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QQ Seasonal businesses rely heavily on temporary signage that may be in place for
<br />extended periods of time.
<br />Enforce Fairly and Consistently
<br />Given that few localities have staff focused
<br />exclusively on proactively identifying code vio-
<br />lations, most zoning enforcement is complaint
<br />driven. To counter this issue, communities
<br />should always consider what their enforce-
<br />ment capabilities are when writing any zoning
<br />requirement, especially as it relates to signs.
<br />Consider whether there are other staff mem-
<br />bers, outside the planning and zoning depart-
<br />ment, who could be trained and authorized
<br />to assist in enforcement, if necessary. Finally,
<br />make sure that your regulations can be fairly
<br />and consistently enforced. This can reduce the
<br />potential for conflict associated with selective
<br />enforcement, and it also tends to lead to bet-
<br />ter compliance because temporary sign users
<br />become increasingly aware of the implications
<br />of overstepping the requirements.
<br />Educate Residents and Business Owners
<br />Communities are finding success with ad-
<br />ministration and enforcement by proactively
<br />reaching out to businesses and residents with
<br />educational brochures or workshops related to
<br />sign regulations to ensure a clear understand -
<br />enay G. IVIOeller
<br />1
<br />ing of expectations and requirements. Not all
<br />business owners are aware that communities
<br />have temporary sign regulations and can risk
<br />losing money by investing in the wrong type
<br />of sign. Proactive outreach activities allow the
<br />communities to educate those owners and pos-
<br />sibly save them time.
<br />CONCLUSIONS
<br />Temporary signs have long been a difficult
<br />aspect of zoning regulations. Communities
<br />want to reasonably control them, but the ad-
<br />ministrative and enforcement aspects of these
<br />ever-changing structures can pose problems,
<br />especially when the content comes into play.
<br />The Reed case provided a response to one ele-
<br />ment of sign regulations but still leaves some
<br />questions. At the same time, the case has also
<br />provided communities a very good reason for
<br />reevaluating how and why they regulate signs
<br />and what changes need to be made to focus on
<br />the structure rather than the content.
<br />This article is based in part on the Signage
<br />Foundation, Inc. report Best Practices in
<br />Regulating Temporary Signs.
<br />Resources
<br />Mandelker, Daniel R., John M•Baker, and Richard Crawford. 2
<br />0
<br />15. Street Graphics and
<br />the Law, Fourth Edition (PAS 580) Chicago: American Planning Association Planning
<br />AdvisoryService. Available at tinyurl.com/h4xw5nk.
<br />Mintz Testa, Bridget 2015. "Sign ofthe Times." Planning, February. Available at plan
<br />ning.org/planning.
<br />Moeller, Wendy E. 2015. Best Practices. in Regulating"Temporary Signs. Washington, D.C.;
<br />Signage Foundation, Inc."Available:attinyurl.com/p7zetzq.
<br />SCOTUSblog. zo15. "Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona." Available at tinyurl.com/zjrep8rn.
<br />ABOUT THE AUTHORS
<br />Wendy E. Moeller, AICP, is a principal and owner
<br />of Compass Point Planning, a planning and
<br />development firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
<br />She is the primary author of Best Practices in
<br />Regulating Temporary Signs. She was recently
<br />elected to serve as the APA Region IV Director
<br />and currently serves as a board member of the
<br />Signage Foundation, Inc.
<br />Alan Weinstein has a joint appointment at
<br />Cleveland State University as professor of
<br />law at the Cleveland -Marshall College of Law
<br />and professor of urban studies at the Maxine
<br />Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. He
<br />is past chair of the Planning & Law Division
<br />of APA and has published and practiced
<br />extensively in the area of sign regulation.
<br />Cover: © thinkstockphotos.com 1 izeeiz
<br />Vol. 33, No. 2
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