BANGOR, Maine — Last spring, a Bangor lawyer’s larger-than-life cutout likeness was the talk of downtown as it drew eyes to his office window. Now, city officials are eyeing an ordinance change to prevent oversized signs from appearing in the future.
The display in the second-floor window of 9 Central St., overlooking the bustling intersection of Hammond, Central and Main streets in the heart of downtown Bangor, sparked descriptions that ranged from “glowering” and “imposing” to “hilarious” and “amazing.”
Over the summer, the cutout was removed when attorney Stephen Smith joined the Augusta law firm Lipman & Katz. But it was soon replaced by another sign advertizing the Augusta law firm. This one filled the entire window and was joined by several other large signs on the second floor.
Smith said at the time he carefully reviewed the city’s sign ordinance and did not believe his new advertisement violated any of the regulations. The city’s interpretation of the same ordinance differed.
The ordinance, as it is written, says “Window signs shall not exceed 20 percent of the window on the ground floor street frontage of a premises.” Another ordinance relates to property standards in the Bangor Center Revitalization Area. A provision within that code mentions signs displayed in windows and restricts the size of lettering, but does not mention the size of images.
Smith interpreted the first ordinance as meaning there are no restrictions on window sign size above the first floor of a building, so he moved ahead with his sign. In other words, he found a loophole and “drove a truck through it,” Assistant City Solicitor Paul Nicklas said during a recent committee meeting.
City officials discussed reviewing the ordinances and challenging Smith’s stance, but it was a low priority and fell to the wayside until recently.
The city’s attorney recently drafted a change to the window sign ordinance to clear up the confusion, an amendment that Councilor Joe Baldacci, an attorney, jokingly called “The Steve Smith Amendment.”
The new language reads “No more than 20 percent of any window may be covered by window signs.”
Nicklas said that the ordinance will not be retroactive, meaning the city won’t push Lipman & Katz to take down its full-size window sign, unless the council explicitly says the ordinance should be retroactive. There has been no push to do so.
The city also aims to resolve some signage issues the city’s bars and restaurants have regarding table umbrellas.
Downtown businesses haven’t been allowed to use umbrellas with logos in the past, so businesses have had to purchase plain or logo-free umbrellas for outdoor seating, which owners say can be expensive and need to be replaced often. The amendment would allow them to start using umbrellas that carry the logos of suppliers, which the businesses can get for little to no money and replace more easily.
The Bangor City Council will hold a first reading of the ordinance changes during its meeting Monday and likely will vote on the change two weeks later.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.