(6/5) The Thurmont Town Council held a workshop to discuss temporary signs. The reason for the workshop is the town has had issues with larger signs installed without permits, Mayor John Kinnard said.

Whether proclaiming a plumbing business or politician, the nature of the sign makes no difference to the town.

"All we can say is we’re not regulating the content of the sign, we’re only regulating the size," Mayor John Kinnard said.

The purpose of the sign regulation in the town zoning ordinance is to regulate placement, type, size, and number of signs allowed on a property, Kelly Duty Planning and Zoning Manager said.

The town is not regulating political signs over any other type of sign including yard sale and realtor signs.

The council reiterated it was not infringing upon residents’ freedom of speech but limiting the number of larger signs in a property as larger signs of any nature can be distracting.

The zoning ordinance allows certain types of allows an unrestricted number of temporary signs four square feet in size, and up to five feet in height, without a permit, Duty said.

Property owners can have as many small signs as they want, but a temporary sign larger in size than 2x2 must apply for a temporary sign permit identifying where it will be located. A property is allowed only one of these larger types of signs, she said.

All temporary signs must be ten feet for roadway and should not be attached to buildings, "They should be stuck literally in the ground," she said.

Negative connotations and backlash have come from residents and the planning and zoning commission has discussed the issue at length.

When Duty has attempted to enforce the size regulation to residents in the past, the town has been accused of addressing the content of the signage, Chief Administrative Officer James Humerick said.

"The ones causing issues are the political signs," Kinnard said, noting two years ago during election time the town saw the same issue.

A property can have as many of the four-square foot signs as desired, but only one larger sign with a permit is allowed as it can be a problem for neighbors and can cause line of sight issues, Kinnard said.

"People are not following our regulations, simple as that," Kinnard said.

"At the end of the day, I think this is going to be a continuing issue, because they’re trying to grab attention, and sometimes the way to do that is to have bigger signs," Duty said.

The council reached a consensus to invite in election candidates and property owners with large signs to share their viewpoint on the issue and understand the regulations.