Sign advisory committee seeks clearer enforcement process, eyes bylaw updates to chapter 1-24

At its Feb. 3 meeting the HTC Sign Advisory Committee spent a substantial portion of its time on enforcement: how to track repeat sign violations, how to notify property owners in advance of discussions, and potential changes to the town’s enforcement bylaw.

Leslie, a staff member who joined the meeting for the enforcement item, cautioned that discussing individual enforcement actions without proper agenda posting could raise open-meeting-law and due-process concerns. "I'm concerned about possible open meeting law issues with how the agenda is posted, and then possible, like, due process type issues with property owners or business owners not knowing that their sign is going to be discussed at a meeting," Leslie said.

Committee members said a visible enforcement log helps them identify repeat violators and avoid inconsistent precedents. Kevin Koester described scenarios in which separate commissioners might independently note the same or additional violations and unintentionally create conflicting requests to staff. To streamline coordination, the committee agreed to try a workflow in which commissioners email observed violations to the chair, who forwards them to staff; staff will then determine whether a matter needs to be placed on an agenda or can be addressed administratively and will notify the property or business owner if the item may be discussed in a public meeting.

Kevin also raised a prominent example: airport property signage and maintenance issues that, he said, appear far outside previously approved conditions and could require many individual notices. Leslie acknowledged that large or complex sites might need a series of individual enforcement actions and recommended handling such cases on an agenda-by-agenda basis.

Leslie said staff has been drafting broader revisions to chapter 1-24 of the town code (which covers signs and related enforcement). She quoted current penalty amounts as an example of a provision that would need a bylaw change and a town-meeting vote: "It says that the penalty shall be 10 for the first offense, 50 for the second, and 300 for third or subsequent." She encouraged the committee to review the sign section when staff circulates a formal draft; any changes to penalties would require the bylaw process and a town-meeting vote.

The committee asked staff to continue maintaining a violations spreadsheet and to coordinate with the chair on items that warrant agenda discussion. Chris Young said the approach was “progress” and commissioners agreed to start the email-forwarding process to staff.

Leslie also invited up to two committee members to a separate public hearing that afternoon to clarify technical construction-sign language codified in 2022; Chris Young said he would try to attend. The meeting adjourned after committee members indicated no further items to add.