Bedford sign ordinance not ready to be mounted

By JEFF MORRIS

The Town Board continued to review proposed changes to the sign ordinance at its June 16 meeting, but those changes still have to go through additional steps. 

After review by the town attorney, the recommendations will next go to the Planning Board, be brought back to the Town Board to make any further changes, and then be subject to a public hearing.

Supervisor Ellen Calves said they did not have a full draft ready, just “kind of an overview of where we are.” 

Changes to sign regulations were discussed back in January, when the ZBA put some applications on hold because it felt there was a need for clarification of what types of signs were permitted, particularly regarding window clings being used in a lot of businesses. The matter was referred to Calves with a request that the Bedford Hills Business Association make recommendations.

In May, the Town Board held a work session, where it considered different aspects of the code, new technologies that have become available, variables between different areas of town, and parts of the current code that are either lacking, confusing or obsolete. All of that was to be incorporated into the development of a revised code.

At the most recent meeting, the Town Board reviewed the ideas that had been developed. The goals of the sign ordinance update project were stated as: update decades-old codes to reflect new and emerging uses and technology; provide simplified articulation of code; support businesses while preserving aesthetics; clarify permitted and non-permitted uses; clarify permanent vs. temporary uses; and clarify the permitting process.

Calves said they had done a comparative review, looking at a lot of other sign codes to see “what is happening out there in other towns similar to ours — small villages and places where the sign aesthetic is very tasteful and minimal.”

“For example,” said Calves, “the current sign permit requires a survey. And I think, for a small business owner who just wants to put a sign up on their building, getting a full property survey is very expensive and onerous, and a lot of other sign codes require a sketch.” 

She said it would help small businesses comply without having to go through that whole process. 

One thing being proposed is to clarify when permits are required, and add exemptions with restrictions to simplify compliance — make it very clear when and what is allowed, under what circumstances, and clarify coverage and dimensional standards, especially on windows.

“It’s unclear how much of your window you can cover,” Calves said.

They would create more specific administrative and enforcement procedures. “There’s nothing in our code currently about maintenance, which would be nice to be able to enforce people keeping their signs well maintained,” she said. 

Another recommendation is to include temporary signage in the commercial areas, including sandwich board signs, which Calves said the code is currently silent on. There could be an annual permit for sandwich board signs. Applicants would have to comply with ADA requirements, provide insurance, and comply with look, materials and size parameters.

“No, you know, big plastic neon sandwich board signs,” Calves said. 

She said some town and village codes “allow you to get a permit for, say, like a grand opening banner, or balloon arch, or something that you want to put up for grand opening,” and they could specify when a permit can be obtained for a temporary sign, “which currently we don’t.” 

Another area where there are a lot of variances, Calves said, is for fuel tank signs. 

“It’s kind of strange, but if you only allow two signs on a commercial property that identify a business and then they have these little decals on every fuel tank that has the name of the business on it, they have to get a variance,” Calves noted. She proposed allowing one decal under a certain size per side on a fuel tank, without a permit, to avoid a lot of extra red tape. 

Calves also said that there is permanent storefront signage that can be in a window, and temporary signage that isn’t the logo or branding — and right now, it’s unclear how much temporary signage is allowed. That needs to be clarified, as well as the question of vacant storefronts; the proposal would only allow a certain amount of coverage.

Also considered was the desirability of visibility into stores in walkable hamlet areas, whereas it is less important to have visibility into roadside businesses that are further away and seen when driving by.

The proposal would also expand on what sizes and types of flags are allowed, and address wall art and murals, probably involving an art review committee.

Other topics that need to be looked into include numbers of neon signs permitted, and whether there can be regulations on content, for example, whether the state permits signs related to a controlled substance, and whether neon beer signs can be limited. Town Attorney Eric Gordon said he would look into this; the board also wondered if hours could be limited for illuminating neon signs.

Calves noted the current code prohibits signs on awnings, but there are a lot of variances for them; she proposed allowing them but requiring they stay well maintained. She also said there are questions regarding classification of different types of hanging signs, bracket signs and projecting signs, and whether another category needs to be added.

Additional considerations include clarifying the permit process and when an applicant needs to go to the Historic Board, Planning Board, or the building inspector, and the enforcement process — as well as clarifying the appeal process.

Besides commercial signage, another whole topic revolves around lawn signs, with some people having said they wanted more regulation in that area. Calves said there are First Amendment considerations, but they could consider limiting the number and size, or whether they are illuminated, and also noted that the code currently does not say you can put up a real estate sign.

Calves said the next step was forwarding their ideas to the Planning Board, which won’t meet for a month. “But I wanted to put some of these concepts out there. If anyone has anything to add, or desperately wants changed in the sign code, let us know.”