Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030112
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By Michael Stowe staff writer
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
This time it's Tim Black, who runs Coin Laundry Inc. on North Main Street. The town is seeking a $100 judgement against him for erecting a sign without the proper permit, but Black believes the town's interpretation of the code is way off base.
"This is all just a tremendous waste of time for both myself and the town," he said. "I think they have better things to do than harass small business people."
A violent thunderstorm last June blew the laundromat's 30-year-old sign off its pole.
Black, who bought the business three years ago, knew before the sign fell that it didn't conform to the zoning ordinance. It had been grandfathered in when the sign regulations were updated.
So, before putting the sign back up, Black sought permission from town officials.
"I was just trying to go by the rules," he said. "If I'd have just put it up and kept my mouth shut I'd have been much better off."
Black found out that the sign - located roughly a foot from the public sidewalk - lost its special status when it toppled to the ground.
The business owner was stunned because the ordinance says non-conforming signs can be repaired up to 50 percent of their value.
Adele Schirmer, director of planning and engineering for the town, said putting the pole back up was replacing _ not repairing _ the sign.
A new sign attached to the building would cost nearly $3,500 and Black said he simply can't afford it. Because he didn't have a permit, he couldn't find a sign company to remount the old sign. When the students returned in August his sales were down nearly $150 a week, so Black decided to put the sign back himself.
"It's in exactly the same place it was before," he said.
That's when the town decided to take him to court.
A hearing is scheduled for next week and Black is confident he'll be vindicated.
"I'm not trying to give them a hard time, but the bottom line is that I think all this is silly."
This isn't the first time a dispute over the town's ordinance has ended up in court. Joe Nazare, owner of Champs Sports Bar, sued the town last year after he was required to remove a sign that was too big. He eventually dropped the suit.
Schirmer said she realizes there have been frustrations with the sign ordinance and pointed out that it's under review as part of the town's zoning ordinance rewrite.
"We'd certainly be happy to consider any input," she said.
by CNB