Cape council amends sign ordinance, considers changes

Council members amended and approved Cape Girardeau's sign ordinance Monday night, but put off a third and final vote until April 17 to consider further changes.

The ordinance was amended to allow for certain kinds of temporary signs on private property. The amendment grants exceptions to signs advertising an event sponsored by or held by a not-for-profit institution or organization whose purpose is to further public welfare or education.

Signs will still be restricted to one per lot and cannot remain up for longer than 30 days. Anyone seeking to post a sign must obtain permission from the lot owner.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said the original ordinance was overly stringent relating to signs advertising not-for-profit events and celebrations. "We don't need to create problems for ourselves that aren't there," he said during the study session. "I guess I don't see that being abused a whole lot for these signs of a nonprofit nature."

The council discussed the pros and cons of changing the ordinance for more than an hour during the study session and entertained questions from two concerned residents during the council meeting.

Council members were careful, however, not to allow changes to take the teeth out of the ordinance.

"If we allow some of these things to just perpetuate, then we're defeating the kind of things we're trying to accomplish," said councilwoman Loretta Schneider. "You see businesses already moving from banners to these hard plastic signs that you put on fence posts, I guess you've got to draw a line somewhere."

Knudtson said the main goal of the ordinance should be to clean up the signs posted illegally on city rights of way and the tattered banners along Kingshighway.

"We are going to look into reigning in the advertisers," he said during the regular session. "This will be an evolutionary process, I assure you."

During the upcoming two weeks, city manager Doug Leslie will draft another amendment allowing banner signs for events at churches, schools and not-for-profit organizations. Leslie also said that the police department, under the supervision of chief Carl Kennison, will soon create a volunteer task force to educate the public and identify sign violations.

If approved, the ordinance would take effect April 27.

In other news, Monday's council meeting marked the last for Evelyn Boardman. She is stepping down after serving one four-year term as councilwoman for Ward 1. Boardman will be replaced by John Voss, who is running unopposed in today's election.

"In anyone's life, there's always a few people that touch you and make you a better person," said Knudtson. "And I want to thank you because you've been that for me."

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245