Friday, March 7, 2008

Legislating "ugly."

Ah, the Aesthetics Police are on the march again.

SPRINGDALE — The city ordinance committee on Wednesday discussed ways to keep “ugly,” hand-painted signs off Don Tyson Parkway, the $ 38-million southern corridor running from 48 th Street east to Butterfield Coach Road.

...

Alderman Kathy Jaycox said the road needs to be protected from the eye pollution caused by sloppy, gaudy signs, the likes of which line U. S. 412 and U. S. 71 Business.


...
Perry Webb, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, also attended the meeting. He said there has to be a way to keep “ugly” signs painted by “Uncle Rudolph” from appearing in Springdale.

He suggested creating a review process through which city staff could determine if a handpainted sign is “professional” and thus appropriate for display.


Except that "ugly," "sloppy," "gaudy," and "professional" are words without objective definitions. One man's ugly is another man's beautiful.

Just ask Judge Judy's husband.

1 comment:

Tom Hanna said...

Makes me want to move to Springdale and open "Uncle Rudolph's Professional Handpainted Sign Company"