Beware of electronic message boards displaying deals on propane and plumbing services or small plastic signs advertising local dating services or carpet cleaning. These are the new enemies of Anne Arundel County.
One proposed County Council bill and another being drafted are aiming to curb signage in the county by either limiting their attention-grabbing effects or eliminating them completely.
“I don?t know why the sudden interest in signs, but it is probably time we review some of these laws,” said Council Chairman Ronald Dillon, R-District 3.
Councilmen Jamie Benoit, D-District 4, and Josh Cohen, D-District 6, sponsored a bill that would make any electronic sign that flashes, moves, changes messages less than five seconds apart or changes in intensity illegal in the county.
“There is no question that their very intent is to distract you,” Benoit said. “If something is bouncing or moving in your field of view, you?re going to look. You tend to tune out stand-still boards.”
The electronic sign at Clement Hardware in Severna Park is a prime example because it flashes and changes images rapidly, potentially distracting drivers on busy Ritchie Highway, Benoit said.
“The horses are out of the barn as far as these signs are concerned,” said Gordon Clement, owner of the sign. “There?s no way to stop this technology. I don?t see my sign being any different that those Amber Alert signs on highways.”
But the bill prompted harsh criticism earlier this month from a divided council struggling over the issue.
“I personally think electric signs look better,” Dillon said.
Councilwoman Cathy Vitale, R-District 5, also said several county public schools have similar signs and would likely be exempt from county laws.
Meanwhile, Councilman Ed Reilly, R-District 7, is writing a bill that would make “bandit signs,” those small, usually white placards at intersections, illegal in the right-of-way in county roads.
The bill also would exclude signs on utility poles and trees.
“It gets frustrating to see these signs get put up in the name of business in the county?s right-of-way,” Reilly said.
Reilly said he called one of the advertisers listed on the bandit sign telling them about his impending action. The next day, the signs were gone, he said.
The only hitch in the bill might be those types of signs on state roads, where the county has no authority.
