So much for the Wild West image of San Dimas, part two

If you ever visit downtown San Dimas, you can't help but notice the western motif, which suggests that San Dimas is a "Wild West" kind of town.

It is nothing of the sort, as I previously noted when talking about how Sid Maksoudian's application to join the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce was denied because he...he...he said bad things about the Chamber.

But it's not just private groups that want to keep everything nice and neat and orderly in San Dimas. Take a look at Heidi Daniels' plight:

Since December, the city has been after Wine Shop owner Heidi Daniels to tear down an unpermitted canopy in front of the store, which Daniels said was to keep customers warm. And Daniels defied the city every step of way until Monday, when she finally had the canopy removed after the city threatened to take her landlord to court.

So why did Daniels want the canopy?

Daniels was first ordered to take the canopy down Dec. 19 but refused, citing the down economy and her need to do what is best for her customers.

But the city, you see, is more concerned with having zoning codes than actually having viable businesses in San Dimas. While the Planning Commission has now agreed, via a 3-2 vote, to review the restrictions on temporary structures, not all agree.

"We got a beautiful city and to me a temporary structure can diminish the view of a business," said Planning Commission Chairman Jim Schoonover, who was one of the two dissenting votes. "I think we should have a full understanding (of codes). A permanent structure gives you that understanding, a temporary is there for a couple months and gone, continually changing the view of the property, and I would like to avoid that."

So, Schoonover's concern is that structures may - shudder - temporarily change the view of what people see.

If that's Schoonover's prime worry, then he'd better ban hair salons from San Dimas pronto.

You wouldn't want to upset the consistency of the Wild West image.