A banner flag advertising office space on Herbertsville Road, April 15, 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
They certainly grab your attention, but those wind-powered advertising banners that pop up beside roads in Brick and elsewhere are subject to their own set of regulations. Brick officials made those regulations permanent at a township council meeting recently.
Brick has long had laws on the books that regulate signage, including flying banners. In 2016, a minor controversy erupted when a restaurant owner on Mantoloking Road was issued a summons for his banners, one of which featured the design of the American flag. Officials have said the signs can be seen as clutter or even a distraction to drivers.
By passing the most recent ordinance, Brick council members revived a previous version that expired Jan. 1 under a sunset clause. The new ordinance makes a number of regulations permanent, including the requirement that businesses obtain a permit for “promotional devices,” flexible banners and sandwich board signs.
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In order for a permit to be issued, a business owner will have had to comply with numerous regulations. First, the sign cannot impede traffic or distract drivers, nor can it obstruct the view of a traffic light. The outdoor flags and streamers that make up much of the ordinance’s content include their own regulations, namely that no more than two can be displayed only during a period of 60 days from the date of opening a new establishment or the closing of an existing business.
Additionally, businesses can apply to fly flag signs four times a year (for a period not to exceed 10 consecutive days), provided that a minimum of 30 calendar days has lapsed between promotional campaigns and a permit to do so is obtained from the township. Brick collects a fee of $30 for each permit.
The decision to place the regulations on flags town-wide came at the behest of the council’s land use committee.
“The land use committee recommended we remove the sunset provision to make the ordinance permanent,” said Councilman Paul Mummolo.
The council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance; no members of the public spoke in support or opposition to it.
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