Downtown business owners wanting to display portable signs are being given a break by the Lake Orion Village Council–a lower fee, but also a request to make sure those signs are registered with the village.
The fee was lowered in response to a request from Lake Orion barber Larry Dennis, who owns a shop on Broadway.
He came to the council at their July 10 meeting, to say he thought the $25 required by the village every three months to maintain a portable sign was too much.
After some debate over the best way to address Dennis? issue, the council voted on July 24 to lower the fee to $15 every three months.
Lloyd Coe, owner of Ed’s Broadway Gifts and Costume, said he was on the village council at the time the ordinance was decided.
‘It says (portable signs) should never exceed 10 (in the downtown),? he said. ‘I’m not sure why…(the signs) really aren’t harming anyone.?
President Pro Tem Ken Van Portfliet said the ordinance limits portable signs to 10 in the downtown and 10 for the M-24 corridor in the village.
‘We’ve gotten less foot traffic since the (Sagebrush Cantina) closed,? Coe said. ‘I think everyone’s just been doing what they have to do to attract people into their store.?
Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel said the fee is paid as compensation for the village’s time to process and research the permit.
‘If not, the taxpayers as a whole are covering the cost,? she said.
Council member Douglas Dendel said he believed the number of signs was initially limited to help regulate problems with traffic.
‘If you’re not going to have a number, you could have 50 of them down there,? he said. ‘Is that what the downtown wants? Also, will it interfere with traffic??
Dendel also wondered what the village’s stand was on people not paying for their sign.
Dennis said that he put his portable sign out so people would know when he was conducting business.
‘I take it in every night,? he said. ‘It tells people when I’m there and when I’m not.?
Dennis said he also placed his sign by the tree, so it’s not blocking the sidewalk.
Van Tassel noted that if the village wasn’t requiring a fee to be paid, they would not be able to keep track of the number of signs.
‘Or know what they look like,? she said.
Council member Julie Drabik said she herself had been drawn into shops because of a portable sign.
‘I know it helps businesses,? she said.