Currituck Commissioner John Rorer said that he believes the county should target the most egregious violators.

“You should go categorically so you’re not just picking on one individual person, like blinking signs. Go get all the blinking signs. Then the hand-painted, cardboard stuff that’s up on a stick by the side of the road,” he said.

Development Code Enforcement Officer Stacey Smith said she has received complaints from people who say some signs block their view when trying to exit from businesses onto main roads and highways.

“Right there at the Food Lion intersection in Grandy I’ve had a lot of people at Food Lion tell me they can’t see pulling out because there are so many signs up and down right there — they can’t see to get out and make the left-hand turn,” she said. “It’s bad enough cars coming around that curve.”

Commissioner Barry Nelms said he’s counted as many as 27 signs there at one time.

One possible solution would be electronic signs, Nelms said, but Rorer said electronic signs are expensive.

“The signs are about $250,000,” Rorer said.

Commission Chairman Paul O’Neal said a comprehensive ordinance would make sense.

Planning Director Ben Woody said commissioners directed the planning staff to begin a comprehensive rewrite of the ordinances that will include input from the chamber of commerce, local citizens and advisory boards.

“We’ll put together a steering committee of 10-15 people and evaluate our current ordinances and look at ordinances from other areas like Camden, Pasquotank and Dare counties,” he said. “We will benchmark against those other areas.”

Woody said that business owners and residents tend to have a different opinion on how big signs should be.

“Sign ordinance can be difficult because business communities and residents can be at odds — residents tend to be more conservative,” he said.

According to Woody, Corolla has a more restrictive sign ordinance than the mainland because of its lack of space.

“The business community has been trying to find a way to get more signage,” he said. “They’re saying the sign ordinance is inadequate over there. They don’t feel like the signs are big enough to give them exposure. In the Timbuk II Shopping Center, there are about 60 businesses, but from the highway, you can only see two or three because they’re kind of clustered in there.”

Currituck Chamber of Commerce President Shannon Kinser said the chamber has been in favor of changing the ordinances for some time.

“It’s hard to find a balance between what residents and businesses want and it has hit home this last year with people struggling,” she said. “It’s an issue in Corolla because (Tourists) are only here for a week. They have to educate people on where (businesses) are and what they sell” with their signs.

Kinser said the chamber will be going before the commissioners to look at a text amendment for Corolla that would allow tent signs in the off-season, she said.

“We’re looking at allowing (signs) to be up year round so people can promote businesses when (tourists) are here,” she said. “We don’t want (N.C. Highway 12) cluttered with sandwich boards all year but we need some way to help folks make money. (Business owners) say signs make a 20 percent difference in revenue.”

Article provided by Toby Tate - Staff Writer - The Daily Advance