Salina, Kan. – When Salina tattoo artist and shop owner Michael Train painted a mural on the side of his building at 314 S. Broadway, he thought he was adding color and character to the block. Instead, it sparked months of disputes with the City of Salina over whether the artwork was a painting or a sign.
Train, who owns Train In Vein Tattoos and the newly opened Train In Vein Exotic Pets, said city officials in the Community & Development Services Department told him the mural counted as advertising and pushed it over the allowable square footage for signage. “They told me this is an advertisement, and they weren’t going to give me a permit,” Train said. “To me, it’s simply artwork.”
After repeated visits to city offices, Train said he finally discovered a way forward. Smithers Avenue, the dirt road behind his building, is classified as a city street. That meant the property could qualify for additional signage. The City agreed to issue a permit for several hundred dollars, but only after months of back-and-forth.
“I had to fight just to paint a mural,” he said. “If they wanted to take me to court over artwork, so be it. That’s not support for small business.”
The mural is not the only signage issue Train points to. For more than six months, he has been trying to place a sign for his exotic pet shop atop existing pylon poles outside the building. He said the City refused to allow the work when the sign was built by a local fabricator instead of a licensed contractor. Later, he was required to submit a full site plan showing the poles’ location, even though signs had occupied the same location for decades.
Meanwhile, unused signs on a neighboring property still stand, blocking the view of his future sign from northbound traffic. Train said he asked the City to enforce its own rules on abandoned signage, but was told officials did not have the time or resources to pursue it.
“They hold me up for months on end over a sign,” Train said, “but they won’t remove signs that block my business.”
For Train, the conclusion is clear. “The City doesn’t support small businesses,” he said. “We do everything we can to make something out of nothing, and instead of backing us, they pile on obstacles.”
(All photos provided by Train In Vain Tattoos LLC / Train In Vain Exotic Pets LLC)
