BRISTOL, Tenn. – After earlier agreeing to give Bristol car dealers and businesses just two periods each year to use promotional displays that had been illegal, the City Council is facing questions for abruptly deciding to raise the annual limit to six.
“I’m surprised it happened and I’m a bit disappointed it happened,” Councilman David Shumaker said of the council’s decision Tuesday to triple how often businesses can use search lights, inflatable animals and other promotional props.
“We’d worked pretty hard to agree that two events a year was something everyone could live with,” Shumaker said Thursday. “Then it changes?”
Councilman Joel Staton defended the council’s unexpected reversal. He called it a fair step that gives local businesses, particularly car dealerships, more opportunity to promote products during a slow economy – without hurting Bristol’s desire to limit the city’s visual clutter.
“This is one of the most reasonable compromises we’ve come up with in some time,” Staton said. “We’re just trying to give our businesses a little help.”
Councilman James Messimer, who pushed for raising the limit, echoed Staton’s view.
“We just felt this was more fair, all the way around,” Messimer said. “It’s a good compromise.”
At the Tuesday council meeting, members were expected to approve its original plan to provide businesses with the two “special-event” periods. Neither event could run more than seven consecutive days, and businesses would pay a $50 permit fee for each.
The two-events proposal appeared to finally end a lengthy debate between the city and area business owners, who complained that Bristol’s ban on inflatable blimps, skylights and other items was too tough. At one point, business owners demanded 24 days a year for promotional displays. At another, the City Council appeared ready to keep the total ban in place.
But during Tuesday’s meeting, Messimer suggested tripling the display limit to six special-event periods, giving business owners as many as 42 days each year to use promotional props.
After a brief discussion, the council then approved Messimer’s suggestion in a 4-1 vote, with Shumaker voting against it.
“I can’t say I was happy about it, but there we are,” Shumaker said about the dramatic about-face. “I think the new [rules] are extraordinarily lenient.”
But Messimer said he became convinced a higher limit was reasonable after recently meeting with area business owners, including auto dealer Mitch Walters, who owns the Friendship car dealerships on Volunteer Parkway.
“In exchange for the expanded time period, they agreed not to use any yard signs,” Messimer said of the business owners. “To me, yard signs have always been the biggest problem we face, anyway. So this really is a good compromise.”
Walters agreed, saying area business owners “appreciated that the council was willing to listen to us” and increase the display days.
“It’s a good move and a pro-business move,” Walters said Thursday.
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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