Panel votes no on sign freeze

The Kenton County Planning Commission on Tuesday voted against recommending that Kenton County governing bodies put a moratorium on new electronic billboards in the county until the end of the year, when the county expects to adopt new sign regulations.
"This is just a recommendation," said Planning Commission Deputy Director Mike Schwartz. "It is now up to each legislative body whether they want to adopt the planning commission recommendation, or whether they want to impose their own moratorium."
The commission voted 6 to 3 against recommending a moratorium, with the chairman, Alex Weldon, abstaining because she was not present at a public hearing on the issue, Schwartz said.
Schwartz said if the new regulations do not allow electronic signs, any sign legally erected or converted before the regulation would be allowed to stay as a non-conforming use, which means it was there before the regulations changed.
"We don't know what the new regulations will say," Schwartz said. "They could outlaw electronic signs or put limits on them, or they could find that electronic signs cause no problem whatsoever."
He said the commission hopes to have the new regulations completed by the end of the year.
More billboard companies have been converting traditional billboards to electronic billboards. State law already prohibits electronic billboards on interstate highways.
The Kenton County Planning Commission has hired a consultant to help develop new regulations for billboards and signs in the county and had considered the moratorium to keep new electronic signs from being installed while the regulations are being upgraded.
Two static billboards were converted to electronic billboards in Covington since last winter. City officials got a wave of resident complaints when the newest one was converted in May. Covington code enforcement officials have discussed possible action to stop conversions to electronic signs.
The two billboards that were converted had been static, traditional billboards and were considered a non-conforming use, grandfathered in because the billboards were in place before the zoning regulations prohibited them in those locations. The question is whether converting them to electronic billboards changes the use and makes the billboards subject to the current zoning regulations. A decision on that is expected in September.
The proposed planning commission moratorium would have said no additional electronic signs could be erected in the county until a final decision is made about their legality. It would have applied to message boards, changeable copy signs, electronic message boards and tri-vision signs. It also would prohibit owners of a current non-electronic board from converting one.
Schwartz said in order to pass a moratorium, it must be well defined, be set for a reasonable time, and must further the government interest, which could include public safety or land use issues, said Schwartz.
"In the opinion of the majority of the commission, the moratorium does not outweigh the government interest," he said.
The recommendation against setting a moratorium now goes to city and county governments, which can use the recommendation in making their decisions.
Electronic billboards are legal in Ohio but with restrictions: Screen changes must be no quicker than every eight seconds and fade in and out so as to not create a vision distraction.

Source: The Cincinnati Post