Airway Heights confronts clutter

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – As new businesses move into Airway Heights, remnants of the old are stacking up.

Mayor Matthew Pederson said the city is concerned about old business signs, excessive advertising and empty signposts along U.S. Highway 2.

“(There is) a lot of visual clutter as you go down that highway corridor,” Pederson said.

Much of the clutter is left over from past development, the mayor said. It needs to be cleaned out like a closet or a garage.

But cleaning up also means limiting the number of new signs that can be erected throughout Airway Heights, he said.

Earlier this month, the City Council voted 3-2 against a proposal from Emerald Outdoor Advertising to install five bus-stop benches with advertisements on their backrests. Emerald would have provided the benches free of charge.

Interim City Manager Lee Bennett said the city would prefer benches with a more uniform appearance. The city can pay a little extra to cut out the advertising.

“We just have too much clutter,” Bennett said. “I think we can buy bus benches.”

The City Council also approved a signage code last year. It places restrictions on the size, number and location of signs.

The code states that sign placement should “be both functional and attractive in appearance and not detract from the primary purposes within the zone where the sign is located.”

Municipal regulations limit commercial pole signs to 150 square feet on both sides and to 50 feet in height. The code also limits the height of different styles of signs and sets appropriate zoning. Flashing signs and billboards are prohibited.

Pederson said the signage code is one of several proactive approaches to city beautification.

“The signage code is the first step,” he said.

The city and local businesses have to do some housekeeping, Pederson said. City officials are working with business owners to consolidate or replace unattractive signs.

The public has been supportive of efforts to clean up the city’s appearance, he said.

Work to limit clutter coincides with the city’s U.S. Highway 2 revitalization program, Pederson said. That program includes several landscaping and renovation projects to improve the corridor’s visual appeal.

The projects will add trees, grassy areas and rock retaining walls along the highway. Most of the landscaping will occur on the south side of the road.

Pederson said the revitalization program and the signage code are updated periodically.