Council holds public hearing on political sign size change; ordinance limits political signs to 432 square inches

Athens City Council conducted a public hearing on Jan. 21 on a proposed change to city sign regulations that would increase the maximum size for political or ideological temporary signs from 350 square inches to 432 square inches.

Council Member Swank explained the change as an effort to align the municipal code with commercially available sign sizes and said it is not intended to regulate content. “No way, shape, or form are we regulating content, the design of your sign, what it can say, but simply the size to make it uniform and consistent with what you can buy at the local store or online,” Swank said.

The ordinance, introduced as Ordinance 07‑25, would amend Chapter 23.03 sign regulations so that political or ideological signs may be up to 432 square inches and must be maintained in safe condition or removed. The law director told council that the city enforces size and placement but cannot regulate speech; enforcement would be handled through code enforcement and the police when necessary.

Council members asked about enforcement and penalties. The law director indicated that previous enforcement actions asked property owners or students to remove large signs and said complaints are typically handled by the city’s code office or police department. Council Member Spank (sic) asked what happens if oversized signs remain; the law director replied that residents may report violations to code enforcement.

Why it matters: the change would remove a practical mismatch between the city code and the signs many candidates and residents buy. Staff and council characterized the change as clarifying regulation of size and safety rather than content control.

What happens next: the matter was read for first reading and will return as legislation for subsequent readings; residents will have additional opportunities for comment when the ordinance reaches later readings.