With no fanfare or public comment, the Gettysburg Borough Council unanimously approved changes to its sign ordinance on Monday.
“This has been a long time coming; we have been working on this for almost eight years,” Borough Council President Matthew Moon said.
The new ordinance allows structures with one business tenant to have up to 50 square feet of signage per building side. Structures with more than one business tenant are allowed up to 50 square feet of signage per business tenant entrance anywhere on the property. Double-faced signs count as one sign.
The previous ordinance allowed one square foot of sign for each linear foot of the lot’s frontage, up to 50 feet.
Portable signs on or near a public sidewalk must allow five feet of unobstructed area. Previously, the borough allowed four feet of unobstructed area.
The borough’s sign ordinance almost crossed the finish line in 2023 but was stopped by massive public outcry. Previous Council President Wes Heyser said in December that the council began working on the proposed changes in 2016 when the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Reed v. the Town of Gilbert, Arizona that temporary signs did not need a permit. Gettysburg Borough law currently states unpermitted temporary signs can only be placed on properties where work is being performed.
Cameras on the square?
Police Chief Robert Glenny appears to want security cameras installed on Lincoln Square, but no one wants to talk about it.
At the end of his report, Glenny questioned the meeting’s agenda.
“I also thought there was going to be another motion on here tonight for the MOUs (memorandums of understanding) for the square cameras,” Glenny said. “Charles (Gable, borough manager), can we make sure we get that on next time?”
Gable did not respond. After an eight-second wait, Glenny attempted to clarify his question.
“Back in August, I sent out an email and you basically said ‘thanks we will get it on the September business meeting agenda,” Glenny said. “Apparently, that slipped through. Or not.”
Again, no response. Neither Glenny or Moon responded to emails from Gettysburg Connection asking for details of the request. Gable declined to comment.
Alex J. Hayes has spent almost two decades in the Adams County news business. He is passionate about sharing stories focused on the people in our communities and following local governments in an age when few journalists report on their meetings. Alex is also a freelance writer for several other publications in South Central Pennsylvania. Alex encourages readers to contact him at ahayes83@gmail.com.