City, County Temporarily Halt Sign Violation Fines

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Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke
Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winneck

Today, Vanderburgh County Commissioner Marsha Abell and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke directed the Area Plan Commission staff to restart the process to review and modernize the city and county sign ordinances, starting with ordinances that regulate temporary signs.

To assist businesses during this review process, the assessment of fines for violations for banner and sidewalk signs will be suspended until further notice. Standard non-compliance notice letters will still be issued for violations of current codes; however, fines will not be assessed.

“It is our goal to make local government more business friendly and this is a step in the right direction,” said Mayor Winnecke.

In late 2012, Mayor Winnecke and Commissioner Abell requested that the previous attempt at updating the sign ordinance be halted due to concern over new regulations being proposed at the time. It was agreed that the process be restarted following a leadership change in the department and inclusion of input from interested parties.

“APC Director Ron London and his staff are now ready to restart the process to modernize the current sign ordinance, which is largely complaint driven and has been in place since 2009 without any changes, starting with temporary sign requests,” said Abell, President of the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners.

As the Area Plan Commission is a joint city-county department that enforces both the city and county sign ordinance, a comprehensive overhaul has been requested by Commissioner Abell and Mayor Winnecke. With this new process, a committee composed of representatives from civic organizations, the business community and regulators will be convened to review and provide recommendations to the Area Plan Commission.

Following consideration and approval by the Area Plan Commission, the recommendations will be considered by the city and county legislative bodies for final adoption.

4 COMMENTS

  1. With no code there would be no need for fines/ enforsement. The commission staff could be eliminated, tax $$$ saved. Patrons could decide if the store fronts were not visualy appealing and vote with their dollars. An awfully simple answer to this situation.

  2. Wasn’t Winnecke the President of the Vanderburgh County Commission when this ordinance was approved back in 2009.

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