Signs of change coming
for downtown Lexington
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| Blue Sky Bakery writes its daily specials on an outside sign. It is erased every day after lunch. (MICHAEL MORELLA/The Rockbridge Report) |
A proposal from local merchants to revise Lexington’s law regulating temporary signs could go before City Council in coming weeks.
At least 20 business owners have collaborated on a proposal to change the ordinance, which they see as overly rigid. After presentations before the Planning Commission and the Architectural Review Board this month, several business owners said that members of the two city advisory panels seemed open to the idea.
The group, which says that reduced restrictions on signs could help boost local business, hopes to refine the proposal and bring it before council in the next few weeks.
The city’s current law prevents local merchants from displaying temporary signs that might impede foot traffic outside their stores. It also restricts the use outside their stores of certain types of banners and flags with lettering. A change in sign regulations would require a change in zoning, which must be approved by council.
John Owen, a member of the group proposing the changes, has been leading the push for temporary signs for nearly a decade.
“The first time we used [a temporary sign], the wrath of God descended on us,” Owen said of an incident nine years ago. Owen, who is a part owner of Artists in Cahoots, remembers placing a sandwich board advertising a sale outside the store and receiving a cease-and-desist order from the city.
Owen, a native of England and an extensive traveler, said that signs in historic cities across Europe help bring life and vibrancy to the downtown areas.
Last September, Owen and nearly two dozen other merchants met with the Chamber of Commerce serving Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County to express their mutual concern over the current law, which was written several decades ago. The group met weekly over the course of the next month to construct its proposal.
Sammy Moore, executive director of the Chamber, was pleased to see Lexington businesses, new and old, working together on the proposal.
“We wanted them to take the lead and kind of go,” Moore said.
Moore agrees with local merchants that temporary signs will help bring customers to stores and better promote local events.
“In challenging times like we’ve got, we need this more than ever,” he said.
Moore and Owen took their proposal before the Planning Commission on Jan. 8 and the Architectural Review Board on Jan. 15. Moore said the Planning Commission seemed receptive to the idea of allowing certain exterior signs on a one-year trial basis.
Currently, it is the responsibility of Lexington’s Architectural Review Board to define the size, type, and materials of signs in the city’s downtown district.
Board member Chris Howison, who operates Artisans on Washington Street, said she recognizes the need to preserve Lexington’s attractiveness and still allow merchants like her the opportunities they desire. She and the rest of the board were concerned about the safety and scale of temporary signs, particularly on Lexington’s many narrow sidewalks.
Moore says that he and his colleagues have tabled a proposal regarding illuminated signage, but will continue to push for permission for temporary signs and flags.
John Morman, part owner of Celtic Tides and of Peanut Butter & Jelly, appeared with Owen before both city groups. He said he was pleased that city officials seem willing to discuss the issue with local merchants, especially in considering new technologies in signage.
“What we proposed … was no more than a starting point,” Morman said. “We didn’t expect to get final permission in one go.”
Some businesses have already found creative ways to advertise sales and short-term events. Mike Gregg, part owner of Blue Sky Bakery, hangs a chalkboard listing the restaurant’s lunch specials outside his store each day.
“For that type of sign – for us – it seems like a no-brainer,” Gregg said.
Owen, however, is frustrated that the city does not yet view other temporary signs that way. He hopes the sandwich board he still displays outside his store each business day will be allowed to remain for months to come.
“Everyone’s got an opinion on sign boards,” he said. “It’s not rocket science, really.”
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SEEING SIGNS: Watch a slideshow of the store signs around Lexington
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd