NATCHEZ — Through a compromise of sorts, Bad Boy Buggies has finally erected a sign, though it’s 22 feet larger than the city sign ordinance dictates.

For months, company officials have been trying to fill the vacated signpost with Bad Boy Buggies’ namesake, but have been denied by the Natchez Planning Commission.

In October, former CEO Jody Foster requested to have 172 square feet worth of signage in front of the U.S. 61 South building.

City Planner John “Rusty” Lewis said the original design for the 172-square-feet sign was to be comprised of three separate signs of different sizes.

The top sign was 80 square feet, the center sign 42 square feet and the bottom sign 50 square feet.

But the maximum size the city would allow the sign to be is 100 square feet total.

The Natchez Planning Commission denied Foster’s request.

Lewis said Foster later came back to him with a new design that removed the bottom 50-square-foot sign, reducing the entire square footage to only 122 square feet.

“What we did was we effected a compromise,” Lewis said.

Bad Boy Buggies is allowed to have the 122-square-foot sign but on a few conditions.

Lewis said if the Bad Boy Buggies ever changes hands or vacates the building, the new company or management must revert back to the original sign ordinance of 100 feet.

He said when he made the decision, he also took into consideration that this was an existing oversized sign that Bad Boy Buggies was trying to fill.

Finally, the decision stemmed from a desire to be business friendly, Lewis said.

“We did this in an effort to be accommodating and not to just go by the letter of law without some appreciation for what makes good common sense,” he said.

While compromises cannot be struck in every situation, Lewis said Bad Boy Buggies has worked with the city to provide an “amenity in the streetscape that provides a positive appearance.

“They’ve made an effort to be city friendly and provide a good sign that’s only 22 feet too big.”