City Commission to make decision on sign ban

The saga surrounding signs in the city of Sarasota will take another turn Monday, as the City Commission will weigh in on new regulations cracking down on signage in the public right of way.

The commission asked staff to develop those regulations in November, a response to a spat between downtown merchants and legal consultant Michael Barfield. Barfield, upset by signs discouraging panhandling posted by the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association, began to post his own provocative signs attacking the anti-panhandling campaign and downtown businesses.

According to City Attorney Robert Fournier, both of those signs were allowed in the public right of way because they were not technically signs — as defined by the city code, at least. The city’s zoning regulations specifically address signs used to serve a commercial purpose, and so the messages conveyed by the SDMA and Barfield were not restricted.

In a 4-1 vote, the City Commission asked staff to bring back an ordinance restricting any private signage from being posted in the right of way, in part to avoid future lawsuits from the litigious Barfield. After a long gestation period, those regulations are finally ready for the commission to consider — although they come with from skepticism from a city advisory board.

In February, the Planning Board recommended against adopting the proposed regulations in a 3-2 vote. The board took the stance because it believed that there is not enough evidence that the changes would benefit the public, and expressed further concerns that the differing definitions of signs found in different sections of the zoning code could create their own legal issues.

The city also asked staff to restrict other private items from being stationed in the public right of way, such as Tube Dudes, but Fournier said the scope of his work has been focused on the signage issue.

Also on the agenda for Monday’s meeting:

• The commission will discuss a memo from Fournier discussing a 2003 memorandum of understanding, in which the city agreed in principle to convey a Ringling Boulevard parcel of land that formerly housed the Sarasota Police Department headquarters. In the memo, which takes a critical tone with Sarasota County, Fournier states that the city is not obligated to give the land to the county.
   
• City Manager Tom Barwin will provide commissioners with an update on recommended next steps to address the city’s homelessness issues.

The full agenda for Monday’s meeting can be found on the city website by visiting http://bit.ly/April6Agenda.