SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego has fined a company $160,000 for displaying an Avengers: Doomsday sign over the Gaslamp Quarter Archway sign during Comic-Con.
Marvel had hired Elevue, a company that describes itself as a "boutique outdoor media company specializing in street-level signage," to install the piece over the Gaslamp sign.
The company incurred $160,000 in fines between July 21 and 26.
According to the City, it told Elevue weeks before Comic-Con that they were not allowed to install anything on the Gaslamp sign.
When the company began the installation, the City says it informed Elevue once again that it was not allowed, and asked it to be safely removed.
"They continued construction despite several additional reminders. The contractor knowingly created a safety risk and refused to address it, and was cited and fined accordingly," said the City.
Elevue isn't the only company facing fines from the City over the Comic-Con weekend.
A total of 11 Downtown businesses racked up a total of $48,500 in fines over illegal building wraps.
That includes: Lou & Mickey's, The Collection, Huntress, Pendry, Hilton Gaslamp, Omni, Hard Rock, Hasta Manana, Harbor Club Towers, Ebenezer and Spill the Beans and Bagels.
Those citations ranged from $500 to up to $7,000.
"The City’s Building and Land Use Enforcement Division (BLUE) enforces unpermitted Comic-Con signage by issuing Administrative Citations (fines) for violations. As is its practice for most code enforcement cases, BLUE normally provides a courtesy notice that serves as a warning and education, though flagrant or repeat offenders should not expect a warning prior to getting fined. BLUE is part of a team of City staff that coordinates to prepare for and manage Comic-Con, to help make it safe and successful, and encourages property owners to observe the rules as they celebrate," said the City.
These fines for illegal building wraps are much higher this year compared to the $19,000 in fines last year.
Recently, the San Diego Municipal Code raised the fine for violations from $1,000 per violation to up to $10,000 per day. This went into effect on July 15, the week before Comic-Con began this year.
ABC 10News has reached out for comment from Elevue and is waiting for a response.
