Sunday, July 05, 2009
Editorial: Allow signs along the artisan trails
Montgomery County and its two towns should consider 'Round the Mountain signs on a case-by-case basis.
From the RoundTable blog
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What The Crooked Road did for heritage music in Southwest Virginia, 'Round the Mountain might do for local art. Governments in Montgomery County should help the group.
The Crooked Road leads visitors to traditional music throughout the region. It has boosted tourism and brought coherence to what had been scattered musicians and venues.
'Round the Mountain would instead focus on artisan studios, galleries, farms and agricultural tourism. It has identified sites in 19 counties and four cities, including all of the New River Valley, and has already printed and circulated brochures promoting its trails.
It will not be the be-all, end-all of regional tourism, but it could be one more piece of the puzzle that attracts a certain sort of visitor and provides people another way to spend a pleasant Saturday in the New River Valley and beyond.
'Round the Mountain identifies its sites with modest signs. In Montgomery County, including Christiansburg and Blacksburg, however, there is a problem. Many artisans work out of studios in their homes, and local ordinances do not allow signs in most residential neighborhoods.
The good news is that the group is already talking with local officials about how to rectify the situation.
Probably the best solution will be to amend the ordinances to allow small signs -- the 'Round the Mountain one is 7 by 18 inches -- with a conditional/special use permit from the governing body. Applicants then would need to go through the typical permitting process, including a public hearing.
The public hearing is essential because some neighbors might be less than keen on having signs cluttering their neighborhood. They could legitimately point out that residential areas are not ideal tourist destinations.
Then again, many neighborhoods might be indifferent or support the artisans.
The key is giving elected officials an opportunity to consider the circumstances of each application so they can make an informed decision about what would work best. We suspect that in most neighborhoods, the signs would be fine.
