Marseilles reminds residents of sign ordinance violations ahead of election

The Marseilles City Council passed an ordinance in May that restricted the size and location of where residents can place signs, although there’s not yet been any enforcement of it.

Brad Miller, a Marseilles resident, said it was decided in May a political sign can be 8 square feet and there can be a total of 80 square feet worth of signs on residential property, for a total of 10 signs. Anything above that would require a visit to the Plan Commission to receive a conditional use permit.

“It was kind of a way we could control what and how big the signs got so we didn’t get too crazy,” Miller said. “I know we talked about sidewalks too, but they’re different in every part of town.”

Miller is a member of the Plan Commission in Marseilles, which spent more than two years updating the city’s nearly 40-year-old ordinance. Miller said, however, he was speaking to the City Council as a resident, not as a representative of the Plan Commission.

The kinds of signs Miller is referencing are the ones on the west side of Marseilles along U.S. 6, where a resident has between 12 and 15 signs, all right on the curb.

“I talked to IDOT and they said they won’t do anything about them unless they’re a visual problem, like if they’re at a corner,” Miller said.

Miller also said the Laborers Local 393 are in violation of the ordinance and he stressed this isn’t about upsetting anyone in one direction or the other.

“We’ve been working on these ordinances for over two and a half years, trying to update them from at least 40 years ago,” Miller said. “If we’re going to keep doing this and we’re not getting things enforced, there’s no reason for us to even do it. It’s a waste of our time.”

Commissioner Gary Lewey said this ordinance is up to the police to enforce and he’s concerned about there being a First Amendment issue.

Miller said enforcing the ordinance isn’t about infringing speech but about giving the city some form of control over the city’s image.

Mayor Jim Hollenbeck said looking back, he wishes he would have sent out letters after the ordinance went into effect.

Hollenbeck said enforcement of the ordinance will remain soft since the election is close but there will be more discussion after voting day to discuss how the police will enforce it.