Oconee enacts changes to sign law

New restrictions face advertisers looking to place billboards or signs along the roads in the unincorporated parts of Oconee County.

 

By a 3-2 vote Tuesday the Oconee County Council passed an ordinance on third reading that limits the size and spacing of billboards and signs along roads and outright prohibits new billboards along designated local, state and federal scenic highways and roadways.

 

Councilmembers Wayne McCall and Glenn Hart cast the dissenting votes. Several speakers, some county residents and some associates of billboard advertising agencies, voiced misgivings about the ordinance before the vote.

 

The amended ordinance sets a minimum of 1,300 feet between billboards and limits their area to 672 square feet.

 

Among the provisions related to signs, they are limited to one per 100 linear feet of road frontage and no more than 75 square feet in area. They can also be no more than 20 feet off the ground and any lighting with the signs must be top lighting to lessen “light pollution.”