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Lorain City officials discussed during an Aug. 19 public hearing regulating feather signs, or cloth flag-like signage, used for advertising in the city.
Staff of the Department of Building, Housing and Planning presented information at the hearing regarding the popular signs used to market a business, its products, hours or other general information.
At least 40 locations throughout the city use the signs, which currently are prohibited by the city’s zoning code which regulates temporary and permanent signage.
The officials are considering removing the signs from the prohibited signs ordinance and regulating them so that businesses can continue to correctly use them.
On July 9, the city’s Planning Commission unanimously voted to amend the ordinance to allow the signs, according to city documents.
Officials want the legislation to include a one-year use permit for the signs to avoid having them become tattered or in disarray which sometimes leads to them impeding vision on the roadways, said Matt Kusznir, director of the Department of Building, Housing and Planning.
Most manufacturers of the signs recommend using them for a year, Kusznir said.
If passed, the proposed amendment will limit how many signs a business can display based on the amount of frontage the property contains, he said.
For example, currently officials are considering allowing one sign per 50 feet of frontage, said Evelisse Atkinson, a planning and zoning administrator for the Department of Building, Housing and Planning.
Officials haven’t yet determined how much to charge for a permit.
The matter came to the attention of city officials after they received several complaints about the poor condition of the signs, Atkinson said.
Atkinson showed City Council members multiple photographs taken of the feather signs that were in good, fair and poor condition as she presented further information to them.
“Some are being used appropriately,” she said, adding that others are not being maintained and have fallen on the sidewalks and other places. “We definitely heard from the business community that are beneficial and could help with the marketing and advertising, of course, so we didn’t want to be prohibitive in that way where we’re not economically friendly to our business owners or attracting business.”
If approved, the signs will be included in the temporary signs ordinance so that they can be regulated, Atkinson said.
In addition to advertising businesses, the signs can be used for promoting such events like a garage sale, block parties and others, she said.
However, if there are too many feather signs in one area, it causes an eye sore and can obstruct view, Atkinson said.
“If there’s too many feather signs, it just doesn’t look clean,” she said. “It doesn’t look manicured and maintained.”
bunting flag The question will now be asked of City Council whether to amend the ordinance when it resumes meetings this month following its summer break.