Plan Commission denies sandwich board request
Members of the Lake Geneva Plan Commission denied a business owner's request to install a sandwich board sign outside of the Market of Lake Geneva.
Lake Geneva officials have rejected a business owner's request to install a sandwich board to help promote her establishment.
On Jan. 6, the Lake Geneva Plan Commission unanimously denied Colleen Ries' design review application for a sandwich board sign on the sidewalk of the Market of Lake Geneva, 830 W. Main St., where her business, SubZero Candy LLC & Whimsical Shops, is located.
Commission members also unanimously approved having city staff review and recommend revisions to Lake Geneva's sign ordinance, especially as it pertains to sandwich boards and multi-tenant buildings.
"The signs help customers understand what is available and encourages them to come to the back of the market where we're located," Ries said. "By highlighting these multiple impulse buys on our sign board, the sign contributes to increased sales and supports the viability of the businesses located in the back of the market."
Ries said the sign would have been 30 inches tall and 20 inches wide, and placed within 10 feet of the market's entrance, which would meet the city's requirements for installing a sandwich board.
Building and Zoning Director Renee Hanlon said city staff members determined that the sign met city standards, but several Plan Commission members were concerned that if they approved the request other business owners located inside the market also would want a sign, which could cause congestion.
"I don't think anybody wants to deny this business owner an opportunity to advertise her business as she sees fit," Hanlon said. "But scouring the ordinance and reading and rereading and rereading, staff now agrees that to allow this number of signs on this sidewalk, in this area, would potentially be detrimental in that it would cause a hazard and it would cause visual clutter."
Ordinance confusion
Lake Geneva's sign ordinance states that one sandwich board sign is allowed per business, but city officials are not certain whether that would pertain to the Market of Lake Geneva or each individual business located inside the market.
City Attorney Dan Draper said the ordinance also states that a sign must be located within 10 feet of a customer's entrance, which the ordinance defines as "the entrance the public can use when the establishment is open for business," which indicates that it would mean the entrance to each individual business in the market and not the main entrance of the building.
Draper said that when the ordinance was written, city officials probably did not consider multi-tenant buildings, which is the reason the ordinance should be reviewed and revised.
"We realize there's a glitch in it," he said. "I think we need to fix that glitch for the people that have multi-tenant properties to find a way to give them some exposure."
Better enforcement
Plan Commission member Jeremy Nafziger said the ordinance states that a business owner must obtain a permit to install a sandwich board sign, but not all businesses comply.
"So many of them you see on the streets are not permitted, so this is an enforcement issue," he said. "We have an ordinance on the books. We're not enforcing them, so people think they can do what they want until they get caught, and they can."
Hanlon agreed that ordinance needs to be better enforced.
She said she recently received a complaint about the number of signs outside the Market of Lake Geneva, and she sent the owner a violation letter.
Since then, Hanlon said, Ries is the only business owner located in the market who has applied for a permit.
"We don't have any others permitted out there," Hanlon said. "So, anything you see right now is illegal because it doesn't have a permit attached to it."
Plan Commission member Kyle Cary initially was in favor of approving Ries' request because she followed the proper steps for obtaining a sign.
"She did the right thing and came to the commission and asked for it," Cary said. "I think other people are assuming and placing them out there. So, I think we have to do the right thing."
So was Plan Commission member John Gibbs.
"I don't think it's fair to her that she's the guinea pig. No one else is here who wants to put a sign up now," Gibbs said. "So, I think we approve hers and go from here. We got to make some changes, but we should allow her to have her sign."
Nafziger said that he did not want to approve the request until the sign ordinance is reviewed and there is clarity about the ordinance pertains to only the Market of Lake Geneva or to the tenant businesses.
"I think what you're asking is for us to vote against our ordinance right now in order to accommodate this one person, and I don't think we can do that," Nafziger said. "I think if you need to cater the ordinance to one particular applicant, then you need to change the ordinance. You don't vote against the ordinance in order to accommodate."
What is next
Proposed revisions to the sign ordinance are expected to be presented to the Plan Commission in February.
