The Pulaski County Commissioners have agreed that the county’s rules on campaign signs should be repealed. They voted Monday to remove the section of the county’s Unified Development Ordinance that deals with “special signs.”
The change was recommended by the Pulaski County Election Board. Members feel there are enough federal and state laws to regulate campaign signs. Election board member Laura Bailey told the commissioners that the county-level rules could just create more confusion. “The state and federal laws actually cover different things than the Unified Development Ordinance, and if somebody followed the ordinance, they wouldn’t be following the state law,” she explained. “Because they don’t overlap, you’ve got the potential for violating one or the other or both.”
Bailey also worried that the county’s rules could impact residents’ freedom of expression. “The definition of political signs is pretty vague,” she said, “and we were concerned, for example, about people feel strongly about Winamac Warriors and they have those signs in their yards and no wind turbines or pro-wind turbines or a stance on abortion or whatever, and are those political? The way it’s written, they could be.”
There are still a few steps before the Unified Development Ordinance can officially be changed. The Pulaski County Advisory Plan Commission has to make a formal recommendation. That’s expected to happen next month, as the plan commission continues reviewing the section of the ordinance dealing with wind turbines. The proposed changes will then go to the county commissioners for final approval.
