Public must be heard on future of billboards

Sussex County Council is methodically making its way through proposed legislation to update its ordinance on billboards and other signs.

Council is carefully reviewing competing proposals that discuss placement of signs, spacing between signs, types of signs permitted, where they are permitted and other specific details.
The work was set in motion by the county board of adjustment, which basically has been approving variances for anyone who asked, because the existing ordinance offered little guidance for denying variance requests.

To say the process is complicated is an understatement; council now has before it a list of recommendations from its task force, a counter proposal from some task force members and sign company owners, a proposal from county planning and zoning, and further suggestions from county staff.

In short, it’s a complex issue, and council is working its way through a detailed document, work further complicated by the existence of numerous nonconforming signs.

Council President Mike Vincent recently expressed dismay that the public has not yet weighed in. Still, it’s highly unlikely the public welcomes more signs. It’s far more likely people are slow to mobilize when they don’t yet know what rules are likely to be adopted.

The task force discussed a possible ban on signs on back roads. Yet at last week’s council meeting, we learned council is considering allowing digital signs on two-lane roads, with Councilman Rob Arlett suggesting it would be discrimination against businesses not to allow digital signs on some roads.

If no new signs are allowed on two-lane roads, that could hardly be considered discrimination. It would instead be a victory against sign pollution. Without strong limits, every two-lane road in Sussex will soon mirror Route 1, as sign companies race to secure every allowable sign location.
It’s safe to say, other than a few sign-company owners and perhaps a few large store owners, no one wants more billboards.

The public should be warned: If you don’t want more signs and billboards on Sussex roadways, now is the time to weigh in and be heard.