Enforcement of sign rules improve the view
By Kate Daly Contributing Writer

Marlborough - The signs in Marlborough are looking better. That's the opinion of city Building Commissioner Stephen Reid, who does most of the enforcement of the two-decadeold city sign ordinance.

"Enforcement of the sign ordinance happens every day: there's nothing really different at this point," Reid said. "There are fewer signs that are non-conforming."

At a Planning Board meeting Feb. 11, Reid was able to inform the board that two signs that previously did not comply now do.

One, for Hooligans on Route 20, had initially been installed at the same size as the previous business's sign, and the new owner had not applied for a permit, Reid explained. The Planning Board was lenient and gave the owner a year to replace the noncompliant 50-square-foot sign and 35-square-foot message board with a compliant 32-square-foot sign, Reid said.

It took five to six months longer, he said, but the new, ordinance-compliant sign is now installed.

Another sign, on the former Marlborough Citgo on Route 85, now advertises the Marlborough Sunoco with a regulation sign, he said.

"When you bring them down to the size they ought to be, they're still plenty big," Reid said. "They don't need a huge sign … [People are] going there as a destination."

Last year, the City Council voted down a proposed new sign ordinance after the business community protested that too many businesses would have to replace existing signs at great cost. That proposal would have, among other things, consolidated the city's ordinance. Currently, it is nearly 50 pages long and, Reid said, contains some repetition.

"The new ordinance would have made interpretation simpler and would have been a little tighter," he said.

The Planning Board regularly deals with the sign ordinance as businesses seek variances.

"We always have signs on our agenda," board Chair Barbara Fenby said.

There was a moratorium on variances when the city was considering the proposed ordinance last year. Signs have a distinct impact on the board, member Philip Hodge said.

"In my last 10 years on the board, I think signs have the biggest effect on the length of the meeting," he said.

Enforcing the sign ordinance requires two approaches: enforcing retroactively for existing signs that violate the ordinance or were installed without a permit and ensuring that those seeking to put up signs follow the rules. Reid gets enforcement assistance from city's code enforcement officer.

He noted that the calculation of sign size is based on the size of the building. He noted, though, that someone shopping at a store doesn't go into that store because of the sign. Instead, signs offer identification, not sales promotion.

"The sign is just to identify who you are …," Reid said. "You don't need something that flashes so the Goodyear blimp finds you."