A Tangle Over Electric Signs Keeps Courts Busy In Concord

[Erik Sine]

A Tangle Over Electric Signs Keeps Courts Busy in Concord

By David Darman on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

Two businesses in Concord have gone to court to assert their right to display electronic signs that flash multiple commercial messages or videos in quick secession.

Concord authorities have tried to limit their use, through strict zoning laws.

But the controversy over the signs isn't limited to Concord.

It is bubbling up in communities across the country, as the signs become more and more widespread.

New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.

Drive by Carlson's Motor Sales in Concord, and you might see a sign offering a minivan for a reasonable price.

In a few seconds, the same sign might remind you to get your oil changed in the service department.

The new sign is called an electronic message center, and it displays text in several bright colors.

Holly Carlson of Carlson's Motor Sales says the new sign replaced a more sedate one where the message had to be changed by hand.

we have sold more cars because of that sign than we did with the old one and certainly the old one was very effective. but this has been great because you can advertise more things throughout the day.

Carlson's had to wage a legal struggle to get the sign.

Concord wouldn't allow it.

They only permitted signs that were ones that posted date, time and temperature.

A superior court judge struck down that ordinance last spring, ruling it violated the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.

The city has appealed that ruling to New Hampshire's Supreme Court.

While it waits for a court date, Concord has passed a new ordinance, which bans all new installations of electronic message centers.

That ordinance was also challenged in court, by a jeweler and by Barlo Signs of Hudson, a maker of these message centers.

The city has so far prevailed in this case.

Don Reed of Barlo Signs says he's ok with a ban that would protect the historic part of town.

But he says he's baffled by a ban that covers the section of Concord where the Jeweler is located.

... when your're looking in an area that's a retail area where there's lots of colors and lots of lights. there's neon, there's the golden arches and you know there's a wide variety of visual information out there that the business owner should have the opportunity to make a decision as to what they think is best in terms of ways to advertise their products.

A national group opposed to the signs argues Concord city officials have been wise in instituting a complete ban.

Steven Fry of Scenic America in Virginia points to a recent federal study that looked at the things that distract drivers.

Fry says the study found people are more likely to have an accident if they're distracted from looking away for more than two seconds.

we think an electronic billboard almost by definition is distracting for more than two seconds for a couple of reasons. first, its very bright. ....and most importantly, the images on these electronic billboards is always changing, that's the whole point of them.

Officials in the sign industry say they've seen no concrete evidence that electronic signs are a safety hazard.

Currently, two of New Hampshire's biggest cities, Manchester and Nashua, allow these signs.

But in Nashua, zoning laws limit what they can do.

Carter Falk is with the city's Planning Department.

they can be text only. you can't have graphics and symbols and images or flags being flown or snowballs being thrown or a football being kicked or anything like that. it can only be like text only. ....

Concord and other communities can certainly follow Nashua's lead, and develop zoning laws that control electronic message centers.

But smaller communities may have a harder time doing that, because frequently, they have no zoning at all.

At the state level, one option would be to follow the lead of Vermont and Maine.

Both have outlawed the signs as part of a statewide ban on all billboards.

But New Hampshire lawmakers have shown little interest in taking that path.

[joemomma]

New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die", is consistently rated in the top 10 of states with the best business climate. And it is also rated by a major 3rd party (that would be the Libertarian Party) as one of the states most aware and protective of individual rights. My bet will be placed on the business owners winning this one.