Deadlock Moves Signs Issue to Feb. 26 Agenda

A rare 2-2 deadlock on the City Council has delayed action on a proposal to revise the city’s sign-control ordinance.

At issue is a plan to give preliminary approval to a new sign-control ordinance and then schedule a public hearing on it.

The council asked City Atty. John E. Cavanaugh to suggest changes to the existing law because of bitter disputes during the city’s Nov. 6 recall election. Many political signs were removed during the fall campaign amid confusion about where they could be legally posted.

Cavanaugh submitted his suggestions Monday night to the council, which voted on an ordinance that would strictly forbid placing signs, including campaign material, on public rights of way, including telephone poles.

Councilman Tom Carroll and Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry voted against the proposal, and Mayor Walter K. Bowman and Councilwoman Mary Ann Jones voted for it.

The fifth council member, Cecilia L. Age, was absent because of illness. Bowman said the deadlock means that the sign-control issue will be on the agenda again at the Feb. 26 meeting.

Carroll denounced the proposal as being “mean-spirited.” He moved for the council to reject the suggested changes, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Kerry said she could not support a revised ordinance unless it made offenders compensate the city for the cost of removing illegally placed signs.

Bowman and Jones, however, said they think changes in the sign-control law are needed.

Some residents also spoke out on the sign-control issue. One of them, Don Wesing, said, “Public land should be available to post anything.”

Wesing, who was a recall activist, was among those who charged by the city with improperly removing campaign signs last fall.