Sign Ordinance Back on Drawing Board

Last month, the issue of signs on city property was a hot topic at municipal meetings. , the Street Committee discussed a proposal written by John "Jack" Finn that would make it against city code to put campaign signs on any property other than your own. , residents spoke during the public portion of a Board of Aldermen meeting, prompting concerns that proper markings were a matter of public safety.

Taking all this into account, Finn's original proposal is being fine-tuned even further. He had initially included only political campaign signs in his ordinance, but some Board members feel this is "discriminatory."

"Why single out campaign signs as the thing to go after?" asked Aldermanic president John Anglace, Jr.

One reason for doing so would be the fine attached to ignoring the ordinance. The Street Committee suggested imposing fines up to $250 for offenders. If all types of signs were included under the regulation, that means ads for blood drives, biddy baketball sign-ups, girl scout meetings and the like would be deemed unsightly.

"Those are some of the activities that make a community work," Mayor Mark A. Lauretti said. Anthony Simonetti agreed that different types of signs should be considered differently.

"There needs to be wiggle room," Simonetti said. "Take open house signs, for instance. Sometimes they're put up for four or five hours and then taken down. That's not deserving of a fine."

To help ease the debate, the Board has called upon the Planning and Zoning Commission, which has been pondering the topic themselves. They believe working together would yield the most fair, comprehensive result.

Ruth Parkins, chairwoman of P&Z, adressed the Board saying "It seems premature [for the Board] to be passing an ordinance when we've been working on regulations. We're looking to work in concert with you yo provide some beef behind our own regulations."

Board members took this into consideration and agreed to hold off on voting for or against any signage ordinance at this time.

"Let's wait and see what Planning and Zoning presents to us. We can make amendments if it is not what we want and then vote," said alderman John Papa.

"I suggest we take a couple deep breaths and look at the big picture." Lauretti said.