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VOL. 143, NO. 15 THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Sign ordinance displays problems By David Veselenak
Heritage Media
What will happen with Manchester’s sign
ordinance?
The issue has been heavily debated over the
last two months, after one business owner peti-
tioned the village to allow her to place her sign
in an area against the ordinance.
Dawna Stockwell, the
owner of Stockwell’s Catering
on Adrian Street, brought Regardless of where
her case to the Planning
Commission in February. She businesses are
asked to be allowed to place a
sandwich board down on the located, Vailliencourt
street near Main Street to help
attract business, something said she would like
she’s done for years.
But the village told the sign ordinance
Stockwell earlier this year
that her board was against to help keep
The sandwich board abovie sits outside Stockwell’s Catering. village ordinance, and she
moved it back in front of her downtown thriving
business.
“When we opened the sec- while not confusing
ond business on Adrian, that’s
patrons or
when it started,” she said.
Since she returned it near congesting it
her and her daughter’s new
restaurant next door to the
catering business, the issue
with signs.
has been debated by the vil-
lage council, the downtown development
authority and the planning commission sev-
eral times.
What began as a discussion regarding one
specific instance has become a discussion of
the whole ordinance, which was enacted in
2001 with some updates in 2008.
With the economy still tanking and several
vacancies in buildings downtown, some mem-
bers of the council believed it would be a good
Ollie’s pizza features a neon sign in the window. idea to re-evaluate the ordinance.
“It’s not just ‘can we allow one business
to put a sign up,’’ said Village President Pat
Vailliencourt. “It’s a tough situation. It’s a
tough time for all businesses.”
At last week’s meeting, the council voted
4-2 to send the ordinance back to the planning
commission for further evaluation. It was
scheduled for discussion at the planning com-
mission meeting Tuesday.
Stockwell asked the council to have her sign
“grandfathered in,” since it was up before
C&C pizza drivers have car-top signs for delivery vehicles. the current ordinance took effect in 2008. But
Vailliencourt said that wasn’t an option under
Weave the Web:
Make sure to click on
www.heritage.com around
the clock for in-depth cover-
age of Washtenaw County.
Our “Most Viewed” story
the old ordinance either. this week is “‘Arthur’ movie
“Before we had this ordinance, no signs were review.”
allowed at all,” she said.
Karl Racenis, chairman of the DDA and
owner of the Manchester Mill downtown, said
the DDA discussed several aspects of the ordi-
nance, including how the ordinance regulates
more for-profit signs than non-profit signs.
Currently, the ordinance Check out
allows businesses to display
one sign for a civic or chari- our videos:
table activity authorized by ■ 2forU
the Zoning Administrator.
■ Joyce Grant
“The current sign ordi-
nance for temporary signs is Blogs:
more generous to non-profits
than it is for businesses,” Follow the Manchester
Enterprise staff blog, The
Racenis said. “I see non-profit
signs posted in areas where
Wire, at www.wireenter-
prise.blogspot.com.
business signs aren’t allowed.”
The village is examining
using way signs to point
patrons to businesses in town,
something that is still being
discussed by the DDA.
Vailliencourt, who owns Connect with
the Black Sheep Tavern and HotJobs by Monster:
Coffee Mill Café on Main
Street, said Village Manager Click on the “jobs” tab
on the home page of our
Jeff Wallace sent letters to
business owners regarding website or go directly to
signs, but has not followed up http://jobs.heritage.com.
because of the discussion.
Another point brought up by Racenis several
times is businesses on Main Street pay more in
rent for the increased exposure. Typically, rent
on main streets runs 10 to 15 percent more than
side street businesses.
Stockwell argued that point, saying her rent
on Adrian Street is similar to rent paid on
Main Street. Join us on Twitter:
“I went and I asked if people would tell me, Become a Manchester
and that’s not true,” she said. Enterprise follower. Click on
Regardless of where businesses are located, the Twitter tab on the home
Vailliencourt said she would like the sign ordi- page of our Web site or go
nance to help keep downtown thriving while directly to http://twitter.com/
not confusing patrons or congesting it with ManchEnterprise.
signs.
“We want people to come downtown and
come to everybody’s place downtown. That’s
what we’re looking at,” Vailliencourt said.
“We’re looking at how we want the downtown
sign ordinance to read for everybody. Because I
think if you start saying ‘signs can move,’ you
have to look at all of the signs moving.”
Join us on
Facebook:

Missing dog is vital We already have more

than 165 fans on Facebook.
Click on the Facebook tab
on the home page of our
Web site or search for us

to sheep business
on Facebook.

By Tanya Wildt
Heritage Media
Manchester resident Ron Kuhl
is searching for his business
partner, his dog Midge, a Great
Pyrenees that guards one of his
flocks of sheep.
Kuhl is offering a $500 reward
for either information about
Midge’s whereabouts or her
return, no questions asked. He can school bus driver reported see-
be contacted at (734) 678-4426.
On Thursday March 17, when
Kuhl was out of town, one of his
gates was either left open or blew
open. His sheep moved through
the open gate into another field
where the fence was a being
repaired, allowing the flock to
move into a neighbor’s field.
Midge followed the flock and has
since been missing.
A Jeep Liberty was reported
being seen parked near Kuhl’s
farm that day and a Manchester
ing a woman leading a dog by the
collar to her red car, possibly a
Ford F-150, about one mile west
of Kuhl’s farm on West Pleasant
Lake Road.
“If I had been home, it probably
wouldn’t have happened,” Kuhl
said. He said when snow melts,
fences can be left pulled in, allow-
ing animals to escape He said he
would have known the animals
should have been locked up to pre-
vent a situation like this.
“He’s very attached to this
particular dog,” said Nancy Hebb,
a friend of Kuhl who keeps her
sheep at his farm and also raises
PLEASE SEE DOG/13-A
The Marketplace:
Local ads are just a hop
away at the MIcentral.com
marketplace. While you are
there, you can check out
all the special supplements
of Journal Register Co.
newspapers in Michigan.
Click on “marketplace”
on the home page of our
Web site or go directly to
www.marketplace.micen-
tral.com/ROP/Categories.
Molly looks similar to her half-sister Midge, Ron Kuhl’s aspx.
missing Great Pyrenees.

WHAT’S
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Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . .6-A
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BRIEFLY... ■ Tree Order Pick-up: Pick-up of 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Road.
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-C
orders for trees and shrubs purchased ■ Submitting Info: We gladly accept
■ Manchester Kindergarten Round- through the Conservation District’s story ideas, photos, and press releases
Printed
on Up: Manchester District Schools spring conservation plant sale is sched- about upcoming events. If you would like
recycled
paper Kindergarten Round-Up is scheduled for uled for Friday April 22, 2-7 p.m. and to submit something, contact Tanya
Saturday April 30 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday April 23 from 9-11 a.m. at the Wildt at (734) 429-7380, ext. 15, or
in the Klager Elementary cafeteria. Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, twildt@heritage.com.

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