Clovis officials pass pared-down sign ordinance

A process of more than two years, and a public back and forth during two months of Clovis city commission meetings, was resolved Thursday in roughly 35 minutes with the commission voting 7-0 in favor of a pared-down sign ordinance.

The ordinance approved Thursday grandfathered nearly every type of sign currently existing in the city, regardless of size, height or property setback, and removed any trigger mechanisms requiring compliance if the respective business changed hands. The only signs outlawed by the code, City Attorney Jared Morris said, were temporary signs and directional signs.

According to the final draft of the ordinance, released three hours before the Thursday meeting, temporary signs not in compliance with the code must be removed or brought into compliance immediately, and directional signs shall be brought into compliance within a year.

Among the ordinance items clarified by city officials at the meeting:

• A rule governing flagpoles provided residents up to two flagpoles with maximum heights of the greater of 30 feet or the residence's highest point. The resident would be limited to four flags, but City Manager Justin Howalt said government-sanctioned flags like the U.S. or New Mexico flag did not count against the limit.

• A rule requiring the removal of non-comforming billboards built on or after Dec. 5 was removed. Going forward, the ordinance requires billboards be at least 1,000 feet from each other and no higher than 40 feet, with no greater than 300 square feet of sign area.

First work on the ordinance, which was tabled in a November commission meeting and introduced Dec. 2, began in June 2019, after the city replaced its existing zoning laws with the Unified Development Ordinance. Following completion of the UDO, the city saw a need to update its existing sign ordinance to adhere to a 2015 Supreme Court decision expanding what makes a sign code content-based and unconstitutional.

Since staff was working on a new sign code anyway, Howalt said it made sense to also look at standards for sign sizes, heights and setbacks.

The ordinance drew plenty of opposition, with the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce creating an ad hoc committee to point out problem areas in the proposed code. Most of those concerns were raised during a Monday meeting at the chamber that was attended by business owners and numerous city commissioners and city staffers. Mayor Mike Morris said he felt the concerns had been addressed through numerous edits to the ordinance.

“You've all acted in good faith … and also listened to the public,” Morris told commissioners.

Bryan Ellis, who chaired the chamber's sign committee, told the commission the chamber supported the revised version and thanked commissioners for their work. Mayor Morris noted a petition against the ordinance, which was included in a chamber email announcing the meeting, got wide circulation and asked if there was any effort to see if businesses supported the ordinance. Ellis said he was not involved in the creation of the online petition.

Larry Kolek of Clovis asked how the ordinance would be enforced, particularly with the rules governing signs on windows and lawns of residential neighborhoods.

“I can list off a bunch of ordinances that aren't implemented once they're approved,” Kolek said, before mentioning the city has issues with street repairs, weeds and crime it should handle before tackling signs.

“We have lots of challenges,” Mayor Morris said, “but that doesn't negate the need to make a good move towards a more orderly Clovis. I don't see the city of Clovis policing this.”

District 2 Commissioner Gary Elliott asked if commissioners would consider tabling the ordinance, as many of his constituents had requested. Other commissioners saw no need to do so. District 4 Commissioner Megan Palla said she had received countless calls, emails and texts, and was thankful for them all because they made the commission and the ordinance better with their input; however, she felt all concerns had been addressed and tabling the item would change nothing. District 3 Commissioner Fidel Madrid said didn't see a problem that tabling the ordinance would address.

Commissioner Helen Casaus was absent from the meeting and did not vote.

In other action at Thursday's meeting:

• The commission approved fees for downtown restaurants to offer sidewalk dining, with a $200 one-time application and an annual $50 fee for use of city property surrounding the restaurants. Commissioners objected to the initial pitch of a one-time $250 fee plus annual fees between $500 and $1,000 depending on square footage of city property used. Howalt said the city needed to charge some price for using city property to abide by the state's antidonation clause.

Following the meeting, Howalt told The News he didn't believe the downtown's recent reclassification as a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area eliminated antidonation clause requirements. The policy also requires restaurants provide proof of $1 million in insurance for outdoor dining, with the city named as an insured party.

• Howalt introduced David Burch as the city's new information technology director. Burch, a Clovis native, has previous IT experience with Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University.

• The city approved property and liability insurance with Travelers for the year, with a 7% increase from 2021. Much of the increase came in the cybersecurity area, and Purchasing Agent Bryan Jones praised both Burch and former IT Director Paul Nelson for their help in making sure that coverage was adequate.

• The city recognized Assistant City Clerk Vicki Reyes as distinguished line employee of the quarter and Julie Winkles of the Clovis Fire Department as distinguished supervisor.

• The commission met in executive session prior to the meeting to discuss pending or threatened litigation, but took no action during the meeting.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Jan. 20 at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.