Business owners hope some controversial signs in Southport will attract plenty of visitor attention.
According to the city, some businesses have their signs on state property, which according to North Carolina law is illegal.
Many business owners, including Jeff Ward, have used the signs for years and don't understand why they're now a problem. “We're in the hardest economy that we've ever known, shop owners are going month to month whether they're going to keep their business or not and we need every bit of help that we can get from everybody.”
City Planner Amy Nelson says the city is trying to find a way to rewrite a town ordinance to help the business owners.
Nelson says the city is also working with the Department of Transportation to come up with an alternative, but the problem won't be solved quickly.
Southport Signs
The business owners have been using public property for years to make a profit and now they want to complain because someone actually wants to enforce a ordinance already on the books. Give me a break, they know or should know the risks when they went into business.
This should be a no brainier, remove the private signs from the public right-of-way.
Nice
It's nice to see local government worrying about issues that don't amount to a hill of beans. Watch out, because you won't be able to put a sign anywhere as government will own everything before too long.
Seriously? They've done
Seriously? They've done this for years & now they want to tell them they can't?
Southport is run by a bunch of people that have no idea what they're doing, and they continue to show it!