News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Livingston Aldermen voted Monday night to table discussion on the city’s billboard and sign ordinance for two months in hopes of coming to a better informed final decision.
Mayor Lori Elder Burnett said the bottom line is that the city has to decide if it wants to allow temporary signs to be placed in its right-of-ways. Burnett said the city cannot limit the content of any potential signs but the aldermen need to determine all of the other details involved in the ordinance.
“We need to come with a very specific plan on where the signs should be, the size of the signs,” Burnett said. “Because right now we’re still all over the place about what we want or (are) we going to pay a permit.”
The board voted four to two in favor of tabling the item. Alderman Arno Proctor voted against tabling and said he does not think any of the aldermen will change their minds on the matter at this point.
“Why don’t we just bite the bullet?” Proctor said. “We talked about this for four meetings. Well, three meetings and one work session.”
City Attorney Andre Greppin said the city currently limits temporary signs to be six square feet in size. Greppin said there are provisions for ground signs and portable signs to be twelve square feet in certain zoning districts.
“Portable signs, I think, are more like sidewalk signs with wheels on it or a sandwich board-type thing, I think, is what I think of more when I think of portable signs,” Greppin said. “Temporary signs, I think of like a yard sign or a campaign sign, something like that.”
Greppin said a sign could be both temporary and portable depending on its material and structure. Greppin said setting up a temporary sign would count as the one off-premise sign permitted for each tax parcel in the city.
“I know everybody wants to make an exception for real estate signs or directional signs, specifically real estate and auction signs,” Greppin said. “We just can’t do that. All we can regulate is temporary signs within the right-of-way. If we allow temporary signs in the right-of-way, we have to allow all kinds of temporary signs regardless of what the message is.”
Multiple members of the public made comments about the part of the ordinance related to billboards in the city before the aldermen’s discussion. Some citizens shared concerns that lifting restrictions on billboards would negatively impact the city’s atmosphere while others said it would provide important economic opportunities.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the vast majority of the board is not going to change the billboard portion of the sign ordinance,” Vice-Mayor Rex Dale said. “This re-tabling was more for the temporary or partial signs.”
In other business, alderman accepted a bid to demolish the property at 408 West 4th Street because it has become a safety hazard to the surrounding area. Burnett said the owner was not opposed to the demolition but she plans to discuss the matter with him again Tuesday.
The board also approved an ordinance to rezone the property on 735 Preston Street from R-2 High Density Residential to C-1 Local Commercial.
