Political candidates on the East Side of Summit County would no longer be allowed to post billboards in a green pasture or drape banners along fences if the Summit County Council opts to regulate the size of their election signs.
Rules already limit the size of campaign signs in Park City and the Snyderville Basin to a surface area of about nine square feet, Summit County planner Jennifer Strader said.
“These measurements are a typical size for a typical campaign sign,” Strader said about guidelines proposed for the East Side. “They match the rules in Park City and the rules in the Snyderville Basin so we can just have consistency throughout.”
Campaign signs in the Snyderville Basin can be about four feet high from the ground to the top of the sign, she explained.
But some councilpersons said the rules proposed for the East Side of Summit County are too strict.
“They wondered if we should even have regulations for campaign signs in eastern Summit County,” Strader said.
Summit County Councilman David Ure said campaign signs have not caused problems on the East Side.
“Let the East Side be the East Side, and I’m serious,” Ure said. “You’re traveling quickly on East Side highways and a 3-by-3 sign goes pretty fast.”
County Councilman Chris Robinson agreed that nine square feet for a campaign sign is too small.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to saying that it can’t be more than 24 square feet,” Robinson said.
But Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott said rules that regulate signs on the East Side should be the same as those in western Summit County.
There are currently no restrictions on the size of campaign signs on the East Side.
“Political signs just annoy the hell out of me anyways,” Elliott said. “It’s offensive.”
County Councilman John Hanrahan said only politicians would be upset if sign rules on the East Side change.
“People would prefer we have an ordinance that says, ‘No signs at all,'” Hanrahan said.
Councilpersons are expected to vote on the proposed guidelines later this year.