Belleville holds joint meeting to discuss new Sign Ordinance

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
The council chamber at City Hall was packed with community leaders on July 16, when members of the City Council, Planning Commission and Downtown Development Authority met for a workshop session to discuss a proposed Sign Ordinance.
After more than an hour of discussion, Mayor Kerreen Conley said she would add the ordinance to the July 21 city council meeting agenda so they could set a public hearing and, “keep the ball rolling so it can be done.”
“This is our long-awaited get together to discuss and consider the Sign Ordinance,” began Mayor Conley. “Countless hours have been put in and re-put in and it’s much closer to where we’d like to see it.”
Steve Jones, chairman of the Planning Commission, gave a timeline of the ordinance, saying four years ago it was brought to city council because of problems with enforcement with local businesses.
He said a council-level committee brought forward a recommendation, but then it was sent to the planning commission. The planning commission and DDA put together a join committee.
“It was choppy and hard to read and enforce,” Jones said of the ordinance, noting they worked on it for a long time.
The last subcommittee was made up of Mike Renaud, Gary Snarski, Ken Voigt, and Jones. They met with the planner.
“This is our best so far,” Jones said of the 32-page document before city officials that evening. (There was only one member of the public at the meeting: the Independent.)
Jones said the ordinance is put together in the Clearzoning process their planner started. The city’s ordinances have been put on the web with cross references and the sign ordinance has been done the same way.
“You can quickly refer to the sign ordinance before coming to the planning commission,” Jones said. “Before that, everything was hard copy.”
Jones said what spurred the project originally was that businesses had problems. One had window advertising from its national office and it had to use it and couldn’t change the size.
The old ordinance said a business could only cover up 30% per pane and it was a violation if a business used more.
Jones said the subcommittee thought it made sense to increase the total from 30% to 35% of the total window space. For example, if a business had six windows, it could cover two completely with posters.
“It also allows you to pick and choose how you use your advertising,” Jones said.
“We also cleaned up definitions and added definitions for murals,” Jones said. “Most communities have separate documents for murals, including maintenance and how they’re taken care of.”
He said California and Washington State have gone through lawsuits on murals vs. signs.
Jones said one of the suggestions was a sign review committee, but he said they decided they didn’t need another level of review, since the city had a hard enough time finding people to serve on committees.
He said they edited some things, like the 16 square feet maximum for temporary signs has been increased to 32 square feet.
They also changed a lot of small things, Jones said.
“Political signs are being haggled over in other communities,” Jones said, noting they are going from not regulating them at all because of free speech issues or regulating them as a sign.
DDA chairman John Hoops asked what is the biggest change and Jones said “calculation of windows.”
Planning commission member John Juriga disagreed, saying, “The biggest is enforcement.”
Jones said once A-frame signs were not allowed and now they are allowed and there was discussion on how many should be allowed per property.
DDA member Jim Higgerson said many years ago there were questions over pole signs and a $300 incentive given to help replace a pole sign with a monument sign. He said some are still up and he wondered if they were grandfathered.
Jones explained by pointing to what happened with the Red Apple. He said the business changed hands, so the sign had to come in compliance. Or like the late Chesley Odom’s office with a pole sign that had to be removed after the building was vacant six months.
DDA treasurer Sabrina Richardson Williams asked about murals, one of her main interests for the city.
“That’s on our plates to do next,” Jones said, adding that the City of Seattle and Los Angeles had numerous lawsuits over murals. The issue is, once it’s up, who takes care of it?
“The city allows it and who takes care of it?” Jones asked, offering, “The nonprofit who put it up?”
He said they will form another group to tackle the question of murals.
The city’s new part-time Building Official Rick Rutherford asked in the sign standards does it say pole signs are prohibited? He said it does say the poles should be shrouded.
“The fact that it’s available on line is important,” Rutherford said. He said the city had to fax the sign ordinance to California to show a sign company why its sign was a violation here.
He said a salesman convinced a local business that he knew the local ordinances and sold a sign that was in violation.
Councilman Tom Fielder said, “Coming into town there is an unnamed business” with complete window coverage.
