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Thursday, May 4, 2006

Edgewood Businesses Say Sign Limits Hurt

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
    The key to operating a small business is getting noticed by people driving by, Ray Seagers told the Edgewood Town Council on April 19.
    The problem with Edgewood, he said, is that businesses have limits on the size of the signs they can display.
    Bethe Orrell, who owns and operates Good Fibrations, told councilors her business could suffer because of the sign restrictions.
    Currently located in George Court, near the Edgewood municipal offices, Good Fibrations has a large sign on the north side of Route 66 that Orrell said was grandfathered in when the town's sign ordinance passed in 2004.
    In an interview Monday, Orrell said she is concerned that when she moves her business to a larger location on N.M. 344, she will not be allowed to have such a large sign.
    "I want the ability to have something that points people up the driveway," she said.
    Other area business owners including Realtors, car dealerships and various small businesses told the council the town's sign ordinance is unfair and burdensome to small businesses.
    Two of Edgewood's largest businesses, Rich Ford and Smith's, were recently cited by the town for hanging banners on their property.
    Town Planning and Zoning Administrator Karen Mahalick said that under the current ordinance, businesses are allowed to hang banners four times a year— with permission from the town.
    In a phone interview, Mahalick said the sign ordinance dictates business sign size and placement in certain zones along with permitting processes for banners and real estate signs.
    The town's first zone, which allows the largest sign size, centers on the junction of Interstate 40 and N.M. 344. The farther away from that intersection a business is, the smaller its signs have to be, said Mahalick.
    Sign size also must be proportional to the size of the building, according to the ordinance.
    For Realtors, the ordinance can be cumbersome, Seagers said, because it only allows three directional signs to a home and "for sale" signs can be located in a yard only if they have a permit from the town office.
    The signs, said Mahalick, cannot be placed in the right-of-way next to traffic signs or next to roadways.
    Seagers told the council his real estate clients often have problems finding properties in Edgewood because he cannot place directional signs near intersections.
    Edgewood's sign ordinance, written by a committee of residents and business owners, is 47 pages in length.
    Orrell said Monday she does not think the town needs a 47-page ordinance to address business signs.
    "I'd rather see 47 pages on (dangerous dogs) than on signs," she said.
    During the April 19 council meeting, Mayor Robert Stearley asked local business owners to organize and form a group that could revise the sign ordinance.
    Anyone interested in volunteering for the committee should contact Seagers at 281-4445 or 281-1324.
    A meeting will be held Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the "bean barn" at Wildlife West Nature Park to discuss possible changes to the ordinance. Local business owners are encouraged to attend and participate.
    Stearley said he would like the business community to make a presentation to the council sometime during the next few months.