By now we have all seen the mural/sign /outrage /painting / advertising /eyesore /trippiest thing inside of Walla Walla (besides the absurdly small downtown hangout/drug store for gangs) that is the giant octopus on the toy store, The Inland Octopus. The goal of The Inland Octopus is to be the greatest toy store in the world. Ask any kid and they'll tell you that they would rather go to a store with an octopus on the outside than one with a drab exterior. But then again, kid favorite, Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, had a relatively plain exterior and was not that the best chocolate factory in the world? This choice of paint can be vital to a small business' survival in these rough economic times and to those who love America, this is a top priority; however, to those who simply love Walla Walla and its quaint "artistic downtown," it is an eyesore and against code.
This battle for a small business' survival then turns into a much larger argument of First Amendment rights and code interpretation. Proper protocol was followed at first and would not have been a problem had no one complained. "I (the owner) showed this picture to a city official who administers the sign code on a daily basis. His assessment was that the verbage at the bottom was a sign and the mural itself was not." Now that there are complaints, the city has redefined its interpretation of "sign" and has stated that the mural is indeed one. A sign is defined in Walla Walla Municipal Code 20.204.04 as
“Sign” means any device, structure, fixture (including the supporting structure) or any other surface that identifies, advertises and/or promotes an activity, product, service, place, business, political or social point of view, or any other thing.
With this definition the city is perfectly in its limits to declare the mural a sign and see to its removal. Opponents of the Inland Octopus may just see his defense of the First Amendment as another attempt of Obama's big government getting in the way of state's rights and to delve even further, in the way of their everyday life. And we can't let government control our lives now can we?
