Dear Editor:
To the Commissioners of Hamilton County and the City Council of Westfield:
As a candidate for Washington Township Trustee in Westfield, Hamilton County, Indiana, I am writing in response to the latest version of the County Commissioner’s Sign Ordinance as well as Westfield’s Sign Ordinance Number 18-07 which is said to “mirror” the County Ordinance.
In my opinion, there are a myriad of problems with both the City and County Ordinance, particularly when compared to law written in other counties in other states. For the sake of argument, I will use an example from St. John’s County, Florida, which employs extremely rigid directives regarding clutter on private property.
Available via the St. John’s County website, under the Code Enforcement Tab, the public can educate themselves about the intent of their codes and the enforcement process. Violations are handled by a local citizens board and the website states, “Obviously, education of the public can be the most effective tool that Code Enforcement officials have at their disposal.”
I agree that code infractions exist because people often do not realize what they are doing is against the law. To remain compliant, specifically regarding (original ordinance) Section 6, I wrote to both the assistant to the Hamilton County Commissioners and the Westfield City Council for clarity. I was provided with the following responses:
From Dan Stevens, Assistant to the Hamilton County Commissioners: “As long as you are within the criteria set out in 36-1-3-11, a sign that size on private property would not violate the County’s Ordinance.”
From Chuck Lehman, Westfield City Council: “Thanks for your question. The original intent of our ordinance was not to override the state (or county) statute(s). It is my understanding that our intention is to mirror the current ordinances of the state and county. This detail will be a point of interest in our discussions.”
From Cindy Spoljaric, Westfield City Council: “Marla, the political sign provisions are different from other non-commercial signs. Think a sign advertising a school fundraiser for instance … from what I read, 4 sq ft limit on private property. Political signs have special provisions in state code. You could still see someone with a sign greater than 4 sq feet advertising for a political campaign on private property within those 60 days, as long as it doesn’t violate anything else … like adequate sight distance at an intersection. This is my understanding. I am not an attorney or code enforcement on the matter though. If you have a specific sign/location, may want to specifically ask Matt.”
If the Hamilton County and City of Westfield Ordinances are not designed to interfere with Indiana State Code, is it necessary to “reinvent” any code? Must we be reminded of these codes with stiff penalties? Mrs. Spoljaric’s email directs me to “ask Matt.” Matt Skelton is the Economic Director in Westfield and an attorney. Do I really need to jump through these hoops if the law and available information is clear?
In St. John’s County, there is a process which includes written warnings, a period of time to achieve compliance, first and second-offense fines are followed by and non-compliance violations “which can go as high $500.”
There is an entire webpage linked to other pages that will take you to the correct information including phone numbers, the local codes under which these rules exist and which unit of government oversees each department.
I’m not suggesting St. John’s County, Florida, has everything right. I am disputing the idea that the Hamilton County Commissioner’s Ordinance has been given great thought. I am arguing the notion that this ordinance has been written to better protect the public. I do not believe that the City Council of Westfield gave proper rationalization to their ordinance, but rather followed in-kind by drafting a hurriedly written, ill-timed ordinance to satisfy their urgent need (the May 8 Primary Election) to thwart aspirant candidates for election.
Should the Commissioners and local councilors decide that these signs pose an extreme threat to their constituency, perhaps they who seem most offended by the clutter, will not order and erect their signs in next year’s election cycle.
Respectfully submitted,
Marla Ailor
Candidate for Washington Township Trustee
Washington Township resident