News that aldermen plan to review the city’s sign ordinance &045;&045; possibly changing it to make it what they consider more &uot;business-friendly&uot; &045;&045; begs the question: How have other cities in the region successfully balanced business needs with beautification?

The key, said those responsible for drawing up and enforcing sign ordinances in some of the South’s fastest-growing cities, is getting public input on the front end and not granting variances once the ordinance is in place.

Both Germantown, Tenn., and Madison adopted their ordinances more than 20 years ago, long before development boomed.

&uot;That meant the ordinance was already in place, so we didn’t have too much trouble getting businesses to comply with it,&uot; said Jerry Cook, Germantown’s director of development.

&uot;It made it a lot easier because we didn’t have a lot of nonconforming signs to deal with,&uot; Cook added, although some signs did exist &045;&045; and were given one- to five-year grace periods to comply.

And both cities held an extensive series of public hearings to gain input from both business owners and other residents &045;&045; in Madison’s case, for more than two years. That, Cook said, gives a city the chance to uncover and address the public’s objections.

Getting public input, however, doesn’t mean everyone will be in agreement with the finished product, said Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler.

&uot;It was a battle. Businesses were against it, and we had residents that were for it,&uot; said Butler, whose city did not grandfather in any signs when its ordinance was passed.

She added that support from residents was key to getting an ordinance successfully passed.

They also stressed that their cities do not grant sign variances &045;&045; except, in Madison’s case, on sign location due to right-of-way &045;&045; and enforce the codes to a T. While that may sound punitive, it’s ultimately fair, they said.

&uot;As long as the business community is aware the city is going to enforce the ordinance fairly and equitably, there’s not a problem,&uot; Cook said.

&uot;We feel that as long as everyone is on an even playing field, it will work,&uot; Butler said.

Christopher Baker, director of planning and building for Fairhope, Ala., said some city programs already in place have reinforced the sign ordinance.

&uot;We have an aggressive landscaping program,&uot; Baker said.

With larger trees looming overhead, he added, &uot;that encourages people to keep their signs low.&uot;

In addition, Butler said, &uot;We have found that the … best checks and balances are other businesses, because if one merchant sees another merchant (has a nonconforming sign), he’s going to report it.&uot;

Cook stressed that Germantown’s sign ordinance is part of an overall body of ordinances designed to balance business with beautification.

Those ordinances range from rules mandating green space at developments to building design regulations.

&uot;We don’t have any predominately glass buildings, for example,&uot; Cook said.

&uot;They’ve got to have more of a brick and hard shingle surface. That gives it that residential look.&uot; He also stressed he doesn’t feel that city’s sign regulations as all that strict.

For example, a business the size of Wal-Mart can have up to 50 square feet of signage.

It was the business’ choice, Cook said, to use that amount up on a sign on the building and not have a freestanding sign &uot;rather than have 25 feet on the building and 25 freestanding.&uot;

And all three officials said stricter sign ordinances haven’t stifled the location or expansion of businesses in their communities.

Sign ordinances help keep business expenses low because businesses don’t feel they have to &uot;one-up&uot; each other when it comes to signs, Cook said. &uot;And they can have all the corporate logos they want &045;&045; within scale.&uot;

&uot;If the market’s there,&uot; Hawkins said, &uot;businesses are going to come to a city. If it’s not, they won’t. And if they come to town, they will comply.&uot;

&uot;It our experience, we haven’t seen a link between signs and prosperity,&uot; Baker said.

&uot;It’s the products, the price and the service you get in a store that will determine its success.&uot;

Still, none of this means that what’s right for Fairhope &045;&045; or Germantown or Madison, for that matter &045;&045; is necessarily right for Natchez.

&uot;Each city needs to have a dialogue, … to set its own goals and objectives, and the city’s rules need to reinforce those goals and objectives,&uot; Baker said.