|
Dewey Beach Town Council unanimously passed a new ordinance to regulate temporary outdoor displays of merchandise for sale. Included within the general sign regulations of the town code, the ordinance also limits the display of banners, flags and sandwich boards.
Approved during the council’s April 12 meeting, the ordinance states the display committee believes the ordinance is in the public interest. But before the vote, property and business owner Marc Fruchtman questioned whether the town had any legitimate interest in regulating merchandise display that’s on private property and not in the public right of way.
“This is not a safety issue, which has been suggested by some. I don’t think there have been any reports of anyone getting hurt by a kayak, boogie board or beach chair while on display,” Fruchtman wrote in a letter his son, Jeremiah, read to the commissioners. Fruchtman also wrote that to limit outdoor displays to 30 percent of a merchant’s outdoor private property can have the effect of unfairly reducing advertising space and therefore sales.
“There is truly no reason to limit a merchant’s display other than someone doesn’t like the way it looks. That falls in the area of personal taste and you can’t dictate something based on how something looks,” Fruchtman continued and asked the council to not pass the ordinance.
Fruchtman’s son, Jason, served on the display committee that drafted and recommended the ordinance. His was the only vote in opposition.
The position of others is that at the time of the vote all outside displays were illegal and merchants should not lament the loss of something they didn’t have in the first place.
“This actually gives rights though it appears to take them away,” said resident Courtney Riordan.
Our goal is to help the businesses,” said Commissioner Claire Walsh. The display committee will meet in the fall to see how it the ordinance worked throughout the 2008 summer season, she said.
The ordinance applies only to commercial businesses and does not affect displays by the town of Dewey, which is considering hanging flags displaying the names of merchants who pay to sponsor the project. Resident Graham Smith pointed out that the ordinance also does not affect permanent signage.
“It’s amazing what you see when you start reading this,” said Walsh, who then questioned how the new ordinance affects other ordinances.
Dewey Beach Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman Harry Wilson questioned the lack of simplicity in the four-page document consisting of seven numbered sections and nine new definitions before it was recommended to the town council.
“How did it get so complicated?” Wilson asked about a section governing display of seasonable merchandise on private property. The section he referred to set a display height limit of 12 feet, prohibited covering more than 30 percent of the outside private property of a retail business and defined the new term, “outside private property” with references to seven factors.
“Didn’t anything simple come up? Like three feet from a doorway, not blocking a sidewalk?” Wilson asked. “You’re not going to get it absolutely correct the first time,” resident David Main told council members. “I hope it passes and is lenient.”
“It’s not a perfect document. It’s just the best we could come up with,” said town solicitor John Brady. Council members agreed to give the new ordinance a try, subject to requirements including a grace period, a sunset clause and reevaluation at season’s end.
The penalty provision of the ordinance permits a 30-day grace period from June 1 to July 1, 2008, for violators to correct the violation. A warning will be given for a first offense, a fine of $50 imposed for a second offense and a fine of $100 imposed for a third offense. The penalty will sunset on Monday, Sept. 15.
Contact Georgia Leonhart at g.l.leonhart@comcast.net
|
