"Free speech" recommended by planning commission
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

By a narrow margin, the Chesterfield Planning Commission has recommended that the Board of Supervisors not amend a county sign ordinance that would limit non-commercial signs in agricultural and residential areas. The amendment, which has been requested by the county attorney's office, proposes limiting signs on private property to no larger than eight square feet and no taller than five feet. The amendment would apply to all signs regardless of whether they are educational in nature. The current ordinance only places size restrictions on those signs that are deemed educational.

At its Nov. 16 meeting, the planning commission voted 2-1 with one abstention to oppose the amendment. Commissioners Dan Gecker and Wayne Bass voted against the amendment while Sherman Litton was for it. Dale Commissioner Jack Wilson abstained, and Clover Hill Commissioner Russ Gulley was absent.

"Wayne and I were in favor of free speech," said Gecker simply.

The proposed change is nicknamed the "Slugger amendment" after C.L. "Slugger" Morrissette, a persistent and outspoken critic of the board and county government, who has posted at least two different signs on his private property criticizing the county administrator and several supervisors by name. The county attorney's office acknowledged that the amendment, if approved, would make the sign currently on Morrissette's Beach Road property illegal.

The county attorney's office previously issued a summons to Morrissette for violating

Chesterfield's sign ordinance, because his signs were 32 square feet, and the sign ordinance prohibited signs larger than eight square feet.

However, Chesterfield Circuit Court Judge Cleo E. Powell dismissed the summons and $100 fine against Morrisette a few months ago, saying the signs "have not been proven to be educational and, therefore, do not fall within the prohibition of [the current] code."

Powell's decision didn't address the issue of free speech. Morrissette continues to insist that the issue is freedom of speech, and he has a constitutional right to inform those who pass by his property.

Following Powell's decision, the county attorney's office began reviewing possible amendments to the ordinance. The county board may vote on the amendment as early as next month.

Procedures change

Following a public hearing, the commission changed its operating procedures and removed the self-imposed limit of hearing no more than 15 zoning cases per meeting. Planning Director Kirk Turner and other staff members had urged the action because they believe applicants are filing cases before they are ready "to reserve their place in line" on the commission's agenda.

The 15-case maximum was causing many cases to be deferred because some zoning details had not been ironed out. Nine zoning cases were deferred at the Nov. 16 meeting.

The change in procedures also increases the amount of time a leader of an organized group has to speak during a public hearing. The new limit is five minutes, an increase of two minutes.