More Than 700 Signatures Gathered for Neon Sign Ban Repeal

With 13 days left to gather signatures from Woods registered voters, a group of business owners is stepping up its efforts. They've gathered more than 700 signatures so far. 

The group is aiming to have the portion of the Woods signage ordinance that bans neon type signs overturned. If they gather at least 10 percent of the voting public's signatures, the issue will go for a general vote on the November ballot. If they gather 25 percent of the registered voters, the council has a few options: repeal it immediately or put it on the November ballot for a general vote.

The group needs more than 1,300 signatures to reach the 10 percent goal.

Group leader Alan Domzalski, who owns with his wife Val, said the petition is right on track and with the warmer weather expected this weekend, the door-to-door campaign is likely to begin. About 30 businesses are helping to gather signatures, he said.

Eight Woods businesses appealed to council last month to have their signs exempted from the city's ordinance banning neon signs. The appeals were heard one by one and systematically denied. Councilwoman Lisa Pinkos Howle voted in favor of the businesses each time but was not given any support by other council members.

The issue of neon signs has been an on-again-off-again topic for council since 2002. The original ordinance banning neon is from the 1970s but it was never enforced. Then in 2002, the council began taking an interest. Since then, the portion of the sign ordinance that bans neon has been changed numerous times. 

The most recent version nixed them altogether, but allowed those with existing signs to keep them until October 2010. Of the 51 businesses with neon in October, 41 removed their signs, two were ticketed and later removed their signs with dismissal of the violation, and eight appealed–first to the planning commission and then to the council. 

Among the eight who appealed are the and , where neon signs have been in their windows for decades. The sign in McCubbins has been there since before the city was actually a city. 

Business owners say the ban is detrimental to their businesses, because without the neon, they claim it's difficult to tell when stores are open along the Mack Avenue business corridor. 

For the council, most say they are against the ban but feel they had to enforce it now that it's law. The city's projected long-term plan for the aesthetics along the business corridor is also in part a reason for the neon ban, Councilman Joseph Sucher said. "The city didn't get to looking this way by accident," he said.

Part of that strategic plan is to ensure the Woods is set apart from other communities, which is what residents have come to expect, he said. 

The business owners highlight the fact that no complaints have been filed by residents, and as they talk about their fight within the community, they say they are not hearing any disagreement.

The comment that no one wants Mack Avenue to look like Eight Mile Road has been thrown about during the battle and no one on either side disputes this, but the business owners also say their signs are tasteful and none are obnoxious or out of control.

During an organizational meeting last monthwith business owners, Domzalski said he had expected to encounter some people who disagreed, but had not run into any. To him, it is all the more reason to do the signature drive, he said.

The group must submit the signatures to the city clerk by March 1, at which time they will be reviewed and verified one by one.