Council talks ordinance to prohibit outdoor merch

Should businesses be permitted to display merchandise on the exterior walls of their stores? 

The first reading of an ordinance amendment prohibiting the display of merchandise on any exterior walls of the buildings or awnings or posts in the Central Business District (CBD) took place at the Hill City Common Council meeting Jan. 22. 

City developmental services administrator Dani Schade read from the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) Report, saying, “For at least the last four years, city hall and the chamber of commerce have received numerous negative comments from visitors and town citizens regarding the look and messaging of the display of merchandise on exterior building walls, awnings, posts, etc. in our CBD.

The CBD is on Main Street between Elm Street and McGregor Street. Hill City has guidelines for commercial businesses in the CBD and regulates signage. Currently, merchandise displayed on the exterior of buildings is not regulated. However, this topic has been on the PZC’s radar for several years, and the council stated at the Aug. 28, 2023, meeting that it was a priority.

The PZC discussed it at five public meetings during which an ordinance revision was developed as well as a resolution that outlines penalties for violations. 

In the descriptive of the CBD, it said, “No merchandise is allowed to be displayed on any exterior walls of the buildings or awnings or posts. Any outside merchandise display must be on mobile racks or mannequins only, be entirely on private property, must not obstruct or impede ingress to or egress from the building; and shall be taken indoors at the end of each business day.”

Under Section 602 Bulk Regulations the amendment read, “Any person violating any of the provisions of the zoning code shall be served by the City of Hill City with a written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations. Notices shall be in written form, personally delivered or sent certified, return receipt requested to the person to be charged. The person to be charged or notified may be the owner of the property or the occupant of the premises.

“Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit stated in such notices shall be fined in an amount established by resolution and adopted by the common council. Each day in which such violations shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense. Any person violating any of the provisions of this zoning code shall become liable to the City of Hill City for any expenses, loss or damage occasioned by the city by reason of such violation. Appeals shall be made in accordance with Sections 109.2.1 through 109.2.3.” 

The revisions support the intent and goals of Hill City’s Comprehensive Plan, and the PZC recommended approval. 

The proposed ordinance amendment and a letter were mailed to all business and property owners in the CBD to seek comments. Two people agreed with the proposed amendment, and one was concerned about freedom of speech, the potential of favoring one business over another and the possibility of stores featuring products with more extreme messaging on the inside of the windows. 

Jessica Jacobs, owner of the Tin City Saloon, said by her understanding the revisions were to target a couple of specific businesses and asked if it made sense to impact a lot of businesses because of a few. 

“Is there something that we can do to talk reason to the people that this is basically targeting, and are you mindful of the fact that they could be considering repercussions?” asked Jacobs. 

Jacobs said she knew one of the business owners in question and thought something far more offensive would be seen in a window if targeted. 

Alderwoman Lori Miner asked Jacobs if the Downtown Merchants Group would be willing to talk to the individuals displaying this kind of merchandise on a one-to-one basis so the city would not have to go to the ordinance. Jacobs said she would be willing to do so.

The content on T-shirts was specifically discussed. Miner said her understanding was political topics are protected. With this being an election year, she could only imagine that political commentary on T-shirts was likely to explode. Because of that, she thought the council was walking a fine line of whether it could say something was inappropriate. 

Lorena Freis, owner of The Farmer’s Daughter, was opposed to the ordinance. 

“This ordinance right now talks about just the CBD, and I respect that. My business is not in CBD, but it is this close. And my business has one or two things hanging outside,” said Fries. 

When expressing this concern to a PZC member, she was told the CBD would never be expanded to her block. However, she was told in the past that business registration would never be required and that there would not be any vacation rental requirements in Hill City. Both have since changed. 

“So in the 15 years that I’ve lived here and done business in Hill City, I’ve learned to never say never. So this ordinance gives me a little bit of pause when my business would be detrimentally affected substantially should the CBD ever get expanded,” said Freis.

Secondly, she did not think the ordinance accomplished the objective of getting rid of “profane T-shirts.” She said if you take them off the street, they will be visible in the windows where they are protected by freedom of speech. The business could also move outside of the CBD and continue displaying merchandise outside of the city’s control.

“How many times are you going to have to rewrite this to accomplish your objective?” asked Freis. 

She added that this affects numerous businesses that hang merchandise outside their stores as decoration. These stores have been in business for many years. 

“When I asked the same planning and zoning commissioner what about these businesses that would be affected, this commissioner said to me, ‘they are nothing more than collateral damage,’” said Freis. “Now that I take offense to.”

Kendra Scott, owner of The Handbag Store, was also opposed to the ordinance. As a business owner, she said you market the outside of your business because that is what entices people to come inside and purchase things. 

“If you take away that one fundamental piece that you have with the amount of foot traffic that Hill City has particularly in the summertime, that foot traffic is going to diverge. And who knows what impact it would have not only for those particular T-shirt businesses but for other businesses throughout that CDB,” said Scott. 

She said the topic the council was trying to tackle was more people taking offense with the T-shirts displayed, but people take offense to other things as well. For example, Scott sells leather and hair-on-hide handbags in her store which people have taken offense to. 

“The point is, I think every business might have something offensive to somebody. So if you start taking away individual things that are offensive, there’s going to be a lot of other things that people are probably offended by as well. So I just don’t think this ordinance is tackling what is the primary issue that’s trying to be resolved, and I feel that the businesses should have a right to display their merchandise in a way that’s going to help their business,” said Scott. 

Schade said the ordinance would not prohibit anyone from selling products. She said the city regulates signage, but then some merchants are allowed to line the exterior of their business with what could be considered signage.

“We’re not allowed to look at the message. It’s the fact that it’s a space covering the exterior of the wall that is otherwise regulated by the city,” said Schade. 

Alderman Dale Householder said, “I think these three ladies make a very valid point.” 

When he was on the PZC, expanding the CBD was a hot topic and it could be expanded in the future, he said. He thought the ordinance would be a detriment to city sales tax because often people drive down Main Street, see something outside and decide to stop. 

“I think there’s a better way to approach this,” said Householder. 

Alderman Ethan Walker said, “I think in some ways passing this tilts the scales to those outside of the CBD because now if you’re outside the CBD you can do whatever you want.”

He did not think the city could regulate freedom of speech just because someone found it offensive. He also asked how you would categorize merchandise.

Alderman Jason Gillaspie said, “The ordinance itself I don’t think limits free speech. It talks about merchandise and the outside of the building and what to hang and stuff like that.” 

He said things do change. Limiting what is on the exterior of buildings made sense to him, but he thought it might be better to look at a couple of spots. 

Schade said they had reached out to the individual businesses that have merchandise “plastered” on the walls of the building. She let them know that it is not allowed, looks tacky and is getting complaints. They took it off right away, but it was back up by the evening. 

“We’ve tried talking, trying to get them to see that we’re a family-friendly town for the tourists that come in. They comply to your face, and then as soon as your back is turned, the merchandise is put back up,” said Schade. 

One item was especially offensive and encroached on the public right away so the city fined the owner. Schade said the owner gladly paid the fee saying he made that amount in an hour. 

“So we’ve tried the gentle approach. We’ve tried to reason with the businesses. This is why we’re at this point,” said Schade. 

Miner said asked how the city would enforce the ordinance and collect the fines. 

“We’ve come up with an ordinance, but we haven’t figured out how we’re going to actually make these businesses pay up,” said Miner. 

She thought it would affect a lot of businesses and would like to see if the merchant group could try to help in some way before going to an ordinance. 

A motion was made, and the council unanimously opposed the first reading of the ordinance amendment. 

The next meeting of the Hill City Common Council is Monday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.