Council vote fails on illuminated south‑wall sign for Noto’s after resident objections

Grand Haven City Council on Jan. 6 considered a final resolution to allow an illuminated sign on the south wall of Noto’s restaurant at 1223 South Harbor Drive and the motion failed on a 2–1 roll call.

Background and council action: The item came to council as a final resolution following earlier review by the planning commission and a prior council meeting. After council discussion and a roll call vote the motion failed. Roll call on the final resolution was recorded as Fritz — yes; Lowe — no; Manetza — yes. Under the city charter, council members noted, a three‑vote majority is required to approve such an item, so the motion was not adopted.

Why it mattered: Planning commissioners and some nearby residents had opposed illuminated signage on the south wall; proponents, including the property owners, said the proposed lighting would be modest and would not produce glare or light trespass into nearby windows. During the Jan. 6 meeting a councilmember apologized to the planning commission for not upholding its earlier decision and said she would vote no on the resolution, citing residents’ concerns.

Public comment: Owners and representatives of Noto’s addressed council during the second public comment period. Tom Noto said there previously had been a painted sign on that south wall with double spotlights and that their proposed LED sign would be less intrusive. “If you look from our stairway to the little park… lighting and glare [from the old sign] was much brighter than what our sign is going to be,” Tom Noto said. Anthony Noto said the restaurant represents a significant private investment and asked council to consider the business’s perspective.

Process questions: Council members described the item as procedurally unusual because of prior action and community letters. One councilmember said the council had effectively overruled a planning commission recommendation at an earlier meeting and expressed regret for not giving greater weight to the commission’s decision. Several members said the outcome does not close the matter permanently: the council can choose to revisit the item at a future meeting.

What’s next: Because the motion failed, the resolution does not take effect. Council members may place the item on a future agenda for reconsideration; if a final denial were adopted instead, local rules would limit how soon the matter could return.