Local News

Sign has Lisbon in uproar

LISBON -- The Lincoln Social Hall owner Shannon Clark apparently used the "wrong" font for her window decal sign.

That's according to the village Architectural and Historic Board of Review and the Board of Building Appeals which affirmed the AHBR decision. That's got some business owners and residents fired up, especially Clark.

"We are here over a sticker," Clark said in a standing room only village council chambers Tuesday night.

Clark presented council members and the mayor with a package of information that included a three-and-a-half page letter explaining her plight, the work that she put into her building at 126 W. Lincoln Way, and delivering a lot of scathing criticism for her hometown, the zoning department and committees.

She also included samples of the fonts allowed, Roman, Garamond, Americana and Craw Clarendon, and design standards, along with a copy of the BBA decision notification which said "the sign is to be removed until new design following AHBR standards is resubmitted and approved." The notification said her sign must be removed within 30 days, which falls on Aug. 13.

She asked for a final decision on the window decal issue by the next council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22.

"Make it fair and you won't hear a peep from me," she said.

Clark said she followed the rules and applied for a sign permit for the window decal, which was to be temporary until she could afford to buy the permanent sign for her building. The AHBR denied her permit because of the font, but when she tried to appeal, she learned the BBA at the time was only on paper. No one had actually been appointed, so council had to take action and approve Mayor Peter Wilson's appointees so the board could meet on the sign issue. In the meantime, council gave Clark approval for her window decal, pending the BBA meeting. When the BBA met, they sided with the AHBR in a 3-1 vote.

Village Solicitor Alec Beech said after the meeting that the village ordinances don't provide a mechanism for appeal from BBA decisions. During the meeting, he also said regarding the BBA decision, "there's nothing in our laws that would allow council to override that."

For now the sign remains and she'll likely be returning to the next council meeting. She and others questioned what happens if she doesn't take it down. She said she played by the rules, but said Lisbon doesn't have rules.

"They have favorites, exceptions, that are governed by it's multiple ghost-like 'historic boards of make believe' that don't even have a final, clean cut, ironclad policy which we are supposed to follow," she said.

Councilwoman Dawn Thomas, council president, questioned whether the board took into account that the sign in question isn't permanent, that it's temporary, but zoning inspector Zachary Barkley, who serves as AHBR compliance officer, said "temporary is a word that can be misconstrued," questioning how long temporary is.

Clark and several others questioned other signs in town that don't appear to be in compliance.

Council is currently overhauling the zoning code and expects to make changes, with Thomas questioning whether a citation over the sign could be held back until the zoning is finished. She said she liked the font of the sign and said it looks old-fashioned. She also said Clark has tried to comply.

"I know we have rules for a reason, but we need to look at that," Thomas said.

Several business owners and residents and even one man from out of town bombarded council and Barkley with questions about the boards, the zoning rules and how some rules need to change, to get out of 200 years ago and update as resident Dave Pancurak said.

Wilson talked about how the zoning code is out of date. When peppered with questions about the AHBR, he said he invited chairman John Deichler to attend the council meeting, but he declined. One man got on his case when Wilson asked about a coffee business downtown, accusing him of being against veterans, which the mayor vehemently denied.

Wilson said they need to be proactive for businesses, but he said it's also a two-way street, noting that accommodations were made for Numbers Brewing to come into town and now it's closed and just sitting there.