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Select Board allows temporary Hill Reservation signs with conditions, asks manager to draft future policy
Summary
The board approved a neighboring nonprofit's request to place temporary program signs at several town islands, but excluded the island across from Town Hall and asked the manager's office to develop a policy for future out-of-town or nonprofit requests and possible fee structures.
The Select Board on Oct. 28 approved a request from an out-of-town nonprofit (Hill Reservation) to place temporary signs on several Norwood islands advertising seasonal programs, but the board attached conditions and asked the manager's office to develop clearer policy language for future requests. The board expressly excluded the small island across from Town Hall from permitted sign locations because of heavy pedestrian and vehicular activity there and ongoing construction concerns.
Staff had recommended caution, noting the applicant is a nonprofit that operates programs outside Norwood and that a precedent could encourage numerous future requests from out-of-town groups. "It's an outside agency that runs programs in another community," a staff member advised the board. Some members favored a neighborly accommodation, while others worried the town could face a proliferation of signs or requests from for-profit entities.
The board's motion approved the specific request before it with the stated exclusion and directed the manager's office to bring options for a future policy that could include eligibility criteria and possible charges for advertising on town-owned islands. The motion passed unanimously.
