Pleasanton City Officials Give Giant Frosty Cold Shoulder

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

Ask any resident in Pleasanton and they will likely tell you that they know the holiday season has arrived when they see the giant Frosty the Snowman appear in Moore’s Christmas Tree lot each November. Until this year the tree lot had been located on the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. This season, however, owner Johnny Moore moved his trees and Frosty to a new location on the corner of Stanley Blvd. and Bernal Avenue in Pleasanton and he was told that the huge snowman would have to go.

Moore told KPIX CBS 5 that he was shocked after being notified about the snowman violation on Dec. 1 when he was issued a citation from a city code enforcement officer.

During his interview with KPIX, Moore says the 30-foot tall snowman has been a fixture on his tree lot for 25 years, calling Frosty a landmark for his lot.

When asked about the snowman situation, City of Pleasanton spokesperson Joanne Hall said, “City of Pleasanton doesn’t want to play hardball OR snowball with Frosty. Just following the municipal code.”

Hall says Moore agreed not to put the inflatable up in advance.

According to Hall, under Moore’s temporary use permit, Moore agreed to not having any “hot/cold- air type balloons or figures” on the tree lot.

Hall says Moore’s is in violation of the following Pleasanton Municipal Code -18.96.060:

K. Grand Openings. Temporary signs, banners, pennants, and decorations not including reflective devices for a period not to exceed 30 days after initial occupancy by an establishment. Large hot/cold air balloons are allowed for a community wide event and a “grand opening” of a shopping center only, restricted to a one-day, one-time only use subject to the granting of a temporary conditional use permit in accordance with the provisions of Section 18.124.170 of this title. The balloon may be installed after 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the event, and must be removed prior to 10:00 a.m. the day after the event. One sign only, to identify the shopping center or event, may be attached to the balloon. No trailing pennants or other balloons shall be attached.

Under no circumstances shall a large hot/cold air balloon be displayed by an individual business. For the purposes of this subsection, a community wide event is an event that either promotes and/or benefits the entire city and has been endorsed by the city council; endorsement may also be established by council action authorizing public street closures. Shopping center events are not community wide events.

KPIX reported that the code enforcement officer would be following up to see if Moore was in compliance and that Moore may be fined if he does not take Frosty down for the season.

What do you think about Frosty being ousted from Pleasanton? Tell us in the comments section below.

Photo of Moore’s Christmas Tree lot. Inclement weather kept Frosty down for the day on Tuesday.