Tuesday's discussion by subcommittee members and others interested in the issue of off-premise sign control dealt with the finer points of the draft ordinance, which had been hammered out in at least two previous meetings. David Quinn, a state planner with the Division of Community Assistance in Asheville, is providing the group guidance with the proposed ordinance.
The subcommittee's first item of business was to form another subcommittee to investigate the need for including a "scenic byway" designation for some areas of the county. Such a distinction is used on the federal and state level to prohibit billboards and could be used locally on other county roads where federal regulations have not been established.
One of the most vocal members of the audience, George Allison, owner of Allison Outdoor Advertising in Sylva, reminded board members that at least three stretches of Jackson County roads are currently designated federal scenic byways - the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and U.S. 64.
Those appointed to serve on the scenic byway subcommittee were planning board members Hugh Moon, Brenda Patterson and Phil Gibson. They plan to travel the county and document with photographs areas that could be classified "scenic county byways."
The discussion then turned to the proposed ordinance's list of exempt signs, which includes government signs, construction warning signs, commemoration markers, temporary decorations, political and yard sale signs. After some discussion about the benefit of small "house for sale" signs, the committee added real estate signs into the exempt category.
Off-premise directional signs were recommended by the committee to be a maximum of 16 square feet in size and no more than eight feet tall. A maximum of two of these type signs would be permitted per business. All temporary signs, such as those that advertise a fire department's ham dinner, could not exceed 32 square feet.
Though Allison lobbied subcommittee members to raise the allowable height of off-premise signs to 40 feet, board members stood fast at a 30-foot maximum for signs 300 square feet in area and a 20-foot maximum for signs less than 300 square feet.
"The state allows us 50 feet, and for financial reasons we don't build our signs one foot higher than need be," said Allison.
"But we need to remember that Allison's is not the only sign company that will be working in Jackson County," said Susan Leveille of Webster, who spoke out against the PNEAOA sign erected without a permit, according to DOT officials, near Dillsboro. That sign caused the county board to instate the current moratorium and request an ordinance from the planning board.
The proposed size of signs was not debated Tuesday night. The recommendation from the subcommittee is that a maximum of 300 square feet be allowed per directional flow of traffic on four-lane roads and a maximum of 150 square feet per directional flow of traffic be allowed on two-lane roads. A maximum of two faces per sign structure will also be recommended.
Spacing of billboards was another hotly debated topic. Moon, who said he was speaking for members of the community who had contacted him about the sign issue, suggested a more rigid control in this area - either 2,000 feet on one side of the highway or 1,000 for both. The consensus Moon said he's heard in the community is that the people want to control signs and preserve the beauty of the mountains.
Allison countered by saying that the 300 local businesses who use his advertising service can't be wrong or against the mountain setting.
"I'm talking about places like Western Carolina University, Southwestern Community College and the hospital," Allison said. "If they felt they were cutting off the beauty of the mountains, they would not spend their money on outdoor advertising."
By consensus, committee members recommended that signs be positioned 1,000 feet apart on both sides of the road.
Perhaps the most contentious point of Tuesday's discussion centered around rebuilding of signs following an "act of God." Allison was against the requirement to rebuild destroyed signs to conform to the ordinance. Such a provision would be a financial hardship since long-term leases, some 15 and 20 years, are signed with property owners. Should a four-faced sign have to be replaced by a two-faced sign because of a storm or other act of nature, revenue would decrease but lease payment would not.
"I strongly urge that since we are developing a reasonable ordinance, that the sign companies should come under it in time," said Moon. With that the clause remained.
Should commissioners extend the moratorium tonight, a special meeting of the full planning board will be called, Coward said.