LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) – The La Crosse City Council's Committee of the Whole voted in favor of recommending a new sign ordinance for adoption Tuesday.
The Council will now have to option of adopting the ordinance Thursday.
If adopted, the ordinance would limit the height of most on-premise signs to 14 feet, and require on-premise signs to be constructed monument-style, rather than placed on poles.
Any electronic signs would have to be approved by the city, and all movement or interactivity on electronic signs would be banned.
38 members of the public declared they attended Tuesday's meeting in favor of the ordinance.
Among them was Glen Jenkins.
"We've spent over two years on this issue and the Sign Ordinance Review Committee has done its research," Jenkins said. "It's a good ordinance."
Jenkins added that sign regulation is needed to preserve La Crosse's natural beauty, and does not think the ordinance is anti-business.
"If things need to be tweaked we can go back and make those changes in the future. The ordinance will be fine," Jenkins said.
But the President of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce disagrees.
"For a lot of businesses, this is the only advertising method they're able to convey to the public," said Dick Granchalek, who spoke on behalf of the Chamber.
"When you put these types of restrictions on them, it's very hard for businesses to be successful," Granchalek added.
If the ordinance is approved Thursday, all signs in La Crosse would have to comply within 15 years.
