Bill Gifford, a lawyer with Gifford PLLC, who represented the company at the meeting, told the newspaper that the ordinance had been putting his client at a [image-nocss] disadvantage. Fowler uses electronic signs at its six Family Fare c-stores in Winston-Salem. Those stores are surrounded by competitors that are allowed to display hundreds of messages in the time his client is limited to one such message, he said.
Melynda Dunigan, who represented the Winston-Salem Neighborhood Alliance, opposed the change, said the report. She said that by 2022, all electronic signs in the city will be allowed just one message every two hours and the amendment adds to confusion about the ordinance. Changes to the amendment would also likely encourage more businesses to put up electronic signs, adding to visual blight and driver distraction.
The original ordinance that was approved by the Winston-Salem City Council in May 2007 limited electronic signs to one change every two minutes, the report said. Buildings such as stadiums and coliseums were allowed one change every eight seconds, it added.
Later that year, the city council amended the ordinance to allow signs that were legally established before Nov. 1, 2007, to have a maximum change rate of one every eight seconds, said the report. New electronic signs constructed after that date would be limited to one change every two hours.
Planning-board member Arthur King voted in favor of the amendment, according to the report. He said that two minutes comes a lot closer to the eight seconds that Fowler's competitors are allowed.
Lynne Mitchell cast the only vote against the change. She was worried, she told the paper, that the change may encourage people to go ahead and invest in new electronic signs, and then turn around and complain in 2022 when they can only change messages every two hours.
"We consider this to be setting us up for huge headaches in the future," Dunigan said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.