Poland mulls allowing sandwich board signs

A public hearing on the ordinance is set for Jan. 10 in village hall.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
POLAND -- Village council is considering legislation that would allow sandwich signs in its historical district.
Small mom and pop businesses like to have the signs, announcing their daily specials, said Mayor Ruth Wilkes.
"We encourage that because it's part of that old-time historical atmosphere that we're trying to perpetuate," she said.
'Functional yet attractive'
The mayor described sandwich boards as signs that the owners fold up and take in at night.
"We want them to be functional yet attractive," she said.
The signs had been prohibited, and the village has been going through various stages to allow them.
The latest version is the subject of a Jan. 10 public hearing in village hall.
It allows the sandwich board signs only in the village's historical commercial district and limits them to 2 feet wide and 4 feet high. Construction must be of painted wood, and any written messages must be handwritten on the writing surface of the sign.
They may be displayed only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The village's historical commercial district begins at the center of town, at the intersection of U.S. Route 224 and state Route 170, and runs south on South Main Street to Yellow Creek, north to Culver Street and east to Yellow Creek, said Dick Ames, village zoning administrator.
The ordinance requires other signs to be permanently fixed to the ground or attached to a building by wood, steel or other supports.