Easthampton's sign enforcer announces a moratorium on enforcement of sandwich board sign placement in the Downtown Business district. The moratorium is effective immediately and will continue to March 24, 2008.

Reasons for the moratorium:

- Some business owners feel that their businesses will fail without use of these signs and have expressed a sense of urgency regarding this.- Lack of timely exposure to information (sign regulations) sating otherwise.

- Chronic lack of enforcement of the bylaw regulating placements of these signs.

- Observing other businesses' unchallenged use of these signs and feeling that they would suffer an unfair competitive disadvantage if they did not do the same.

Terms of this enforcement moratorium:

- This only applies to the use of sandwich board signs in the Downtown Business district.

- Includes only those signs which have been chronically displayed in the challenged manner and is limited to the use of one such sign per business. No new signs will be allowed.

- Requires diligent effort on the part of those aggrieved by the current regulation to adopt a course of action to change the bylaw to one that accommodates their needs and is acceptable to the community at large.

- If no demonstrable effort has been made to change the current regulation by March 24, 2008, enforcement of sandwich board sign placement will resume.

- This enforcement moratorium does not include or otherwise curtail demands or requests by any other city department or city official for the moving, removal, or discontinues use of sandwich board signs place in a public way.

Issued and distributed by David Gardner February 21, 2008