THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190379
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 57 lines
They sprout like Technicolor kudzu and can be found flapping in the breeze somewhere near Chesapeake's No. 1 cash crop - new homes.
Wherever you look, it seems, there are promotional flags, banners and bunting announcing the opening of yet another model home in this, the state's fastest growing city.
The bottom line? Flutter clutter.
The Tidewater Builders Association has been pushing to increase the number but decrease the size of flags allowed in a development.
The city's Planning Commission balked, ruling that the TBA proposal would violate Chesapeake's sign ordinance.
Tuesday, the City Council also rejected the compromise - drafted with the help of the TBA - that would have permitted more pennants and could have opened the door to car dealerships and others who believe extra business is just another banner away. The vote was 5-4.
``We are the eighth fastest-growing city in the country,'' said Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff, who made the motion to deny the revision. ``I don't believe there's a problem selling lots in this city.''
The city's sign ordinance says ``all festoons, flags and streamers'' are prohibited signs except under certain stringent conditions. All of the region's other cities have similar restrictions, according to a Chesapeake staff report.
Under the current law, developers are allowed to fly up to three flags per residential subdivision in Chesapeake. However, only one of those flags could be promotional. The others are restricted to national, city or state flags.
The TBA revision would have permitted up to three flags per model home and a maximum of seven flags per complex. There were no restrictions on how many could be promotional.
City planners argued against any relaxation of the rules, saying the extra flags would create ``visual interference'' and impair ``visual integrity'' throughout the city.
More important, a plethora of pennants could adversely affect safety and the city's appearance, said assistant planning director Karen E. Shaffer, who advised the council against increasing the limits.
``A proliferation of new signs could hamper traffic safety,'' she said. ``It also affects how the city looks and, in the end, it gets down to a quality of life issue.''
TBA officials, however, argued they need additional flags to help customers distinguish model homes from others in a development. When the flags are taken down, they said, the customer stream dries up.
Tuck Bowie of TBA told the council, ``When we took the flags down at Cedar Crossing, customer traffic dwindled drastically.''
In the past, other businesses, including car dealerships, have asked to amend the sign ordinance to allow flying additional promotional flags and festoons. Those changes also were denied by the council and the Planning Commission, which felt it would increase visual clutter in the city.
Bowie said he plans to go back to TBA and the city planners and ``put some limitations here.'' by CNB