The sign ordinance has definitely been one of the hot stories in Albany, with plenty of people weighing in including us here at SWGA Politics. Well, yet more momentum can be found in this WFXL report (It is the video link. Text is here, though it’s not the full text of the video.) And folks, yours truly and this blog are in the story.
All over town, more and more people are expressing outrage over this law, but City Manager Al Lott does bring up a good point. That is, the laws most are getting hit with have been in place for almost 20 years, it’s just that Code Enforcement didn’t have the personnel that they do now to actually enforce it.
First, let me point out that as a young teen, I thought this law was messed up from the start. It’s not that far from telling people what kind of fruit trees they can plant in their yards. In other words, it’s a property rights issue. It’s your property, but we’re going to tell you what you can do on it. This has always been a problem for me, so the idea that it’s a 20 year old law doesn’t really do a whole heck of a lot to make me feel better about it.
Second, if these rules are 20 years old, then please explain why Bo Henry was granted a permit to repair his second ground sign at Harvest Moon? If it shouldn’t have been granted, then the city blew it and they need to work with Henry to find an amicable solution. If it was correctly granted, then the city should be grandfathering people like Henry in, and get off his back.
Perhaps the law is indeed 20 years old. Much of it is, that’s for certain. Perhaps this is really the result of stricter enforcement. If so, then people are starting to get an idea of what this law really means, and from what we’re seeing and hearing, that means things that most people and business owners aren’t happy with. Albany needs to remember that the majority of people aren’t employed with the City, or MCLB, or Phoebe, or P&G. No, they’re employed by small businesses, the same ones being hit by these laws.
In this economy, the city needs to do some serious looking at this law, and do a serious roll back on these restrictions. If not, many businesses may move into the County or into Lee County and that’s a blow the city really can’t take.
Tom, first, the sign ordinance now in place has been in existence less than 24 months. There have been various versions of this ordinance in place for years, but as each such ordinance was deemed not to be destructive enough to the local economy, the Keep Albany Beautiful Commission (Judy Bowles) has pressed for consistently less rational and more anti-business provisions.
In order to undermine the local economy, all manner of frivolous excuses and justifications were raised, the most idiotic of which was that signs are a distraction to some drivers who might mistake them for stoplights (query: why are such people driving?) and that professionally produced posters in retail storefronts were “blight.”
Second, bear also in mind that the sign task force was created as a way for the elected governing body of our city (the city commission) to “outsource” the creation of this ordinance to unelected parties such as Judy Bowles of the unelected Keep Albany Beautiful Commission. In this manner, our cowardly commissioners were able to both disclaim creation of the ordinance, while simultaneously placing it in the hands of those highly unfriendly to business and destructive to the local economy.
http://www.albany.ga.us/pd/documents/Sign%20Task%20Force%20Resolution.pdf
Third, the idea that we needed a vastly expanded code enforcement department is a joke. It is patently dishonest to suggest the existing department was overworked as we have now learned certain inspectors were only pretending to work while drawing a check and engaging in less-virtuous pursuits.
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?s=8452697
Additionally, as is well known, downtown and south Albany is littered with hazardous, decaying buildings that apparently receive no attention at all from code enforcement officials who appear to be more focused on keeping Judy Bowles happy by removing posters from shop windows. Given the financial pressures affecting the city budget, significant tax monies would be saved by a meaningful headcount REDUCTION in code enforcement followed by a rational re-allocation of resources to deal with hazardous and decrepit buildings rather than posters.
Fourth, at a deeper level (and if I sound harsh while saying the truth, so be it), our present commissioners are so detached from anything close to economic reality, it is likely they would have voted for anything this ant[i]-business sign task force proposed. In this regard, please bear in mind Commissioner Bob Langstaff’s post to this board regarding the “horrors” of “sign blight” and how he believes the sign ordinance actually is positive for the local economy. Insofar as I believe this sort of [view] is honestly and sincerely held by Mr. Langstaff, he is best voted out of office as soon as possible before more harm can be done from such [views].
