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Sign issue a 'touchy subject'

| July 12, 2007 11:00 PM

By LAURA BEHENNA

Bigfork Eagle

Local businesses with signs that violate the Flathead County sign rules may hear from the county attorney's office if they don't comply soon.

Four businesses and a church received a letter from the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee about a month ago informing them they had illegal signs. The letters, dated June 5, each enclosed a copy of the county sign ordinance and asked the businesses and the church to correct their signage and inform BLUAC they were doing so within 30 days of the letter's date.

Now that the 30 days have passed, BLUAC's next stop for seeking compliance may be to contact the county attorney's office to request help with enforcement, BLUAC secretary Sue Hanson said.

All but one of the signs in question were "portable manual changeable copy" signs, Hanson said. This type of sign has moveable plastic lettering and usually has wheels. County regulations permit such portable signs for no more than 10 days within any three-month period, and they may be used only to advertise special events or grand openings in commercial or industrial areas.

"You can use a manual changeable copy sign, but it has to be permanently attached," Hanson said.

Roof signs may not extend higher than the highest point on the roof of the building on which a sign is mounted.

Blush Salon at 355 Grand Dr. and The Little Brown Church at the intersection of Highways 35 and 83 took their noncompliant signs down immediately after hearing from BLUAC, Hanson said.

"We're an active part of the community, and we want to be friendly to the community and be in compliance," Little Brown Church secretary Beverly Julian said. The church plans to install a permanent sign that meets county regulations, she added.

The Bigfork office of Swan River Valley Real Estate has a sign that extends higher than its roof. Len Kobylenski, broker/owner of the business, said the sign would be changed "as soon as we can get somebody up there."

"It's not a big deal," he added. "We'll be happy to do it."

Flathead Jackpot Casino at 8083 Highway 35 has a portable manual changeable copy sign next to the highway. A casino employee named Peggy, who did not want her last name used, said the casino "absolutely" would take down the sign as soon as the company that owns the sign picks it up.

"We want to be in compliance," she said.

Grizzly Jack's, a saloon, casino, deli and gift shop, was cited for three sign violations: having a portable manual changeable copy sign, having an electronic sign with flashing, animated letters and having an electrical cord to the second sign above ground — electrical cords to freestanding or ground signs are required to be underground and must comply with the National Electrical Code.

Teresa Johnson, co-owner of Grizzly Jack's with her husband, Scott Johnson, did not want to comment on their business' predicament.

"It's a touchy situation," she said.

Rather than requesting enforcement assistance from the county Planning and Zoning Office as a first step, BLUAC members wanted first to try the friendlier approach of sending written information to the businesses and giving them some time to address the violations.

"We wanted to be very neighborly about this," Hanson said. "Most people don't realize they're not in compliance."

BLUAC may choose to contact the Flathead County Attorney's office about those businesses that don't respond to their written requests for compliance, Hanson said.

Deputy County Attorney Jonathan Smith said the Planning and Zoning Office enforcement officer usually visits errant entities and sends a written compliance request before Smith's office gets involved. Hanson said BLUAC has sent copies of its friendly warning letters to the Planning and Zoning Office along with photos of the signs that appear noncompliant.

Enforcement activities, such as assessing fines, depend on the nature of the violation, according to Eric Giles, a planner at the Planning and Zoning Office.

"Ultimately, if the violations continue we would go to court one way or another," Smith said.