A standoff continues between the Haines Borough Assembly and the Planning Commission regarding a controversial sign law.
The commission voted last week to re-send the same ordinance it sent the assembly in 2011, though the assembly rejected it four years ago. The ordinance would require business owners to obtain a conditional use permit for off-premises signs.
Commission member Lee Heinmiller said after four years, he still thinks the commission had it right the first time.
“We’ve had our opinion micromanaged four or five different times by a bunch of different groups, and I still think after 10 years or more on the commission that we know better,” Heinmiller said. “And if nothing else, it will be our problem in the future.”
The commission also voted to uphold business owner Debi Knight Kennedy’s appeal to allow her off-premises sign for her art gallery in Fort Seward.
“The planning commission does not want to put someone out of business,” said commission chair Rob Goldberg. “For her to remove her sign at the beginning of the visitor season would cripple her business, and we support Haines businesses.”
Goldberg referred to the ongoing struggle for resolution on the sign issue as a “tempest in a teapot.”
“I really think it is in the best interest of everyone for the assembly to pass this and we can move on and these businesses can get back to doing business,” Goldberg said.
But it’s up to the assembly to decide if it wants to support the commission’s recommendations regarding the ordinance and Knight Kennedy’s appeal. Goldberg said he hopes after four years, the same ordinance might go over better with the new assembly.
“I’m hopeful that we have a different Mayor now, (and) we have a different assembly. I am really hoping the assembly will recognize how important this is to the businesses in Haines and they will accept our recommendation to change the code,” he said.
According to the commission’s recommendation, business owners seeking off-premises signs will have to apply for a $150 conditional use permit. That process includes a public hearing.
“Your neighbors and everybody else get to weigh in on the issue and say whether they like your proposed sign and the location of it or not,” Heinmiller said.
The $150 is a one-time fee, though business owners may be required to renew their permits periodically based on the conditions the commission puts on it.
The change in code wouldn’t eat up a lot of staff time, except maybe at first with the initial flurry of applications, Heinmiller said.
The assembly will discuss the proposed ordinance at its Tuesday meeting.