City looks at campaign sign restrictions

The planning board will consider this week an option to reduce the length of time campaign and election signs can be displayed in the city’s planning jurisdiction.

Current city code allows campaign signs to be displayed up to 90 days prior to election day. But when factoring in both the primary and general election, candidates could potentially have their signs up as long as six months.

“This seems excessive,” senior planner Wendy Compton-Ring said in the staff report.

Whitefish is the only city in the county to allow signs to be displayed for such a length of time. Kalispell, Columbia Falls and land zoned in Flathead County only allows campaign signs to be up 30 days before an election.

“Making our sign regulations consistent with neighboring communities make sense,” Compton-Ring said.

The planning department is proposing to change code to allow campaign signs for only 30 days prior to an election. The signs must be removed no more than seven days after an election, which is how the code currently reads.

The city is also recommending a change in the code to lower the size of campaign signs in residential areas from 32 to 16 square feet. Signs in commercial or industrial areas could still be 32 square feet.

The board will also consider limiting the amount of signs displayed per candidate or issue.

“It has been suggested that one sign per candidate or issue is adequate per lot,” Compton-Ring notes.

The planning board will consider the recommendations at the regular June 21 meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall.