Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 5, 1994 TAG: 9403050047
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Long
The current ordinance allows for a maximum sign area of 24 square feet at a height of no more than 15 feet. Allen Displays Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., had proposed a 112-square-foot sign to be erected at a height of 25 feet, with an additional 40-square-foot reader board.
After a public meeting in the Bank of Floyd community room to accommodate the larger-than-usual crowd of 37 citizens, council adjourned to executive session for a personnel matter and then reconvened the public portion of the meeting and voted to permit a 7- by 14-foot sign at a height of 20 feet, with the size of the reader board unchanged. Nearly all citizens had left the building by the time council reconvened after considering the personnel matter.
Floyd veterinarian Meredith McGrath, speaking for the citizens' group Neighbor for Neighbor, said, "This is just a political move on their part to appease everybody, but the bottom line is we still have a horribly oversized sign that's still going to be a blight on the neighborhood, and I think that if there's any kind of an appeal process we ought to attempt it."
McGrath said Thursday night that the proposed sign was "out of place in our town and gives an unfair advertising advantage to Hardee's over the local businesses whose signs are within the regulations."
Floyd mayor Skip Bishop said that council had arrived at a good compromise. "I'm sorry it didn't please everybody, but we've got a lot of people who feel that Hardee's is something the town needs. We've lost three or four businesses in the last few years, and this is the first new one to come along. Economically, it's getting so that we need something to take the place of those that are leaving," said Bishop.
In addition to Thursday's vote for a somewhat smaller and shorter sign, Boddie-Noell Enterprises in Rocky Mount, N.C. had informally promised Councilman Mac McClanan that it would consider local contractors when building the restaurant, use underground wiring so that a line of old pine trees would not have to be cut or trimmed, and try to use an exterior color scheme that would blend with other buildings.
At the beginning of the public session devoted to the sign ordinance, Bishop read three letters from citizens who were unable to be present. All three opposed easing the regulation. Michael Johnson, whose property is directly behind the proposed restaurant location on Main Street, wrote that he and his wife were remodeling their home to convert it into a bed-and-breakfast, and a large sign would "make our house less desirable to potential bed-and-breakfast customers."
Roger Dickerson questioned the legality of McGrath speaking for a group such as Neighbor for Neighbor, and came out in favor of granting an exception to Hardee's for the proposed sign. Hardee's, said Dickerson, has "very pleasing and eye-catching buildings and I enjoy looking at their signs."
Mark Adkins of Allen Displays said the sign his company had suggested for the restaurant would be "ideal for tourist traffic and local people as well." Adkins fielded a number of objections from citizens who believed his company would be contributing to what McGrath called "sign pollution" in Floyd.
The Rev. Paul Pringle of Floyd's Zion Lutheran Church said that he had been a sign designer before entering the ministry, having designed the exterior signs for Hardee's corporate headquarters in Rocky Mount, N.C.
"I don't think anybody's against Hardee's," said Pringle, adding that, from his own professional experience, the proposed sign still wouldn't be big enough to be seen easily from the downtown intersection of Virginia 8 and U.S. 221.
Neighbor for Neighbor member Jeannie O'Neill questioned the propriety of scheduling an executive session for a personnel matter before the actual vote on the sign ordinance. Since no other room in the Bank of Floyd building had been reserved, citizens had to exit into icy weather while council discussed personnel matters, and few returned in time for the vote.
"This was pulling the wool over our eyes," said O'Neill. "Why didn't they also reserve the room upstairs and go up there? I am very mad."
According to Bishop, "We could have been in the conference room and everybody could have waited in the foyer, but unfortunately we had to have that room [in the Bank of Floyd] for the extra people."
O'Neill says she is unhappy with the compromise reached by council. "Who is town council listening to? Who is town council representing, I'd like to know? There was only one elected official there on town council and that was Rebecca Harman, and the rest have been appointed. The other one, Mr. Otis Howell, has been in Florida and hasn't been to a single meeting since November," said O'Neill.
Not all Neighbor for Neighbor members were unhappy with council's decision. Linda Petrie said, "I'm happy they did a compromise. I'm happy that our town council tried to work for the betterment of all. I think it's a healthy compromise and everybody will win."
Petrie's husband said he still has doubts. "I think it's gonna be out of place in the town. I'd still like 'em to consider scaling down a little more."
by CNB