August 20, 2009 | Story by: Brent Miller | Categories: Opinion, Vox Populi
Vox Populi – Latin for “Voice of the People.”
by Brent Miller
“Go put your creed into your deed” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign” – Five Man Electrical Band
These oddly juxtaposed quotes sum up my feelings about one particular aspect of Cary’s sign ordinance: the exemption that our government grants to itself that allows the Town of Cary to put up signs that are illegal for others.
I was reminded of this by two of the stories featured in the August 8 CaryCitizen Editors Journal.
Mr. David Bowden, of the “Screwed by the Town Cary” house-painting fame, is being fined daily by the Town of Cary for violating Cary’s sign ordinance (that message on his house, apparently, is on the wrong side of Cary’s sign law, even though the ACLU has threatened to sue Cary if they continue to enforce this law).
The opening of the Walnut Street Park is a celebration for Cary. The Editor’s Journal features a photo of the sign for the new park. Did you know that the Town’s sign ordinance specifically exempts the Town itself from having to follow its own sign laws? In particular, the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources division is allowed to put up signs that would be illegal at private businesses.
The Town’s sign ordinance (see Chapter 9 of the Code of Ordinances accessible from http://www.amlegal.com/library/nc/cary.shtml) specifically exempts “signs erected on behalf of a governmental or quasi-governmental agency” from regulation. That’s right, the government is not required to follow its own law.
In 2007, Cary’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources division developed a comprehensive sign plan for our public parks. It is an excellent plan that leads to some very effective and attractive signs. Unfortunately, that plan violated several portions of Cary’s sign ordinance, so your Town Council simply said that it is OK for parks signs to be larger, taller and have more colors than businesses signs in town. I expect that many businesses would like to have the same sign privileges that government grants to itself, because it would allow businesses to attract attention with the same effectiveness and attractiveness that is permitted for parks.
Another instance of this same phenomenon is “pole signs”, defined as a “sign which is mounted on a freestanding pole or poles, or other support structure such that the bottom edge of the sign face is 42 inches or more above the adjacent grade or roadway crown height”. The photos both here and above show pole signs. The difference is that the photo on the left was at a private business and was deemed illegal by the Town of Cary. The Town forced the owner to tear down the sign or face hefty fines.
The sign above was put up by the Town government and is exempt from the law that would otherwise make it illegal.
Something seems wrong when a government decides that it should be exempt from the laws that it enforces for everyone else. Town officials have offered various explanations and rationalizations about why it’s OK for the Town of Cary to have a double standard when it comes to signs.
But I don’t buy any of those explanations. If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander. And having two sets of rules, one for government and one for citizens, is just plain wrong.
“It is a good divine that follows his own instructions.” – William Shakespeare
This edition of Vox Populi was written by Brent Miller, a self-described citizen of Cary and a member of the town Planning & Zoning Commission. The opinions expressed in this piece are his own and do not reflect the official position of P&Z or the town. ~ Editor
Sarah Redpath
August 21, 2009 at 3:04 pm
They made the Carpenter Farm Supply tear down their sign? Wasn’t that sign there loooooong before Cary cannibalized the corners of Carpenter? Now, that does NOT seem fair. Especially since its character was completely in context with the business. I’d take 100 of those over those zero personality digital eyesores any day of the week.
Hal Goodtree
August 21, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Took this picture in (approx) Sept 2006. One commenter (on Flickr) called it “that large ugly sign” so go figure.
Brent
August 24, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Yes, they made Carpenter Farm Supply tear down its sign. That particular sign apparently dated to about the 1960s (not nearly as old as the store itself, but reminiscent of a much older sign that had been there in years past).
The Town has since passed an ordinance to accommodate certain “historic” signs, but it wasn’t in time to save the Carpenter Farm Supply sign, nor would that sign have been of the type that would be allowed anyway (its being a “pole sign”).
The landmark sign at South Hills mall also violates the Town’s pole sign ordinance and the Town and the mall owner have been at loggerheads for quite some time — I believe that the Town continues to levy fines on that sign, and I expect the fine total is now substantial.