Editor, Times-Union: We live in a county that professes to be conservative in nature, philosophy and temperament. Ask any local politician. But somehow, when it comes to exercising some categories of governmental power, it looks more like something George Orwell wrote about. Especially zoning regulations. Especially that universal plague, signs. The origin of zoning regulation actually lies in public health, safety and welfare, not in a politician’s perception of esthetics. We have minimum yard setbacks, for example, for fire protection and access, and to some degree protection of privacy, not because the city decided it liked the looks of a yard with 25 percent of width and 10 feet minimum for side yards. Or an appointed board member’s personal beliefs or opinions. Signs can block the view of streets – solution is to enact specific, measurable regulations as to location(s) of the signs, so that they do not block a driver’s view. The explanation in a recent guest column included a reference to pollution. It is hard to be more subjective than that label. But then it is difficult to believe that a plain board member has the psychic skills to predict with certainty what bearers of walking signs will do if allowed to run amok. Some might even assume that folks will usually follow the law and stay out of the streets. And certainly it is not the job of the zoning ordinance to assume that drivers of vehicles will ignore the law and their duties as a driver in favor of alleged distraction. We do not have a rash of crashes caused by drivers who became hypnotized by signs, legal or not. If we did, that would be scientific and statistical information that a plan commission and city council could consider. But not just because we imagine it could happen. We may just as well argue that people with body art, on the sidewalk next to the street, should be required by law to cover their tattoos, because a driver might notice and become distracted. Minimum regulation, based soundly in public health and safety, should be the touchstone for any zoning decision, not opinions of sign pollution, lax laws, beautification. Richard Helm Warsaw, via email
