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Vista council approves brewery/winery wayfinding item; councilors debate broader citywide signage plan
Summary
The Vista City Council unanimously approved a proposal to add wayfinding for craft breweries, wineries and tasting rooms while several council members urged a separate, broader review of citywide wayfinding and placemaking that would include historic districts and business-supported signage.
The Vista City Council approved an item to implement wayfinding signage focused on craft breweries, wineries and tasting rooms, and some council members urged a separate, more comprehensive review of citywide wayfinding and placemaking.
Deputy Mayor (name not specified) introduced support for a wayfinding effort that would spotlight breweries, wineries and tasting rooms as economic attractions. “I think that if we're gonna do a wayfinding program, we should do it right and not have to do it twice,” the deputy mayor said, urging the council to consider city branding and distinct designs for areas such as historic downtown and Paseo Santa Fe.
Councilmember O'Donnell said she supported a comprehensive program but cautioned that a larger effort should not delay the immediate aid the current item was intended to provide for small businesses. “My only concern... is I don't want it to impede this particular item in the moment only because the reason this was brought forward to me to begin with was because a lot of the businesses were suffering,” O'Donnell said, noting citations of A-frame signs during the pandemic had affected merchants.
City staff clarified the city previously implemented a citywide wayfinding program roughly seven to eight years ago and described the current proposal as a narrower, industry-focused signage and monument program for breweries and tasting rooms. Staff estimated a design contract for the proposed wayfinding at about $25,000.
Other council members backed bifurcating the work: approving the immediate brewery/winery signage effort while returning to the council for a larger discussion of citywide wayfinding, placemaking and potential public-art integration. Councilmember Contreras asked staff to consider the city’s emerging protected bike lane network when developing wayfinding so signs and maps serve multiple modes of travel.
Several councilors suggested cost-sharing with business owners for signage that confers a commercial marketing benefit, with businesses paying a reasonable fee for installation or for name additions/removals. The council also discussed using an RFP (request for proposals) to fully encompass a more comprehensive program and the possibility of permitting temporary A-frame signage under a limited permitting regime.
The motion to approve the brewery/winery wayfinding item was made, seconded and approved unanimously; no roll-call vote names or tallies appear in the provided transcript.
The council asked staff to return with more details about citywide wayfinding, including options to incorporate existing wayfinding material, possible consultant scope, and links to tourism and walking-tour concepts discussed by members.
If implemented, the immediate action will create signage intended to help visitors locate craft beverage venues; separate work on a broader program could address branding, district-specific designs and multi-modal maps for pedestrians and cyclists.
