Moses Lake changes sign ordinance

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake changed regulations concerning political signs and temporary signs, after two people asked them to leave them untouched.

The city council approved the changes during a second reading of an ordinance amending the city's signs regulations.

The amendment requires permanent signs made from temporary materials to be removed within 90 days. Moses Lake City Code defines temporary materials as vinyl, cardboard, card stock, corrugated plastic and fabric.

The proposal also limits political signs to 32-square-feet per sign and a maximum height of 8 feet.

Mick Hansen addressed the regulations on the size of political signs. The former state representative used a fire truck to hang political signs from during the November general election and when he was running for a Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District commissioner spot.

"I know, as far as campaigns go, everybody is probably sick of campaigns," he said. "The literature you get in the mail. The literature you see in the newspaper, billboards, mailers going out, on the TV, radio. By the time the election gets here, if you're like me you wish you'd just outlaw every bit of it."

Hansen said during the district campaign, he decided to limit the amount of time he campaigned, only using the larger sign for a month. He would rather see one large sign than he would 50 smaller signs.

"The fact (is) that you can cover a whole lot more with one big sign," he said. "I feel if it's done, and done right, larger signs are a very easy, logical way to do it. I hate to see landowners lose any more rights than they already have."

He suggested the councilmembers consider allowing the signs, but limiting the amount of time they could be up.

"I don't think anybody would have a problem if you said 30 days, 60 days before the election, go ahead and put them up," he said. "I'm the first one to say I think they're (up) way too long."

John Abens, Moses Lake Security's owner, questioned the temporary sign portion of the ordinance, saying he recently put up a vinyl sign to mark his business. When he installed the sign, he arranged for it to look nice.

"I think it looks pretty good," he said. "I was just kind of hoping the city is going to help us out a little bit. It took us a lot of savings to get to that point."

The company members looked at more expensive signs, but they cost between $5,000 and $20,000, Abens said. The signs have attracted more traffic into the business in the time he's had them up.

"I'm asking you to reconsider on that, or maybe go to looking for signs that don't look nice or are wearing out or are flapping in the wind," he said. "Ours are nice and tight. They don't move at all."

He suggested the city could change the length of time the temporary signs could be up to three years.

"So we could have some time to save up some money and go to a more permanent-type sign," he said.

Community Development Director Gilbert Alvarado said the council discussed the proposed changes during the council retreat. Staff members presented information about a number of the temporary material signs existing in the city. The council directed staff to change the ordinance to deal with the signs.

"They all eventually become an enforcement issue for us," he said. "The direction was we would no longer allow them."

Councilmember Richard Pearce said figuring out what signs are derelict would create problems with enforcement.

"Can you imagine enforcing that? What's derelict in one person's eyes isn't in another person's eyes," he said. "All those fabric signs, however well they're tacked down (or) treated ... they eventually become loose. They eventually flop in the wind, and they eventually have to be taken down. It's way too soon for the owner and way too late for the people who have to look at them."

Councilmember Brent Reese said the ordinances are made for a reason and they can always be changed.

"I think what we have here, we should go ahead and approve as it stands," he said. "We'll just work with this one the way it is now."

Councilmember Karen Liebrecht thanked Hansen and Abens for coming in, saying she opposed the ordinance for the reasons they listed.

"I feel property rights are being taken away and, as it is, this is one more step in that direction," she said. "Mr. Abens has presented a dilemma that faces a lot of business people - that it is expensive."

Councilmember Dick Deane said the council started on the sign ordinance about three years ago. The changes have cleaned up the community immensely.

"I came back from Kent, it was just horrible looking because it was so messy," he said. "Everybody stacked them in front of each other and everything else on every corner, and I came back to Moses Lake this weekend and I saw a clean-looking community."

Deane explained the council is simply limiting the size of political signs. He said, as someone putting out signs, he is still getting his message out without dominating everyone around him.

"I think it shows that we're making an effort," he said. "Boy, it's a tough decision, but I think that we're really making an effort to make our community very pleasing and acceptable to live in and to come and visit."

Liebrecht and Councilmember David Curnel opposed the ordinance. The remainder of the council approved it.