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Tricentennial committee seeks town sign exceptions and sponsor banners
Summary
The Tricentennial Committee proposed branded banners on poles, municipal property signs, and sponsor-branded commercial banners funded by Friends of Southborough 300; board and public discussed limits, sunset, and whether private commercial banners are outside bylaw jurisdiction.
Representatives of the Town of Southborough's Tricentennial Committee asked the Planning Board on Feb. 9 to permit banners and consistent branding during the 2027 tricentennial year. Patricia Burns Fiore, vice chair of the committee, said Friends of Southborough 300 (a nonprofit) has secured about $100,000 in sponsorships and proposed three banner categories: 18-by-24-inch pole banners, event-promotional banners on municipal property, and sponsor-branded building banners on private commercial property for high-level sponsors.
Fiore said the friends would control production and branding to keep the look consistent and suggested a sponsor threshold for commercial building banners (examples given: $10,000 or $25,000 contributions). Board members and the public raised process questions: banners are generally limited or prohibited by the town sign bylaw (temporary banners normally allowed only 30 days without a special permit), and town counsel and the building inspector need to confirm whether private commercial banners can be permitted within the select board's authority or require separate action.
The board recommended keeping the sign rules simple for town-meeting voters, defining the activity specifically for the tricentennial, and using existing dimensional tables for size limits rather than drafting a large new table in the bylaw. The Tricentennial Committee will finalize recommended dimensions and work with staff on legal language and sunset/sunrise dates ahead of the next Planning Board meeting.
