Honesdale considers, then reconsiders, mural regulations

By ELIZABETH LEPRO
Posted 11/20/19

HONESDALE, PA — A draft of renewed signage regulations propelled some deep questions about public art among Honesdale’s artistic community this month.

Among them: What exactly is a …

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Honesdale considers, then reconsiders, mural regulations

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HONESDALE, PA — A draft of renewed signage regulations propelled some deep questions about public art among Honesdale’s artistic community this month.

Among them: What exactly is a “sign”? When is a mural a commercial and when is it simply art? What is the appropriate size for a piece of public art, and what kind of content could be considered inappropriate?

Most importantly, who gets to make these decisions?

Murals have become a staple of Honesdale’s main street. Jeff George’s massive “Welcome to Honesdale” art piece on the side of the RE/MAX Wayne Building joined three others in its vicinity this summer—two of them also by George—and the Great Wall of Honesdale behind the CVS.

Up to this point, no one has been regulating or reviewing the content of these murals. The art was made based on private contracts between businesses and artists. While the murals are mostly art based, several of them have logos. In response, the Honesdale Borough Planning Commission decided this summer that it was time to update its signage ordinance. The commission brought in Tom Shepstone, a consultant who is also helping the borough draft a set of short-term rental regulations, to put together an amendment to the signage regulations.

The first draft differentiated between “commercial” and “non-commercial” murals. That was met with concern by some, including Canaltown founder Derek Williams. Williams, who writes a regular column for The River Reporter, keyed in other parties—including The Great Wall of Honesdale organizers, local artists and business owners with murals on their buildings—to what he thought was “troubling” in the draft.

Specifically, the very definition of a mural as a “sign” was confusing to some. According to the original draft, murals were to be considered commercial not by their content, but based on the building on which they were painted. That would have made every existing mural in town commercial, and any similar murals in the future subject to upwards of $1,000 in permitting expenses.

“The issue is, by definition, grand murals like what’s on the side of Here & Now or Honesdale Loft wouldn’t be considered principally permitted or non-commercial, even though they have nothing to do with a commercial use,” Williams wrote in an email regarding his objections to the initial ordinance draft.

The planning commission initially passed the draft, with a few modifications at Williams’ request. After more concerns were voiced by local artists, specifically at a planning commission meeting November 6, the commission has released a new signage regulation draft that no longer differentiates between commercial and noncommercial murals.

If the borough council adopts the amended regulations, a line will be drawn around logos on any future murals and only that part of the design will require permitting.

“We’re simply making it clear what the intent was,” said Shepstone. He said, as did other planning commission members, that their goal was never to regulate artwork in town, rather to keep large-scale advertising to a minimum.

That’s good news to those who expressed concern about over regulation of public art.

Planning commission members initially said they wanted even non-commercial murals to be up for review by the Honesdale Borough Council.

“If someone decides that one image is objectionable to them but not to others, does this create a slippery slope?” asked Jim Spencer, co-owner of the Bodhi Tree Gallery, at the November planning commission meeting. "The question that I would have is, if a piece of artwork is seen as either objectionable or is just artwork, does artwork fall in the category of freedom of speech?”

The new draft lays out the permitted use of temporary and permanent signs, offers definitions—a sandwich board versus a marquee, for example—and outlines proper measurements for signage.

The new signage draft, which can be read in full here, will be up for public comment at a Honesdale Borough Council public hearing Monday, December 9 at 5:30 p.m. Williams and others said they plan to speak in support of the new draft and urge the borough to accept it as is.

honesdale, mural, regulations, signage, drafts,

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