Balloons – a mainstay of birthday parties and cookie-and-punch celebrations the world over – aren’t so innocent after all.

At least not in Lawrence.

City inspectors recently sent letters to all six of Lawrence’s new car dealers, informing them they violate a long-standing provision in the sign code when they attach balloons to the antennas of parked cars.

City Manager Mike Wildgen said the provision in the city code was not new, but inspectors recently began to notice more balloons.

“The reason it is in the code is because (balloons) have the potential to create a distraction and draw attention away from motorists,” Wildgen said. “And that is exactly what they are trying to do. They’re trying to get people to notice their cars.”

Car dealers tonight will ask city commissioners at their weekly meeting to consider changes to the code that would allow balloons to once again fly.

“If you drive by a car lot and we just have cars out there, it is just a car lot,” said Loris Brubeck Jr., owner of Jim Clark Motors. “But if you drive by a car lot with balloons, people say there is something going on there. We need something to make people realize it’s not just a parking lot.”

Balloons highlight a car inside the Laird Noller Mitsubishi dealership on Iowa Street. City inspectors recently sent letters to all six of Lawrence's new car dealers informing them that they were in violation of the city's sign code when they attached balloons to the antennas of cars parked outside.

Dale Willey, president of Dale Willey Automotive, said he’s not convinced the balloons are causing safety problems. He said the large banners and pennants used by Realtors to advertise open houses pose more of a traffic risk. Real estate agents were given an exemption from the city code to advertise open houses.

“I don’t think we’re asking for something that is unfair, especially when you consider the amount of tax dollars we contribute to the local economy,” Willey said.

The auto dealers put together numbers showing that their six businesses pay approximately $9 million in sales taxes and generate $13.6 million in wages annually.

The dealers likely will face a commission that is split on the subject. City Commissioner David Schauner said he could see some justification for the city’s ordinance.

“I’m a little hesitant to add more visual distractions along our arteries,” Schauner said. “The last thing Iowa Street needs is more stuff to look at other than the car in front of you.”

But City Commissioner Mike Amyx said this seemed like an opportunity to help businesses by making a simple change.

“I think in the grand scheme of things, this is a pretty small deal,” said Amyx, who owns a downtown barbershop. “I think right now we need to be doing what we can to help our businesses in this town. And we’re not talking about billboards here.”

The car dealers have said they would agree to limits on how they use the balloons. In particular, they would agree to prohibiting balloons that fly more than 15 feet high or are more than 24 inches in diameter.

The city’s code now allows car dealers to use balloons, if they first receive a temporary sign permit. The temporary sign permit, though, would allow the car dealers to use the balloons only a couple of times per year.

Dealers also are asking for a change in the portion of the sign code that regulates the signs that are sometimes placed in front of cars advertising specials. Dealers are asking to pay a special $25 fee that would allow them to use the signs once every three months.

Commissioners meet at 6:35 p.m. tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.