Council Extends Sign Moratorium Again

In a unanimous vote Monday during a special meeting of council at town hall, council members voted to delay a sign ordinance specifically targeting temporary signs and banners through a moratorium for another six months.

A possibility of repealing the ordinance all together is on the table during the moratorium. Previously, the ordinance had been delayed twice times since being passed in 2010. The last moratorium expired May 12.

The item was not on the agenda. Councilman Walter Bailey brought up the issue during discussion period, saying several citizens have requested to extend the moratorium on enacting the temporary sign ordinance.

As of June 1, all businesses in the town were in compliance with the ordinance, according to Code Enforcement Supervisor James Weldon.

"If most people are in compliance then what good does it do to extend it?" Mayor Bill Collins asked when a motion was made to extend the moratorium. "If we extend it again, should we maybe consider abolishing it all together?"

Bailey responded: "I think abolishing it would take some time and reflection … I was hoping the council could act on the potential extension."

Councilman and agreed.

"You obviously have biz citizens who do what they're supposed to … (but) we're still not in a very strong economy," Jenkins said. "I don't see any downside to the town by extending it for six months … The intention of council is not to have so those signs can be there but to be sensitive to those industries."

According to Weldon, there have been no complaints about the signs out of compliance with the ordinance.

"I imagine that this was enforced to begin with because it started looking shabby," Councilwoman Kima Garten-Schmidt said, 

Bailey motioned to extend the moratorium on the ordinance for another six months and Garten-Schmidt seconded.