The Parks Commission couldn't get a variance last week to sell an ad on the back of the Stampfl Field scoreboard, but it's not done trying.
The request to put up a scoreboard sign - which would be highly visible along East Verona Avenue and essentially considered a billboard by city ordinances - was referred to the Zoning Board of Appeals, a quasi-judicial four-member body that has met three times in four years. The ZBA unanimously denied the commission's request last Wednesday because it did not meet the first of four criteria, hardship.
The sign was to be an advertisement for an area chiropractic office, at least initially, providing revenue for the Parks Commission. Clearly, the ZBA ruled, the Parks Commission isn't in a desperate situation.
Parks director Dave Walker didn't dispute that interpretation, but he said a sign permit might not be necessary anyway, since a government body - the commission - has authorized it. The city's zoning code (Sec. 13-1-321-a-5) says signs are allowed if they are "established by, or by order of, any governmental agency."
Nonetheless, he said, the commission will attempt to have the city rules changed to allow such signs when approved by the Parks Commission. He said the commission made its intent clear at a previous meeting on the topic.
"I believe we're going to pursue an ordinance amendment to allow limited donor signage in the parks," Walker said. "I don't want to ruffle any feathers, so we're going to do the right thing, and it may or may not fly."
