Several officials favor ban on LED signs

Port Washington aldermen will be asked to weigh in on the debate over electronic message signs — aka LED signs —when they meet on Tuesday, July 6.

The Plan Commission reviewed the matter June 17 and although several members indicated they would like to outlaw such signs in the city, Ald. Paul Neumyer, a member of the commission, warned that isn’t likely to pass Common Council review.

“I don’t think you’re going to get an outright ban from the council,” he said.

When the commission recommended that action a couple years ago, he noted, aldermen opted not to ban these signs. 

The matter came to the forefront in May when St. John XXIII School and Parish asked to install one of these signs at its St. Peter of Alcantara Church on Port’s north side.

Commission members denied the request by a 4-3 vote but left the door open for the parish to reapply, saying they want to formulate a consistent set of rules for the signs.

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, said he prefers the city prohibit these signs, saying they “run contrary to what Port Washington’s aesthetic is ...  or should be.”

That stance was reiterated by several others, including Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven, a member of the commission, who noted that other communities with distinct identities such as Cedarburg, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay largely prohibit them.

“I think they separate themselves by doing so. I want Port Washington to remain distinct, to maintain that charm that brings people to the city,” he said.

As in many other communities, he said, “there has been a  slow proliferation of these signs (in Port). I think we’re going to see more and more if we don’t do something.”

Commission member Eric Ryer agreed, saying “If someone near you has one, the natural inclination is to have one just as big, as bright or better.”

“We’re being charged to look forward,” commission member Tony Matera said, and that means looking at ways to keep the community attractive for businesses and the public.

If nothing else, he said, the city should prohibit these signs in downtown and along its main corridors.

Mayor Ted Neitzke, who compared the LED signs to the “neon signs of the 1960s,” suggested the city strengthen its sign code “to have it as narrow as possible. Port Washington is a historic community. We should treat it like that.”

The city has taken strong stances on such issues in the past, he said, noting that at one time the Pizza Hut restaurant wasn’t allowed to have its traditional red roof.

But, he added, since these signs are in place at the public schools in the city, it should consider allowing one for St. John XXIII School as a matter of fairness. But commission member Kyle Knop, who noted the city has 12 of these LED signs in its limits, said the city has already allowed these signs and “We’re not putting the toothpaste back in the tube.”

“That whole (sign) code needs to be retooled” to reflect current technology and the city’s needs, he said, adding the city should consult with an expert in the field when doing this.

That included feather signs, which Knop said he “finds almost more distracting” than LED signs.

Harris said after the meeting he plans to discuss the matter at the Common Council meeting so the Plan Commission can take up the request by St. John XXIII School and Parish in August or September.