PIGEON FORGE â The planning commission rejected 14 site plans for new billboards Tuesday after staff said they didnât meet the cityâs new sign regulations.
Commission was reviewing site plans for new signs for the first time since Chancellor Telford Forgety overturned the cityâs old billboard regulations on First Amendment grounds.
Since then, the city put a moratorium on reviewing new signs until new ordinances were enacted. Those new regulations are now in effect.
In the meantime, a number of people offered site plans for new billboards. Tuesdayâs agenda featured site plans for 16 of them.
The planning commission turned down all 16 plans on the advice of staff, who said they didnât meet the regulations.
PIGEON FORGE â City Commission appears set to pass new sign regulations when it meets April 12, but with changes that would allow existing signs to remain as is and an alteration of the proposed size limits.
Commissioners moved right away to ask that staff remove a requirement that existing signs be brought into compliance within 10 years. Theyâll now be âgrandfatheredâ in, meaning they can remain as they are unless removed from the ground.
âI think we all probably agreed to that pretty quick, that that needs to go,â Mayor David Wear said.
That eliminated one major concern for the owners of the cityâs existing billboards, and it means the new ordinances wonât force any quick change to the signs that already line the Parkway and other heavily visited areas.
PIGEON FORGE — While city officials said Monday they were planning a moratorium on new signs due to a court decision involving the state, the city’s billboard ordinance was actually
Page A1 | e-Edition | themountainpress com themountainpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from themountainpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.