By Bob Burns | Fountain Hills Times
Fountain Hills Councilmember Gayle Earle said it was discussions she had with some business owners that prompted her to want the council to consider changes to the sign regulations in the Zoning Ordinance.
The businesses she talked to are within a larger plaza setting away from street exposure, so, according to Earle they do not get great benefit from an A-frame sign near their entrance. She proposed allowing more than one temporary style sign per business. One of the business owners was also looking for a banner to increase their visibility. The ordinance currently applies time constraints to banner use.
Earle also had a suggestion related to changing the “sign free” zones within Fountain Hills. She suggested carving out the McDowell Mountain Preserve and areas around other parks in the community. Earle said she does not like the sign free areas along the major arterial streets and believes they should be more open to allowing signage.
Town Attorney Aaron Arnson explained that the statute that outlines the designated sign free areas allows for just two areas that are non-contiguous. He said designating the street rights-of-way provides for connected areas.
Vice Mayor Hannah Toth said she finds the use of the major arterials as sign free zones “despicable.
“I think we can find to cover two major areas as sign free without connecting them with streets,” Toth said. She also said she has no interest in devising a permit process to allow additional A-frame signs for a business, as suggested by Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis. “I want to fix the ordinance. It was not done right,” Toth said.
“I think we are trying to have too many discussions at one time,” Kalivianakis said. “We don’t even understand what we are talking about. If you allow two signs for each business, that is too much clutter. We already allow for one at each entrance.”
Read More (subscriber content)
Some stories may only appear as partial reprints because of publisher restrictions.