County may ban future billboards
By Scott Nicholson

In what may be a sign of things to come the Watauga County Board of Commissioners are considering a six-month ban on all new billboards.

Planning director Joe Furman presented recommendations for a revised sign ordinance that grew out of a county moratorium on digital billboards imposed last year.

The planning board’s recommendations evolved from a focus on changeable electronic variable message signs, commonly called “digital billboards,” and grew to embrace all new off-premises signs.

Under the proposed ordinance as presented by the planning board, no new off-premises signs or billboards would be allowed anywhere in the county.

Those billboards that already exist could be replaced, even with a digital sign, and non-conforming signs under the new rules could only be repaired and not replaced if damaged beyond 60 percent of their value.

The changeable electronic variable message signs would have their own regulations for message frequency, brightness, size and distance from one another, and those standards would apply whether the sign was on-premises or off-premises.

County attorney Andrea Capua recommended that the county take its time and look at the entire sign ordinance, having worked with the planning board during its own public hearing on the issue.

Furman said an “off-premises” sign meant a sign that wasn’t on the same property as the business it advertised. On-premises signs are limited to 50 square feet under the current ordinance. Such signs would still be allowable during the six-month moratorium if it is enacted.

Watauga County planning chairman Ric Mattar said he had voted against the original recommendation, but said it was a well-thought-out plan that became larger as it was discussed. He said the idea was “to get rid of some signs over time,” even if some existing signs were replaced by electronic signs.

Mattar said there would probably be more requests for on-premises digital signs, even from churches, adding that scrolling messages were distracting.

An anticipated federal study on the possible safety impacts of digital signs has not been released, and Mattar said the county couldn’t wait for the study.

Mattar said there were more than 130 billboards on federal highways in the county. There are currently three digital billboards in the county.

“I think by doing this we make sure we have adequate time to hear all we need to hear before we make a decision, particularly in light of the planning board taking a more comprehensive look at the ordinance,” commission chairman Jim Deal said.

He said the commissioners could hold as many public hearings as needed to gather information.

State guidelines exist for electronic billboards, including requiring the messages to change no more often than every eight seconds, but the county is allowed to enact tougher standards if it wishes.

The original ordinance establishing the moratorium on changeable, electronic, variable message signs acknowledges that the county’s existing sign ordinance didn’t address new technology and states “public concern has been raised regarding serious highway safety regarding the changeable electronic variable message signs, the level of distraction from changeable electronic variable message signs and other operational characteristics of changeable message signs, and regarding the aesthetic impact of changeable message signs to the community.”

The original moratorium on electronic billboards, adopted by the commissioners last June, largely emerged from the erection of a digital billboard at the intersection of U.S. 421 and Old Highway 421 east of Boone, where an existing traditional billboard was upgraded and oriented toward the newer highway. It met both county and state regulations that existed at the time of its construction.

The designation of U.S. 421, named the Doc and Merle Watson Highway, as a scenic byway was a contentious issue in the late 1990s, pitting property-rights advocates against those who felt the designation added tourism, economic, and quality-of-life value.

In December, the planning board requested more time to study the issue, and the commissioners enacted an additional three-month moratorium set to expire April 23.

The commissioners will discuss enacting the six-month moratorium on all new billboards and all on-premises electronic signs during their next meeting on April 6. The public hearing on the proposed moratorium will also be held on April 6.