Signs and the Special Highway Corridor District

By Jim Yeager

In anticipation of the construction of the proposed Conway bypass, town ordinance 147-14.2 (the Special Highway Corridor District) was approved by Conway voters in 1999. The ordinance was written in an effort to protect the scenic beauty and rural quality of the bypass corridor, but it makes no specific reference to the North-South Road. However, from roughly the backside of the North Conway Grand Hotel parking lot to a point north of Puddin Pond, the North-South Road and bypass right-of-way run parallel to each other, and the eastern edge of the NorthSouth Road right-of-way is the western edge of the bypass right-of-way. It is in this section and only in this section of the NorthSouth Road that the Special Highway Corridor District overlays both the bypass corridor and the existing North-South Road. Under the ordinance, the Special Highway Corridor District places development restrictions on all land within 500 feet of the edge of the Conway bypass and prohibits all signage within a 100-foot protective buffer strip along the bypass right-of-way. Again, the ordinance says nothing specifically about the NorthSouth Road. However, in this section of the corridor, the 100-foot buffer does encompass 72 feet of the bypass right-of-way and an additional 28-foot strip along the western edge of the North-South Road right-of-way. When the corridor gets beyond Puddin Pond it separates from the NorthSouth Road and curves easterly. Once theyre 500 feet apart, which happens fairly quickly, the Special Highway Corridor District has no effect on North-South Road development, and from there north the district only applies to the to-be-built Conway bypass corridor.To address the signage issue, the paragraphs in 147-14.2 that deal with signage N. (1)(2) prohibit all signage within the 100-foot buffer, but do allow some signage beyond it. However, the language in the ordinance is not completely clear as to how signs may be situated:147-14.2 N. (1) Any and all commercial, residential, or other signs, including all signs identified under Section 147-19B.(1), (2) and (3), shall be placed or designed so as to be oriented or directed away from the bypass and to minimize their visibility from the bypass. This shall not apply to state-approved informational and directional signs within the right-of-way of the Conway bypass. Recently, a legally existing, non-conforming sign was moved from the Barnes Road side of the former North Conway Athletic Club (now Body by Thor) property to the easterly side of the property abutting the North-South Road. The sign is oriented perpendicular to the roadway, but is visible when traveling on the road. I originally approved the sign permit application for this sign, based upon what I thought were the applicable restrictions. However, it was later determined that I had erred and had not considered the full effect of the Special Highway Corridor District and its sign restrictions. The permit was rescinded and the administrative decision was appealed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The ZBA overturned the decision, allowing the sign to be installed. Does this mean there are going to be rash of signs going up on the North-South Road? I think not. This (at least in my opinion) is a situation unique to this property. The property has no frontage on Rout 16, and the original location of the sign had little or no drive-by visibility. The property owner chose to move the sign to a location where it could be seen because there was no other immediate solution to her signage problem. The sign is located outside the 100-foot bypass right-of-way buffer and is on her property. There is no entrance driveway from the North-South Road to her property. Most, if not all, of the other commercial properties that abut this section of the North-South Road have frontage and access from the Route 16 side. Therefore, I believe, they will choose to keep their freestanding signs on the Route 16 side of their property, adjacent to their entrances.The Body by Thor sign is currently a legally existing (by virtue of the ZBA appeal) non-conforming (24.5sf in the residential/agricultural zone) freestanding sign, located outside the Special Highway Corridor District 100-foot buffer. The property owner followed the towns application and appeal process and was thereby successful in obtaining approval for the sign on the North-South Road side of her property. If the town wishes to prevent any additional signage along the North-South Road, the current ordinance needs to be amended.Jim Yeager is code compliance officer for the town of Conway. His e-mail address is jyeager@conwaynh.org, and his phone number is 447-3855, Ext. 20. More information about town codes is also available on the town's Web site, www.conwaynh.org.