Council amends sign ordinance

During a special meeting Sept. 26, Springfield City Council approved a change to the city’s sign ordinance regarding the use of signs on vehicles. The previous law limited car signs to those advertising the company that owns or regularly uses that vehicle. The new law allows for any sign on a vehicle, provided the sign does not have flashing lights or animation and is not more than two square feet in area.

Theobald had been pushing for the change since he was found to be in violation of the city ordinance in April and forced to remove the signs from several Yellow Cab Co. vehicles.

“I really appreciate (council’s) work on my behalf,” Theobald said after the meeting. “There were hitches in the process, but there are always going to be problems in any process.”

A lawsuit Theobald filed against the city, however, continues; a hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 15. Theobald is seeking reimbursement for revenue lost due to an ordinance he claims was unconstitutional.

“I made a good-faith decision based on that misinformation,” he said, referring to miscommunication between himself and city staff about what signs were allowed and for what purposes. “I’ve gone six months without that revenue. … I just need that lost revenue back.”

The suit asks for just more than $20,000 for actual and potential lost revenue and attorney and court fees.

Crime lab designs

Meanwhile, the proposed forensic crime lab in center city is going through an identity crisis.

Council reviewed three different options for the look of the new facility at its Sept. 26 luncheon, including one originally presented in August but criticised for being too modern for the neighborhood.

The two new options both emphasized reducing the amount of glass used in the design and attempting to make it fit in with surrounding neighborhoods.

“Either one of them goes a lot better, I think, with (the Jordan Valley Innovation Center) and the way it’s looking right now,” Mayor Tom Carlson said at the meeting.

Council did not set a deadline for selecting a design. The facility, being designed by Creative Ink Architects and Buxton-Kubik-Dodd Inc., is expected to go out for bids before the end of the year. The city hopes to have the lab operational by January 2008.

Council will not be meeting Oct. 2 due to council members’ participation in the Missouri Municipal League conference.[[In-content Ad]]