Just when you thought downtown Atascadero couldn't get any worse ...

Atascadero’s downtown appearance has taken a turn for the worse lately. A number of people have brought it to my attention, knowing about my fixation on getting the sign ordinance enforced.

For more than a year, we residents have had to put up with a large tent in the downtown. How did the owner get permission to put up something like that anyway? And then a tiny snack shack was built in front of it. When the tent was down for several months last summer, the heart of the city looked even worse.

And over the past few days a restaurant at the corner of El Camino Real and West Mall has repainted its building an awful yellow bright enough to be seen blocks away. If the owners of Sylvester’s wanted to attract attention to their business, they certainly did that. But the color does not enhance the appearance of the downtown in any manner.

Maybe I’m still reeling from the removal of that very large oak tree next to Sylvester’s a couple months ago.

Now the owners of the restaurant are going before the city’s Design Review Committee (Wednesday, 3 p.m. in Room 106 of city hall) seeking permission to construct a playhouse structure within the city’s right-of-way.

The play structure would be built in the place where the 64-inch diameter oak was removed. According to a project description included with the agenda for the design committee, the city has historically designated the area as a landscaped parkway.

The playhouse structure would be approximately 160 square feet.

Staff has provided two recommendations for the five-member design review committee: authorize the concept for the playhouse structure in the public right-of-way subject to design appearance, frontage landscaping and tree replanting, access, safety and a use agreement, or refer the matter to the City Council for review in conjunction with a downtown replanting plan.

The appearance of the downtown should be decided according to some master plan and not individuals. Not sticking with a plan is how we got a two-story metal building in the middle of town that encroaches into the creek reserves.

Almost across the street from the abandoned brewery, a large trailer appears to have become a permanent fixture in the dirt parking lot at Colony Square.

Is anybody watching out for downtown Atascadero’s appearance?

It appears not.

This story was originally published February 9, 2015 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Just when you thought downtown Atascadero couldn't get any worse ...."