GREENE COUNTY
A new ordinance setting up restrictions for signs displayed within the city limits of Greensboro will not be voted on at the March 4 City Council meeting as announced. The ordinance completely repeals and replaces the existing sign regulations, Chapter 109 of the city’s Code of Ordinances.
In presenting the new ordinance at the Feb. 20 council meeting, City Attorney Tom Watkins said the proposal “made several changes.”
“This is consistent with a similar ordinance that was proposed about a year-and-a-half ago but was not passed,” Watkins said.
A copy of the ordinance had been distributed to city council members. Despite being considered as the “first reading,” it was not read aloud or made public until after the meeting. It was unclear if businesses affected by the ordinance had been notified.
Wednesday morning, in response to questions by the Lake Oconee News, City Attorney Adam Nelson (the city is represented by attorneys in the firm Fleming & Nelson, LLC) said that the city has decided a public hearing should be held.
“The city will hold a public hearing at the March 21 meeting of the Planning Commission to discuss the proposed ordinances and will consider adoption at the April 1 meeting of the city council,” Nelson wrote in an email to the newspaper.“We will make sure the merchants association is aware of the public hearing.”
City councilmember Jontavious Smith told the Lake Oconee News this week that the main reason that changes were being made in the city sign ordinance is related to a problem he encountered while running for city council in the fall of 2022.
“They said that I was campaigning and had my signs out too early,” Smith said. “They wanted me to take my signs down because of the old ordinance.”
Smith said he got with his attorney and presented information that many cities and counties in Georgia allowed more time for campaign signs to be posted.
“The previous ordinance never took into consideration the early voting period,” Council member Chris Moore told the Lake Oconee News. “We felt the need to address this matter so that there were clear guidelines related to campaign signage.”
Currently, the sign ordinance limits temporary political signs to 42 days before an election and 7 days after the election.
The new ordinance would dramatically expand that to 150 days before an election and 20 days afterward. Other election changes include removing limits on the number of political signs allowed in a lot and no longer requiring political signs to be posted only in developed lots.
More than elections
The new ordinance also addresses all other types of signs in the city limits.
While election signs are called “Class 2 – Temporary,” other temporary signs are lumped into “Class 1 – Temporary.” These signs would be limited to being displayed between 1 p.m. on Fridays and 8 p.m. on Sunday. No temporary signs require a permit.
In recent years, new businesses, especially around the I-20 exit at Highway 44, have sought annexation into the city to take advantage of Greensboro’s water and sewer utilities. The old ordinance sets limits on some signs within 3,500 of an interstate highway, but the new ordinance does not reference the interstate.
Other new additions in the updated ordinance include limitations on the number of “nits” (measurement of brightness) in electronic display signs and a requirement that such signs use “automatic dimming technology.” Also, electronic signs are limited to the number of times they can change a message in a short period.
The old ordinance prohibits sound from signs that can be heard on roads, but the new ordinance does not.
Temporary signs must now be made of waterproof materials and mounted securely with the name and phone number of the party responsible on each signpost.
Rotating, moveable, inflatable, and signs with reflectors or luminescent paint will continue to be prohibited.
The process of registering signs would change, and violations that are considered misdemeanors with fines would become, instead, subject to legal action. It is unclear in the new ordinance what the appeals process would be.
Digital boards constructed before the ordinance goes into effect would be considered “non-conforming.” But, it appears that no reference is made to how the city will handle signs already standing that may violate the new ordinance.
History the same
In the Greensboro Code of Ordinances, the downtown historical district has its own set of regulations for signs – Chapter 107. They will not be repealed with the new ordinance.
So, businesses and residences inside the area bordered by North, West, South, and East streets will still be able to hang exterior banners, use sandwich boards for sidewalk advertising, change information whenever, flash times and temperatures on bank signs, to list a few differences.
A public hearing on the proposed new sign ordinance for Greensboro will be held at the City Planning and Zoning meeting on March 21.