CB Council wants to de-clutter banners on Pitsker Field fence

One banner per event…

While not wanting to entirely get rid of the banners lining the Pitsker Field fence, the Town Council wants to cut down on the numbers and the “clutter” that have been popping up over there. Currently non-profit and civic organizations can use the fence as a sort of billboard to hang banners advertising upcoming events, but the council felt some groups were taking advantage of the situation, resulting in a plethora of billboards hung on the fence.

“I’d support just making everyone abide by the current town rules,” said Councilperson Shaun Matusewicz.
Those rules allow banners to be hung for seven days prior to a specific event with a town permit.
“So banners are allowed one week at a time?” asked parks and recreation director Jake Jones. “The Music Festival bluegrass event gets one week and the opera event banner gets one week?”
“Yes. Pitsker isn’t a billboard and it shouldn’t act like one,” said Matusewicz. “I have no problem promoting bluegrass but the banner should be up for a week. I’ve seen banners up in June promoting an event in September. That has more of a billboard feel.”
“The code says it should be allowed to be hung a week before the event and you are saying limit it to that. What about a recurring event that doesn’t have a unique event, like AWEfest?” asked Jones. “That takes place every Sunday. I want clear direction from the council.”
The council agreed the AWEfest banner could stay up without being removed. The Public Policy Forum could put up individual banners promoting each individual talk throughout the summer.
“Here’s another twist,” said Jones. “The Music Festival has a general banner plus the specific ones they put up. It’s all nuanced but there will probably be some resistance to stricter enforcement.”
“I’d limit all banners to one week,” said Councilperson David Owen. “Whether it’s a general banner or not, it shouldn’t be up for more than a week.”
“What’s important is that we’re trying to address the clutter issue,” said Matusewicz.
“The clutter went down appreciably earlier this summer after a little enforcement was used,” noted Councilperson Jim Schmidt.
“So you are all good with the code as written?” asked Jones on his quest for further clarification. “Banners that promote a recurring event like AWEfest can be up all summer. There can only be one banner per organization up at a time and the banners have to promote events in the county.”
“On the other side, when someone is here in June maybe it’s a good idea to let them know about a good event coming up in September,” said Councilperson John Wirsing. “It’s a way to get the word out. That’s the struggle.”
The council directed Jones to continue enforcing the banner regulations as written.