Abingdon resolution asks county to restrict signs

By: Debra McCown/Bristol Herald Courier | TriCities.com
Published: February 05, 2008

The Abingdon Town Council approved a resolution Monday night asking the Washington County Board of Supervisors to restrict the placement of signs near town.

“I was disappointed that the Washington County Board of Supervisors permitted that to happen,” said Town Council Member Ed Morgan in an interview after the meeting, referring to the recent construction of several billboards on U.S. Highways 11 and 19 and state Route 75 heading into town. “They had the ability to stop those signs from being put up.”

Morgan said he’d like to see the county prohibit billboards as the town has done and adopt a sign ordinance similar to the one the town enacted last year. He said other council members agree.

The resolution, which passed 4-0 with Councilman French Moore absent, points out the town’s efforts to market its historic character for tourism – and the tax revenue it supplies the county.

Describing the recently placed billboards on the town’s entrance corridors as “an over-concentration of multiple-faced billboard signage in excessive bulk and density,” the resolution asks the county to support the town’s efforts to protect its landscape.

It also requests that supervisors “review the town’s comprehensive plan and to support the town of Abingdon in its efforts to promote safety and protect interests by preserving the visual and aesthetic qualities within the region through taking measures to control signage within its jurisdiction, namely the aforementioned entrance corridors into the town.”

Morgan said he hopes county and town officials can communicate better in the future, and that supervisors will consult the Town Council on issues that impact the town.

“We recognized that there was a value to our viewscape, an economic value, and they [the Board of Supervisors] didn’t see that,” Morgan said. “Our relationship with the county is probably the best that it’s been in many years, but we do need to strengthen our working relationship, and I anticipate having regular meetings with the Board of Supervisors.”

dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701

Abingdon resolution asks county to restrict signs

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