Town Board to Host Public Hearing on Sign Ordinance [POLL]

The conversation on signs around Southeast—a subject that officials and business owners recently spent three hours discussing—is set to continue this evening.

A public hearing is the next step in the process for a potential moratorium on enforcing the sign ordinance, which was updated about seven years ago. Business owners were required to comply by mid-November of last year, according to officials.

More than 50 people attended a meeting late last month and listened to Supervisor Tony Hay discuss the issues he sees with the ordinance. He ran through a slideshow—which included photos of scores of business signs across town that reportedly violate the statute—and said he hoped to convince trustees that the law needs substantial revisions.

Signage outside of , , , ,  and even were just some of the examples Hay highlighted in his presentation. The most common offenses he described dealt with size, height and lighting of the signs—as well as quantity.

Several representatives from local establishments, including , and , spoke up in support of changing the law.

"These signs are so important," said Sonny Vataj, owner of Brewster Plaza (located on Route 22 in Southeast, just outside of the Village). "Without them, the businesses might as well move out."

Trustees weighed in at the end of the meeting, and said they believe that a moratorium is the right move. The Board also stressed the need to hear more from residents on the matter.

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