Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind

Here is the Tennessean's latest take on the LED imbroglio:
[S]ome other members and observers of the task force said they want to reel things back in a bit before making their recommendation to the council. Burkley Allen, a co-chair, said the current draft would open up too many zoning districts to LED signs.

"Having it in just a few districts has made it something Codes might be able to keep a handle on," said Allen, who lives in the Hillsboro-West End area. "An awful lot of citizens believe LED contributes to the so-called visual clutter we'd all like to minimize."

Most people agree, however, that Metro Codes Administration doesn't have a handle on fully enforcing compliance with the existing sign laws.

"The calls I get ask how we can better regulate the signs in areas where they're currently allowed," said Councilman Jason Holleman of Sylvan Park.

Reporter Michael Cass also quotes CM Megan Barry as telling neighborhood leaders to remain calm. Yeah, well, let's not confuse staying on alert and being ready to pounce with getting panicky. Not only have we watched Metro Council slip things under the radar before (Michael Craddock's Goodpasture LED bill is the latest example), but we've watched the council go from a venue where motions were openly debated to a machine where decisions are made in committee sessions that only paid reporters have time to follow (are they even televised live? I would not know because I'm usually at work in the afternoons). I would say that if council members want to be more reassuring to neighborhood leaders then they should make more efforts to communicate task force progress to those who are not paid to report on council proceedings or at least respond to some e-mails some of us send. Issuing communiques to constituents through the Tennessean ain't going to cut it.


UPDATE: The "remain calm" exhortation conjures up an image:

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