Tipp City Councilman Joe Gibson has taken on with zeal the task of collecting input from businesses and residents regarding the changes being considered by Tipp City Council to the Tipp City Sign Code. One of the most challenging tasks regarding the review of City ordinances such as the Sign Code has been their lack of “simple clarity” concedes Gibson. In what can only be considered overt action taken by City Council, there has been a definite desire by the body to elicit outsider input regarding the end-state of the Sign Code revisions. Many will be familiar with the 3-year ongoing legal saga between the City of Tipp City and Warrior Racing over the “Crazy Professor” mural that greets every Tipp City visitor traveling southbound on I-75. After the courts demanded many of the sign code restrictions be stricken from the City ordinance, businesses continue to challenge City Council to come up with a more business friendly and common sense sign code.
Tipp City’s Chamber of Commerce, long silent on the sign code issue recently began holding meetings between local businesses and the Chamber to discuss the various complexities of the Code. In one such meeting local automotive retailer Voss Honda state that they are challenged by the current ordinance because they can’t add a sign to their building that says “Service” because of the current sign code regulations. They also have a “Used Car” aerial sign that sits in their new car lot only because they cannot move it to the used car location. again because of the current sign code regulation. Some of the changes being considered by Council include making it easier for businesses like Voss Honda to request and be granted changes to their signage.
Great portions of the sign code were voted on by City Council back in 2003, with sweeping changes being made later in in 2008 as a result of the first judicial indications coming out of the Warrior Racing litigation. This most recent effort by the Planning Board and City Council comes as a result of an impassioned call by the owners of the brand new Holiday Inn Express which requested that the City grant their request for variance to install a brand new aerial sign on their property and remove the old aerial mast that held the Heritage Motel sign for many years before that structure was torn down in 2009. While the 2003 (and 2008 edits) were all authored by the City, a great deal of the foundations for Tipp City’s current sign code were recommended by an outside consultant from Ball State University that was retained by the City for his professional opinions on the subject. Councilman George Lovett recently called for an updated opinion from the Ball State consultant in light of the challenges being made by businesses.
In notes taken from a City Council study session, Councilman John Kessler stated “I don’t know why we can’t just come up with some common sense rules here” in regards to crafting a sign code that can be business friendly, encourage economic growth and not result in further litigation between the City and local businesses.
The next scheduled meeting for City Council will be June 7th st 7:30PM at the City Government Center where Council may consider voting on the sign code changes as recommended by the Planning Board, and then discussed in subsequent study sessions.
