Some people may say that the new Carlsbad sign is just a pointless sham. They say it was a waste of time and money that drained into a shameless copy of the Encinitas sign. “We are already have an identity, why do we need a sign to prove it?”

What people do not put into account is the history of Carlsbad. Carlsbad has been around for at least a century; the sign is in our history. Rather than just being a home where your parents attended school, Carlsbad was the first city in our county to put a sign up in the 1930s. We gave the city of Carlsbad an identity and now we are just following back in our old footsteps.

The sign represents more than just a placeholder to showcase our name. It exhibits what makes our city, Carlsbad. Not only do we have the outlet mall, flower fields and beaches, but we have something that ties the whole city together.  With intricate color coordination and planning, the sign features the beauty of the town; the deep blue ocean coupled with the tan beaches integrated into our sign makes it comparatively better than the plain green and boring sign of Encinitas.

Our city is not a place to stop off and visit restaurants; we do not just hold burrito shops like Lola’s or Cessy’s. We are not just another beach city.

Identity is not the real issue though–a lot of the resentment comes from the thousands spent on leading such a project. Of course, it must be acknowledged that it did cost around a quarter of a million dollars, which is quite a large sum, but the money was spent from local industries, such as the Taylormade Golf Company, to lead the ambitious proposal and create a sign worth the thousands. It is also funded through a “kindness meter” in which locals and tourists could donate money toward the maintaining of the sign. Out of the goodness of your heart, you can contribute to the greatness that is our beautiful sign.

The idea to reinstate the sign came from Carlton Lund, a real estate agent and former chairman of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. He had been pushing the local government to create the sign for 14 years and finally achieved his goal. The creation of the sign is really the continuation of a legacy. We had the sign first. It was no waste.