A recommendation from the Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee that the Town allow only the three existing electronic signs in town has delayed action on the proposed ordinance to grant permission for other electronic signs.
In a letter to the Planning Board, the committee suggested that only the signs at Great Works School, Marshwood High School and the Police Department be granted an exemption from the current ordinance banning all electronic signs in town, rather than granting permission for any such future signs erected by local government or the school district, as has been proposed by the board.
Voting on a proposed sign ordinance change to allow electronic signs in front of Town Hall and any agency or unit of local government or school district was delayed after the Planning Board received the email letter from Roxanne Poulin, Dan Boyle and Jaclyn Bousquet, the members of the Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee.
The letter, read by Town Planner Jeff Brubaker at the board’s Oct. 7 meeting, was in response to the Planning Board’s proposed ordinance change that would exempt local government and the Marshwood school district from existing rules prohibiting electronic signs.
The revitalization committee instead suggested an ordinance change that would address only the three nonconforming electronic signs at the two schools and the police station, granting them grandfathered status, and prohibiting an electronic sign in front of Town Hall or anywhere else in town.
According to the committee, the proposed exemption could lead to signs that would conflict with the committee’s vision for the historic character of the downtown.
Nothing in the Downtown Revitalization Plan, the basis for the advisory committee’s oversight, suggests adding any new electronic signage, wrote Poulin, chair of the committee, in a separate email to the Reporter.
The Town Hall renovation design includes an electronic sign that was approved by the Town Hall Renovation Committee, consisting of Interim Town Manager Jennifer Janelle, Town Council members Mallory Cook and Joel Martin, and the town’s representatives from Dovetail Consulting, Andy Jackson and Forrest Butler.
Planning Board member Tony Palazzetti said the renovation committee, at a recent Town Council meeting he attended, had specifically asked for input from the Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee before anything moved forward.
“The public is always asking for new ways to be informed, and an electronic sign would allow Town staff to communicate events, important dates and meetings to the community,” said Janelle, when asked by the Reporter why Town officials wanted an electronic sign in front of Town Hall.
The proposed Town Hall sign, including installation, utilities and a base, would cost $30,000, she said.
No one from the public attended the Oct. 7 public hearing on the proposed ordinance, which was held before the regular meeting of the Planning Board.
Installation of an electronic sign at Town Hall, which abuts the South Berwick Village Historic District and is across the street from Central School, generated Planning Board discussion about driver distraction and pedestrian safety issues.
Unable to reach consensus on the ordinance change, the board decided to further review the revitalization committee’s recommendation to address the existing nonconforming signs before revisiting the broader exemption for public entities, which was the ordinance on the Oct. 7 agenda.
“We heard the report (from the Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee) but haven’t had time to consider the suggested language and are not ready to make a recommendation,” said Planning Board member Clay Curtis.
