Signs, signs, everywhere signs ....

Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind ... do this, don't do that - can't your read the sign! PS: Our meetings are on MONDAY now - the second Monday of the month.

Roanoke city zoning as it applies to signs is virtually nonexistent. For those of you that don't know why I am bringing this subject up let me explain. There is a very, very, large political sign at the corner of Cove Road and Ranch Road in Northwest City. Our neighborhood comes and goes from this intersection that is already blocked on the left by a hill. The traffic engineer refused to give us more protection from speeding vehicles coming over the hill then what is there now - an "intersection ahead" sign. You have to put the "peddle to the medal" to get out of here.

Cove Road to the left of the stop sign

Cove Road to the right of the stop sign

Now on the right we have the very large political sign we must look at (and hope don't die from) until November elections is over. Now you say I should complain to the code enforcer? So I did that very thing online and received the response "unfounded" as the explanation. When I called I was told that if you moved up past the stop sign which you have to do to get a good look at the hill on the left you can see around the sign. What???

When I asked then this large sign being OK - our neighborhood could put up any size sign on our property we wanted like a huge "Save Countryside Golf Course" sign? The code enforcer answered in the affirmative. This being true .... send donations please for the biggest most obnoxious signs we can get.

I hesitate here to say the following but OK I will spill my guts! A City staff member confided that the interpretation of sign regulations depends on the Zoning Administrator. So exactly what chance do we have when development at Countryside comes up before the Zoning Board ... what's that I heard you say, "interpretation"? BINGO! You win a view of the alley of a retail store backing up to your house and the smell of a dumpster.

Here is the purpose for regulations on signs as the town of Huntersville, NC, sees it. What is wrong with Roanoke ... left to interpretation says it all. Here is Huntersville's statement on the purpose of regulating signs:

.1 To maintain public safety and traffic safety by ensuring that signs are properly designed, constructed, installed, and maintained;
.2 To minimize the distractions and obstruction of view that contribute to traffic hazards and endanger public safety;
.3 To protect existing development and promote high standards of quality in new development by encouraging appropriately designed, placed, and sized signage.
.4 To provide an effective guide for communicating identification through signage while preventing signs from dominating the visual appearance of the areas in which they are located.

Come on Roanoke, what's with "interpretation"?