly after the shop opened). Over the last seven years, Microgroove has grown into more than a place to buy used and new vinyl, into a community gathering spot and DIY concert space that is vital to the Bay area music scene.
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Tampa record store Microgroove is the centerpiece of a Buccaneers promo video
There’s a sweet hand-painted sign above the distinct red, garage door, but Ulrey — who also co-founded long-running Tampa indie label New Granada Records more than two decades ago — has been setting an A-frame sign outside of his store, too. It reads, “MICROGROOVE, RECORDS+CDs, NEW+USED, BUY+SELL+TRADE” in white and black. Beneath the text is a red-and-black stencil image of cast members from Over The Edge (the Jonathan Kaplan-directed, 1979 American coming-of-age crime drama is the inspiration for New Granada’s logo).
Well, say “buh-bye” to the sign.
As of Wednesday, the city of Tampa’s Neighborhood Enhancement Division has asked Microgroove to remove the A-frame sign from the property, citing Chapter. 27-289.7 of city code ordinance, which relates to billboard signs. Here’s part of what it says:
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to establish a set of standards for the fabrication, erection, use, maintenance and alteration of signs, symbols, markings or advertising devices within the city. These standards are designed to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of persons within the city by providing regulations which allow and encourage creativity, effectiveness and flexibility in the design and use of such devices while promoting traffic safety and avoiding an environment that encourages visual blight. The safety of all citizens is affected by the ability of emergency responders to quickly and easily identify locations through appropriate signage, and the size and location of signs may, if uncontrolled, constitute an obstacle to effective emergency response as well as fire-fighting techniques.
The literature goes on to cite the safety of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and other users of the public streets is affected by the number, size, location, lighting, and movement of signs that divert the attention of drivers. It lists allowable signs and also enumerates 20 prohibited sign types including pennants, feather signs, snipe signs (ie: cardboard on telephone poles), and sidewalk signs including A-frame signs like the one in front of Microgroove.
Nearby businesses like the Independent Bar & Cafe have also been prohibited from using the A-frame signs in the past, and Jon Ditty (a BOTB-winning rapper who also works at Dunedin Brewery) told CL that his municipality enforces a similar ordinance which requires that A-frame signs be decorated with chalk and not much else.
The Dunedin ordinance seems to be based in aesthetics, but Tampa’s ordinance — and the decision about A-frame signs near the right of way — seems to be rooted firmly in safety. There’s probably nothing that Ulrey can do about it right now, either.
“I asked what the limitations were and if I could keep it on the sidewalk right outside my front door, they could not answer me and just repeating that it was prohibited,” Ulrey wrote online. “[Code enforcement] even said ‘I’m so sorry, I know you're a small business, but…. my supervisor just drove by and told me to come remove it.’”
“What is wrong with this city?,” Ulrey wrote. “I rely on this sign for advertising and more importantly, letting newcomers know where I’m located as they’re driving by/up. Way to support small business Tampa! Yay, Bob Buckhorn! How trivial.”
CL called Sal Ruggiero, manager of Tampa’s Neighborhood Enhancement Division, and left a message to see if he could add any more insight, but we doubt that there’s anything else to add.
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This article appears in Oct 18-25, 2018.