City to fine Norman’s for sign violations
by John Morris

EAST TAWAS - The East Tawas City Council on Monday gave Norman Corporation 40 days to comply with its zoning ordinance or it will begin fining the company $100 a day.

The action came during the city council’s continued show cause hearing with Norman Corporation.
In the meantime, attorneys and officials from both sides said they will continue discussions toward completing the Norman’s storefront downtown.

“We’ve had fruitful discussions,” Kim Higgs, Norman Corporation attorney, told the council. “I think we understand each other and there’s a desire to continue the discussions. We can come up with a global solution.”

However, on the zoning issue, Higgs said the two sides “agree to disagree.” He asked the city to delay taking any enforcement action to give the two sides more time to talk.

“If you attempt to take any enforcement (at Monday’s meeting), you’ll put us in a position to respond and we’ll end up in court next week,” he said.

Norman Corporation has long argued that it is not in violation of the zoning ordinance because it has used the same placard signs since 1967, when the company first opened a store in East Tawas, and it is grandfathered against the city’s zoning ordinance.

However, the city maintains Norman’s signs are in violation of the city’s ordinance because the sheer combined number of them exceeds the city’s allowable square footage requirements.

According to the city, Norman’s, on Oct. 26 and Dec. 7, had 85 exterior signs on its building, equaling 476 square feet, which exceeded the ordinance in the number of signs and their total size. In addition, the city said on both dates, the company had 50 window signs, equaling 280 square feet, that also exceeded what is permitted by the ordinance.

On Jan. 21, the city said Norman’s had 41 exterior signs displayed, which equaled 229.6 square feet of signage area in violation of the ordinance and there were 64 window signs displayed, which equaled 358.4 square feet of sign area, exceeding the size required by the ordinance.

The city also said the company, on that day, had portable racks that displayed signs advertising goods sold within the store and its policy on pricing, rather than displaying clothing or goods.

The city’s ordinance prohibits the tacking, pasting or otherwise affixing of signs or posters visible from a public way to the walls of a building; requires all subject signs be reviewed and approved by the planning commission as part of the site plan review process and/or sign application, and provides that all signs within the Central Business District (CBD) be designed to be compatible with the architectural style of the district and consistent with the CBD sign guidelines.

According to the city, Norman’s, on Oct. 26 and Dec. 7, had 85 exterior signs on its building, equaling 476 square feet, which exceeded the ordinance in the number of signs and their total size. In addition, the city said on both dates, the company had 50 window signs, equaling 280 square feet, that also exceeded what is permitted by the ordinance.

On Jan. 21, the city said Norman’s had 41 exterior signs displayed, which equaled 229.6 square feet of signage area in violation of the ordinance and there were 64 window signs displayed, which equaled 358.4 square feet of sign area, exceeding the size required by the ordinance.

The city also said the company, on that day, had portable racks that displayed signs advertising goods sold within the store and its policy on pricing, rather than displaying clothing or goods.

The city’s ordinance prohibits the tacking, pasting or otherwise affixing of signs or posters visible from a public way to the walls of a building; requires all subject signs be reviewed and approved by the planning commission as part of the site plan review process and/or sign application, and provides that all signs within the Central Business District (CBD) be designed to be compatible with the architectural style of the district and consistent with the CBD sign guidelines.

The ordinance also states that banners or pennants be restricted to no more than three displays for any one business during a calendar year and are restricted to 30-square feet per sign and no more than one banner or pennant will be allowed per event and must be approved by the zoning administrator.

The city had the option of fining the company up to $500 a day for the violation and/or up to 90 days in the county jail. And according to William Reising, the city’s retained attorney, the city could have made the fines retroactive to the first date of the violation.

Monday’s vote to adopt the findings by the city was approved unanimously.

The city has given Norman Corporation until April 10 to either permanently remove the placard signs or apply for a zoning permit as outlined in a May 2006 letter from the city’s attorney. April 10 is the date the city’s planning commission asked for it to have documents for its April 14 meeting.

If Norman Corporation fails to do either by then, the city will begin fining the company $100 a day after April 14.

The next planning commission meeting is scheduled for March 10, but Higgs said that wouldn’t give the company enough time to prepare. City officials agreed and moved the date to the April planning commission meeting.

Mayor Bruce Bolen asked Norman’s officials if going before the planning commission is an option for the company.

“Yes, it is open or the Zoning Board of Appeals,” Higgs said. “We haven’t come to a conclusion as to the most appropriate route.”

In other matters Monday, the city council: