PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners have set the wheels in motion to control election campaign signs in unincorporated areas — but don’t expect changes in the proliferation of signs for this year’s busy primary and general elections.
“A lot of people have already bought their materials for signs, and we don’t want to change the rules now,” said Commissioner David Sullivan, who is among dozens of candidates — from president on down — whose name will be on at least one
ballot.
The three commissioners voted unanimously Monday to begin the development of a new sign code by instructing staff to develop a strategy and submit it to the board.
The commissioners allocated $10,000 to hire a consultant to draft a potential ordinance.
“This needs to be done, but we need to make sure that we don’t do anything before the election,” Sullivan said.
During Monday’s county commissioners’ meeting, Commissioner John Austin didn’t think an ordinance is forthcoming before November.
“Considering how we work,” Austin said, “I don’t think there is much danger we’ll have something in place before the election.”
The need for a revised sign ordinance resulted from a 2006 injunction imposed by Clallam County Superior Court, which prohibited Jefferson County from enforcing a size limit on political signs.
The plaintiff on the case, Mike Belenski of Mats Mats, filed the action in Clallam County because he was once represented in court by Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock D. Verser.
Belenski said Monday that there shouldn’t be a sign code, but if it is implemented it can be kept to a single page.
“I don’t think you have the right to regulate what somebody says from their own property,” he said.
“If I have a fence that’s 6 feet high and a thousand feet long and I want to write something on it, that’s fine.”
The current sign code, which Belenski said is selectively enforced, forbids billboards, flashing lights and revolving or moving signs.
It also forbids political signs that exceed 8 square feet, a restriction that Belenski said is unconstitutional.
Under the code, real estate signs have no size restriction, according to the injunction.
“The sign code should have nothing to do with content,” Belenski said.
“If you want to tell me that I can’t say something, the burden is on the county to prove why I can’t say what I want to say the way I want to say it.”
Both Belenski and Sullivan compared the development of a sign ordinance with the protracted process of implementing a policy for sexually oriented businesses, which was recently put into effect after seven years of temporary moratoriums.
Sullivan acknowledged that changing a code sometimes takes time, especially when the matter isn’t critical.
He said that the completion of the sexually oriented business regulation “cleared the decks” for the county to deal with other issues.
“It will take them two or three years to get anything done,” Belenski said.
“You can see how the sexually oriented business dragged on. This happens when there is no urgency.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.