Likewise, these unelected bodies such as Keep Albany Beautiful Commission (Judy Bowles) appear to be answerable to no one, yet have a vastly significant impact on local business. Try as I might, I have yet to find any description of what Judy Bowles’ qualifications are to take part in the formulation of a sign ordinance. Other than scoring points with certain social segments or perhaps gaining invitations to certain cocktail parties, it is unclear to me what the commissioners gained from giving such unelected authority to such a person.
Again, without a new city commission made up of people who actually run businesses and work in the real world (not college professors and lawyers), Albany will continue to be destroyed by its own city and county government.
Jack: Much of the current sign ordinance was indeed part of the earlier ordinance, though much of it wasn’t. However, it’s irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. If Lott is correct and the ordinances are from 20 years ago and they’re only now being enforced, then it’s obvious that they need to change. If they aren’t, then not only does Lott not understand the current sign ordinance, but it’s obvious that it needs to be changed. It really doesn’t matter where or when the ordinances came from, truth be told, because Albany is suffering for them.
However, I have to disagree with you opinion about the commission’s make up. While I agree that the current commission has adopted some very anti-business ordinances, namely the sign ordinance, I don’t think that college professors or lawyers are necessarily unable to understand how local business is impacted. Business owners don’t necessarily make good elected officials. If memory serves, you’re not a fan of Jeff Sinyard either, and yet he’s a local businessman who runs a successful small business here in Dougherty County.
There are a variety of problems with the City Commission and it’s make up, I’ll agree, but a good chunk of it is how all elected offices require for working people to leave work for a period of time. At the city commission level, it’s the three meetings a month held during the normal work day. This limits the pool of potential candidates to a point where only lawyers or college professors or others who’s work schedule can offer some flexibility to fulfill the office can actually run. For Congress or the General Assembly? Yeah, there’s no way around that. For city and county commissions? Just move the meetings to the evening hours and everything should be fine. Then, those who own small businesses that require more time and those who work regular 9-5 jobs can at least feel that they could fulfill the obligation of a city commissioner.
I think moving all of the commission meetings to evenings would be better for all citizens. This would allow more people to participate in the process-as commissioners and those who want to be involved and attend the meetings. I also agree with Tom that professors and attorneys don’t necessarily make bad commissioners. I made comments about Roger Marietta regarding the Jolivette case. I sincerely think Roger is a good man and don’t mind him being on the commission. I do wish he would do more research. His liberal leanings often make him see the emotion and not the facts.
We have to do something about the sign ordinance. I was at several of the evening meetings last year while this was being debated. Several business owners did come forward….I can’t tell their concerns were taken into consideration with the end result.
You’re right, moving the meetings would be better overall. It would add to the transparency in local government that I think would work toward the betterment of all.
Tom: My problem wth Sinyard is the conflict of his Phoebe connection when simultaneously having to work with P&G and Miller, not his employement.
Donna and Tom: Very good points about transparency at commission meetings, however, note that the organization that drafted the ordinance wasn’t the commission, but this group of “task force” appointees. What I saw of the commission was that they essentially went through the motions of debating an ordinance that was already drafted by someone else. That’s a bigger problem. Same with ATI, ADICA, etc. It’s the city’s money (taxpayers’ money) but the city is outsourcing it to shadowy, appointed groups to spend, and in the case of ADICA is actually fighting to keep taxpayers out of the process.
My point with transparency is that it would be harder to sneak through anything, and that appointed “task forces” would still see more of the light. However, moving the commission meetings was primarily mentioned as it would potentially open up the pool of candidates and give Albanians more choices for our elected officials.
As for my mention of Sinyard, I didn’t think for a minute that there was an issue with his employment. Instead, I was merely pointing out that a businessman doesn’t necessarily make a better elected official. Someone who owns a business has the potential to run into conflicts of interest that, say, a college professor or attorney may not necessarily. The fact is that each candidate needs to be judged based on their fitness to serve as an elected official for the City of Albany. Their employment may indeed be a factor at times, and it may not at others. It’s up to the people themselves to decide it. For me though, it’s their views that matter, not where their paycheck comes from.
[...] issues with the Albany Sign Ordinance are well known on this site, and now it appears that I have a similar fight of my own. The Barber [...]