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Downtown property owner urges Main Street advisory board changes and more permissive historic sign rules
Summary
Property owner Richard Farris Jr. told the council that Main Street Advisory Board members should be property owners and complained the board rejected a sign application for his 112 East Oak Street building; he urged the council to change membership rules and relax sign restrictions to allow historically accurate signage.
Richard Farris Jr., a downtown property owner who identified himself as owner of Farris Investors LLC, used the Jan. 23 public-comment period to press the City Council to require that all Main Street Advisory Board members own property in the Main Street district and to revise the downtown sign ordinance.
Farris said non-property-owner board members "don't have anything at risk" and therefore can make recommendations that affect owners without bearing the consequences. "Anyone who doesn't own property in the district doesn't have anything at risk, yet they are influencing those of us who do," he said. He urged council members who appoint MSAB members to require property ownership as a qualification and offered to help recruit property-owning applicants if the council pursues that change.
Farris also described a recent denial by the Main Street Advisory Board of his plan to refurbish an original pole sign at 112 East Oak Street (the Rock Building, built 1962). He said he altered the design to try to meet the MSAB's concerns but received a vague denial that cited "clutter" and gave no clear guidance on how to revise the sign. "I did not understand this ... there was no reason for not approving it, just that their opinion was that it was clutter," Farris said. He presented photos showing the distance between downtown signs and said the current interpretation of the ordinance is inconsistent.
Farris suggested the ordinance's historic cutoff should be drawn around the 1960s and said the city's rules prevent him from returning a building to an appearance that matches mid-century photos. He urged the council to review the Main Street sign language and MSAB appointment process so sign approvals are consistent and transparent.
Ending: The council did not vote on any changes during the Jan. 23 meeting; Farris asked to be contacted by staff for follow-up.
