The sign company has asked the court to declare the county's moratorium null and void and issue a temporary injunction against the county so the 441 sign can be used to generate income.
County commissioners instituted a moratorium on the construction of all off-premise signs, including billboards, during a meeting in August attended by several Dillsboro residents and business owners who spoke out against the PNE AOA sign just south of their town's limits. A 60-day extension of the moratorium was granted last week, pushing the stop-work order deadline to Dec. 18.
County planners have been instructed to use the moratorium to develop an ordinance to regulate all off-premise signs. A draft of that document will be reviewed by the county planning board Oct. 19, after which it could be ready for review by county commissioners.
In their suit against the county, PNE AOA has claimed that they became aware of the county's moratorium when they attempted to file a permit with the DOT for the U.S. 441 sign and were told "there was not need to file an application because DOT is prohibited from issuing sign permits if the issuance is in conflict with a county zoning code."
The situation is more complicated than that, said DOT 14th Division District Engineer Rick Styles. The DOT has considered the U.S. 441 sign to be out of compliance with its regulations since it was constructed. The Department of Transportation's legal counsel staff in Raleigh is reviewing the case, he said.
The violation DOT alleges against PNE AOA occurred when the sign company erected its new sign within 300 of another permitted sign and further did not obtain a permit.
In order to rectify the problem it faces as far as the DOT is considered, PNE AOA would need to remove the existing sign, which advertises for the Woodland Motel, and request that the permit for the Woodland sign be cancelled. Neither of these actions have been taken by PNE AOA, Styles said.
"They break the law and we get sued. Go figure," said county Manager Jay Denton, who also serves as chairman of the county board.
County attorney Raymond Large responded to the lawsuit by denying the county's requirement to notify the public when it plans to consider a moratorium.
"But it should be pointed out that (the county) does plan to hold a public hearing prior to adopting its off-premise sign ordinance," Large said Tuesday.