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COMMISSIONERS BEGIN SIGN ORDINANCE REVIEW

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James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg Commissioners began a review of proposed changes to the town’s sign ordinance. The ordinance is undergoing major re-work, and the review will take place over three meetings. The next two town meetings this month, as well as in April, will be when the discussion is continued. The public is encouraged to let the commissioners know their opinions about the proposed changes so that their input can be taken into consideration.

The changes are needed in order to update the ordinance to deal with new technology and to comply with recent state and federal legal cases involving signage. Town Planner Zach Gulden told the commissioners that in one case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sign ordinances needed to be “content neutral.”

“If your code enforcement officer has to read the sign in order to determine whether a regulation applies, the ordinance provision will likely be subject to a challenge,” he said. He also pointed out that the current town sign ordinance might possibly fail that test because it treats civic and nonprofit signage differently than commercial signage.

One change suggested is to move the sign ordinance from its current location in the town code into the zoning ordinance.

“This will allow the Planning Commission to review and comment on the proposed amendment, and it will allow businesses and residents the opportunity to apply for zoning variances if the property has a unique hardship not recognized by the sign code,” Gulden said.

This first session looked at the proposed types of signs that would be allowed and prohibited. These changes and other proposed changes are based on other sign ordinances around the state.

Sign types such as abandoned signs were obvious choices for prohibited signs. Other types, such as reflective and animated signs, were included because they can lead to distracted driving.

Prohibiting neon signs raised concern among the commissioners. “That one’s just jumping out at me,” said Commissioner Joseph Ritz, III.

Gulden said that whether or not to include neon signs was up to the commissioners, but he pointed out that buildings with neon signage are not eligible for Community Legacy Grants.

Signs that would be allowed under the proposed ordinance include traffic signs, holiday/seasonal decorations, personal expression signs, security signs, flags, arts and murals, legal notices, and temporary signs.

During a February Town meeting, owners of three local businesses (Emmitsburg Tattoo, The Ott House, and Total Look Hair Salon) spoke to express how restrictions on signage would affect their businesses.

Town Manager Cathy Willets told the commissioners that she feels they will find that the changes, taken as a whole, are far less restrictive than the current sign ordinance.

No actions were taken on the proposed changes during the February meeting. The review of the changes continues during the March 4 and April 1 meetings of the town commissioners. Residents and business owners are invited to voice their opinions about the changes at these meetings.  

“We’re really going to dig deep into the details in the next two meetings,” Gulden said.

Even if existing legal signage does not comply with whatever the town commissioners eventually pass, the existing signage will be grandfathered in and allowed to continue unchanged.

Emmitsburg Commissioners are conducting a sign ordinance review to deal with new technology and to comply with recent state and federal legal cases involving signage.

Commissioners Make Changes That Affect Where Churches Can Be

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James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg commissioners approved some changes to the town’s zoning ordinance that affect where churches can be built in the future, after changing references of churches in the zoning ordinance to “places of worship.” This term is more inclusive and would not allow someone to say that a mosque or a synagogue is not a church.

Town Planner Sue Cipperly then presented the planning commission’s recommendation to not include places of worship in most of the town’s residentially zoned areas. The exception would be R-5 areas, which are large lot residential areas.

Currently, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is the only church that Emmitsburg has in a residentially zoned area. Cipperly pointed out that it is because the church predated zoning in the town, and she also noted that the parcel where it sits could also be zoned B-2 because of its location and use.

Rev. John Talcott with Christ Community Church told the commissioners, “I really don’t think churches should be excluded anywhere.”

Places of worship would also be allowed in the town B-2 general commercial zone area. Cipperly explained that places of worship needed to be included in this zoning because auditoriums and theaters were. All three have similar land requirements and generate similar amounts of traffic. To then not include churches could be seen as a violation of federal law, which protects places of worship from zoning discrimination.

The same reason that places of worship needed to be included in B-2 areas is also the reason why they don’t fit in most residential zone areas. They require larger parcels and generate more traffic than is seen in the average subdivision, according to Cipperly.

“If you allow churches in the residential areas, you have to allow the theaters and the auditoriums, too, and we didn’t think that would be an appropriate use,” stated Commissioner Clifford Sweeney.

The zoning changes came about after two local churches—Christ’s Community Church and Emmitsburg Community Bible Church—both approached the town about places where they could construct new buildings.

The commissioners had no problem including places of worship in the B-2 area, but Commissioners Elizabeth Buckman and Joseph Ritz, III, voted against excluding them from residential areas. Commissioners Sweeney, Tim O’Donnell, and Glenn Blanchard voted for the change. Both zoning changes and the language changes all passed.

The Doughboy Will Soon Be Back In Place

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James Rada, Jr.

The Emmitsburg Commissioners voted on a spending limit of $40,000 to make repairs to the Doughboy statue and to build a new pedestal for it during the December 8, 2015, town meeting.

The historic statue, which remembers Emmitsburg’s WWI Veterans, was damaged when it was struck by a car in June.

Two bids were received to perform the needed repair work. One contractor specialized in memorials more than statues, while the second bidder had the experience to perform the work needed on the statue.

Although the town will have to allocate the money for repairs initially, it is expecting to be reimbursed about half the costs by the insurance company of the driver that crashed into the statue.

Town Manager Dave Haller sought the spending limit on repairs so that a contract could be signed to start the repairs.

Once started, it will probably take about six months to complete. The monument was lightly damaged, although it will need to have some seams fixed and sealed. The pedestal will be rebuilt. This is what will take the most time because stone will need to be quarried to use in the reconstruction. The foundation will also need to be replaced.

The existing plaque with all of the names of Emmitsburg’s WWI Veterans on it, will also be repaired and mounted on the new pedestal. Because the plaque separates the names of the African American servicemen from the Caucasian ones, it caused some controversy after the accident, with some residents calling it racist. At one point, it was discussed that perhaps a new plaque should be made.

This idea met with overwhelming opposition with local Veterans, including African American ones.

“The existing plaque will remain,” Haller said.

The Veterans also opposed the idea floated about moving the statue to a new location.

The commissioners have reserved the option of possibly adding a second plaque, either to the pedestal or next to it. This plaque would try to explain the reason why the black soldiers’ names are separate from the white soldiers’ names.

The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the spending limit, with Commissioner Joe Ritz, III, absent.