Sign with apology violates Chesterfield ordinance
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer The sign that county critic "Slugger" Morrissette once used to criticize Chesterfield leaders now contains an apology to Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly Miller.

County critic "Slugger" Morrissette, who once used a large sign on his Beach Road property to berate several supervisors and the county administrator, is now using that same sign to apologize to Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly Miller.

"Mr. Miller was not aware of my property dispute with the county, and so I put up the message to tell him that I'm sorry," explained Morrissette.

The Beach Road resident thought Miller was aware of his dispute with the county about subdividing his property, but Miller wasn't.

Ironically, the sign with the apology is in violation of an ordinance enacted last January that forbids signs of more than eight square feet. Morrissette's sign is 32 square feet.

Asked if the county is going to make Morrissette take down the sign, County Attorney Steve Micas said, "No one has complained about the sign." Chesterfield only investigates signs if a citizen questions whether they are legal.

Morrissette still maintains that his sign is an issue of free speech. Last June, Chesterfield Circuit Court Judge Cleo E. Powell dismissed a summons and $100 fine that the county issued against Morrissette for violating the county's prior sign ordinance, but her ruling did not address the question of free speech. The judge wrote that the language of the previous amendment did not prohibit signs that expressed personal opinions.

Last summer, county officials began reviewing the language of the previous ordinance and drafted the amendment so it could withstand legal challenge. It focuses on size, making it illegal if the sign is taller than five feet or more than eight square feet. The supervisors and Micas stressed that the ordinance does not regulate the content of the sign, just the size.

Morrissette has said he will only take down his sign if the U.S. Supreme Court tells him to.