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Monday, January 16, 2006

Ind. Law - Ordinance could limit billboards: Plan backs smaller, lower signs

"Ordinance could limit billboards: Plan backs smaller, lower signs" is the headline to a story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette by Jenni Glenn. Some quotes:

Fort Wayne officials hope to rein in obtrusive signs with a new ordinance. The proposed rules would reduce the number of billboards in the city and make them smaller, said Greg Leatherman, the city’s deputy director of development. Residents will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed changes at a public hearing Jan. 23.

Under the ordinance, the maximum size of a billboard will be reduced to 300 square feet from 675 square feet, Leatherman said. Signs would be lowered to a maximum height of 30 feet, down from 35 feet. Billboards would be concentrated in heavily commercial areas and along highways under the ordinance, he said. The allowed size and height may vary, depending on the zoning district where the sign is located.

The ordinance would reward developers who use certain types of signs that are less intrusive, Leatherman said. Businesses that mount their signs on building walls or install ground-level, ornamental monument signs would be allowed to make their signs larger. City planners hope the ordinance will discourage businesses from using freestanding signs, which can create a cluttered look on city streets, he said.

“If you have existing buildings that have blank walls,” Leatherman said, “why wouldn’t you convert freestanding signs that block and take up space to wall signs?”

The city determines the maximum size of a business sign based on the building’s size and zoning classification. Businesses can sell any excess sign space they have for use as a billboard, Leatherman said. Fort Wayne Plan Commission members can make exceptions for some signs that exceed the size regulations. * * *

The new rules would make it difficult to install new billboards, hurting sign companies and the businesses they advertise, Walcott said. Billboards provide important services, he said. Along Coliseum Boulevard, billboards provide directions to visitors and bring customers to businesses.

Readers may recall the Supreme Court's Nov. 4, 2005 decision involving an Indianapolis sign ordinance in In Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion Co., et al v. Pinnacle Media, LLC.. See the ILB entry here. For follow-up entries, type "Pinnacle" in the search box.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 16, 2006 08:40 AM
Posted to Indiana Law