He said the city will have to convince the owner why it’s a good idea not to cover all the windows.
“We’re not out to hurt your business, but make the community better,” Fielder said.
Jones said the business owner must be told it is not helping it to have a million signs, but the store needs, “more of a direct message.”
Fielder said some businesses consider the sign ordinance more of an intrusion.
Rutherford said he goes out and talks with the businesses.
City Manager Kollmeyer said if something is not specified in the ordinance, “We don’t allow it.”
DDA member Brian Copsey, owner of Bayou Grill, asked about putting a film on his windows with promotions or string lights. The film with a sign on it is figured as a window sign.
Jones said seasonal string lights are OK, for Christmas or whatever, but outlining the roof of the building is not allowed.
Renaud said the window treatment at The Lunchbox is on the inside and allowed.
DDA member Williams asked about L.A. Insurance at Five Points.
“Are they up to code? They’re pretty well lit and open constantly,” she said, referring to the Open sign that blinks 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“That’s enforcement,” Jones replied.
Kollmeyer said Marathon, recently reopened at Five Points, wanted the blinking Open sign and their gas prices up there.
Jones said the sign ordinance wants everything nice and neat. If a place goes out of business, the signs come down so the place can look as nice as possible.
Mayor Pro Tem Jack Loria said the city should get printed ordinances for businesses.
“It’s on line, but people can come in and get printed ordinances,” Rutherford said. He said with the ordinances on line, people can study them instead of what they have done, “Sending it in like a crap shoot, hoping the city might pass it.”
Kollmeyer said with the old copy of the sign ordinance, you would have to search and search for the regulation you wanted. With the new one, she said, you can type in a search word and come up with what you need.
“It’s cross-linked and key words,” said planning commission vice chairman Hawkins.
Planning Commissioner Matthew Wagner said political signs can be up for 30 days and taken down five days after the election.
Jones said election sign ordinances are being challenged in some communities for not allowing free speech.
“We allow them, but you can’t have a sign up from the primary through the general election,” Jones said.
Renaud said electronic signs have their own ordinance and there will be no more in town than there are now.
“It’s only allowable by the city and schools,” Jones said, explaining the school doesn’t have to comply with city regulations, but they were “good neighbors” in keeping their sign small and only one color.
“I haven’t heard any desire to change that,” Mayor Conley said of the electronic sign ordinance.
Renaud asked about having murals downtown.
Mayor Conley said in order to make it all work, you need a process.
“One big problem with murals,” Jones said, “…they morph into signs to advertise the building they’re on.”
Renaud said, “You want civic themes.”
Juriga said about a year ago there was a problem with how to enforce the sign ordinance.
“I think we need more than Rick or Rick full-time,” Juriga said. “Show them we mean business and even take some to court.”
“I don’t agree with you,” Mayor Conley said. She said the planning commission had a public hearing and there will be a hearing at the city council. Everyone will have it in hand, she said.
“The thing about Rick is that he has the background with a focus on ordinances and enforcement,” Mayor Conley said.
“I’ve been on the planning commission for 11 years and I’ve never seen it,” Juriga said of sign enforcement.
“We can’t do it all at once,” Mayor Conley said. “We have to start at one place.”
“You have to put money behind it,” Juriga said.
DDA member Snarski said there probably aren’t that many noncompliant businesses, maybe 20, he said. He said Rutherford will go out and give them an ordinance and give them time to fix it – a week or two weeks.
“It has to be enforced,” Snarski said. “One step at a time. It took us five years to get it. We’re in the 11th hour and once we get it passed, we enforce it.
“I believe we have the courts behind us. We didn’t before,” he said.
“Once they are informed, enforcement is easier,” Mayor Conley said. “We prefer compliance. We prefer not to have to go to court.”
“I agree with you,” Snarski added. “It has to be enforced. One hundred percent coverage of windows is tacky.”
“We want to tell people we want to help them,” Kollmeyer said. “We wrote a ticket for a business to get a sign down. It came down. Didn’t want to fight it. A police officer has to write the ticket and go to court.”
“I think we’re going to find most businesses want to have a nice business and follow the rules,” Jones said.