The City of Perry’s Planning
Commission voted 3 to 1 to allow Warner Robins Supply to temporarily keep its
sign on the New Perry Hotel’s sign.
After hearing from three people in
favor of keeping the sign and one against, the board decided that Warner Robins
Supply could keep the sign up for eight months, but the red letters would have
to be changed to green lettering in order to match the New Perry Hotel’s sign.
Jim Taylor of Warner Robins Supply
explained to the board that he would only want the sign up for 14 months, which
is the amount of time the Ball Street Extension construction hindered his
business.
Patty Johnson, owner of the New
Perry Hotel, told the board that she did not want to go against the city in
allowing the Warner Robins Supply sign to be placed on hers, but she was
“trying to partner with another business.”
Mildred McIntosh of the Perry
Downtown Merchants Association backed up both businesses saying, “We’re
supposed to help each other.”
She said that this was “a real
symbol of what we want our downtown merchants to do.”
Terry Walker, who is the wife of
Councilman Randall Walker, spoke against allowing the variance for the sign.
She said that when she was on the Downtown Development Authority, over a year was
spent getting the ordinance together. The ordinance, she said, is “very well
thought out.”
She informed those gathered at the
meeting that the city is “constantly fighting our sign ordinance problems.”
Walker then warned the board that
if they allow what she called a “variance creep,” then the board would have
multiple requests for variances that are similar.
“The one thing we must do is
protect our image,” she stated.
Board member Jim Mehserle said he
understood that being in the construction business is tough and agreed with
Taylor that the road construction “was a mess.”
“It might be a fair trade off,”
stated Mehserle about allowing the sign for 14 months. Then Martin Beeland,
chairman of the board, argued that store personnel should have come to the city
when business slowed months ago and asked for a variance.
Walker then interrupted by saying,
“They have a billboard.”
Mehserle then said to Beeland,
“They may not have realized.”
Board member Lawrence Clarington
then offered the suggestion of allowing the sign to stay in place for six to
eight months and have the colors changed to match the existing New Perry Hotel
sign.
Clarington said, “We’re here to
help.”
HHJ News
