The Signs of the Times - by Norman Pace

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The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers.

The Signs of the Times
by Norman Pace

The Department of Metropolitan Development Director of Permits, Maureen Stapleton, and some members of her Staff met with McANA’s Norman Pace, Tom Barnes, Merri Anderson, and Clark Kahlo back in May. This writer came away with a better understanding and insight of the Permits Process and its rationale.

We discussed permits for signage (especially billboards), and Improvement Location Permits (ILP), which includes land grading, buildings (including out buildings), among other types.

Let’s discuss the “Off Premise” advertising signs (billboards) as an example. It is a very competitive industry. There are times that after a zoning case is approved, two different companies apply for the same permit the very next day -- within one hour of each other. Staff had to set up special procedures documenting which company was first to avoid conflicts. In the meantime, Staff is required to conduct research to determine if the permit complies with all of the criteria; such site location, other signs in the area, 500 feet radius from another sign, 1000 feet linear distance, orientation of the sign is critical, determine if it is within a restricted area, etc. If there are any problems with the permit, then it is denied. This process is at taxpayer’s expense. If the permit is approved, the petitioner pays the Permit fee of only $797. The fee is paid only after the permit is approved. So, the petitioner who requests the permit and is denied goes about his business no personal expense. Of additional interest is the fact that no notification to any neighborhood organization or even the next door neighbor is required. Keep in mind that Staff is complying with the City Ordinances. Staff options are limited. What do you think? Is there something wrong with the system?

Obviously, there are shortcomings in the ordinance that need to be changed by the elected members of the City County Council. Those problems mentioned above are only a couple of the numerous shortcomings. There are other recommendations to improve the system but not enough space here to list all of them. It is apparent by the feedback, which McANA receives from it’s neighborhood members, that there is considerable citizen support for changes in the sign ordinance. Revision of the sign ordinance (as well as other laws) was strongly supported by those community members who served on the Component Values portion of the Comprehensive Plan, which was approved last February by the Commissioners of DMD. However, it doesn’t seem to register with elected officials as important enough to focus the city’s attention. Recent discussions with DMD revealed that there is not even a timetable established for any city ordinance review.

In the meantime, billboards are popping up like dandelions.

I recently had a lengthy discussion with an owner of a billboard company, who is not from Indianapolis, and he told me that he was surprised that Indianapolis, with it’s sophistication, is so backwards when it comes to billboards and other signage issues that so affect a community. All other cities of our size throughout the entire United States have taken aggressive action to correct these issues in concert with “Scenic America”. Indianapolis is considered an open market for billboards and easy prey.

When are our elected officials going to start initiating corrective action? Whenever it is, it is not soon enough. Wake up, Indianapolis. Start shouting to your City County Council representatives. If Indianapolis is going to a “World Class City”, then we cannot simply wait for our elected officials to act. We have got to take the lead.