Letter from Cindy Falk

It’s About Sign Law, Not Banners

Veterans Day is almost two months away, and yet Cooperstown (on the pages of this newspaper, social media, and generally) has been abuzz with discussion about how best to honor our veterans. The reason is that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cooperstown was approached in July with a request to hang “Hometown Heroes” banners from the lampposts on Main Street, as has been done in other local communities such as Oneonta, Milford, and Cherry Valley.

The Village of Cooperstown sign law, which regulates banners as signs, states: “Signs are not permitted in the median between the sidewalk and the curb, nor attached to trees, bushes, support wires, street/municipal signs or utility poles located within the median” and “No sign shall be placed or located upon public property or the property of public utilities unless so authorized by other provisions in this chapter.”

When these provisions were written years ago, I am fairly sure that no one envisioned the request to hang banners to honor veterans on utility poles. Instead, these rules were enacted to promote public safety by ensuring sight lines were left clear and motorists were not distracted by added signage. One common complaint is the large number of signs of all forms that line our streets.

Have there been exceptions to these rules in the sign law? You may remember that in 2020, the Board of Trustees approved hanging temporary banners showing CCS graduates on the lampposts on Main Street when the pandemic forced the cancellation of traditional graduation activities. That violated the sign law, which at that unusual time was not evoked in the decision making.

There is also a provision written into the sign law that allows for two banners to be hung across Main Street. These banners are limited to not-for-profit organizations whose activities center in and whose headquarters are located in the Village of Cooperstown or the Towns of Otsego, Middlefield, Springfield, or Hartwick. They can be hung for up to two weeks and require proof of insurance protecting the village.

The Board of Trustees has set a public hearing for Monday, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. to get input from the public on changing the sign law to allow banners to be hung on utility poles on Chestnut, Lake, Pine, and part of Glen. These streets were suggested because the height of the lampposts on Main Street would make hanging banners at an appropriate height to accommodate pedestrians and parking difficult. Banners that overhang public streets must have a minimum 14-foot clearance to accommodate trucks. The public hearing is an opportunity for community members to speak about the proposal.

It should be noted, however, that the question is whether the sign law should be changed, not whether veterans should be honored. In changing the sign law, the village would be able to consider requests from any non-profit organization interested in hanging banners from poles in these locations. This includes the Hometown Heroes banners, but it could also include others in the future.
It is also important to note that hanging banners from utility poles requires not only village approval, but also an application process through NYSEG for the use of the poles. The NYSEG application has rules (no for-profit signage, no political signage, etc.), and a NYSEG engineer has to evaluate the requested poles in the field to ensure safety and sight lines.

Personally, I have spent a lot of time looking at banners in other communities. I know that being made of vinyl they are seasonal and are typically taken down in the winter. As chair of the Streets Committee, I know the village does not have equipment like a lift to assist with putting banners up or taking them down annually. I also know that the village has a lot more mature street trees—something we are very proud of as a Tree City—than some other communities that have hung banners on utility poles. That may make their use in Cooperstown less than satisfactory because it may be hard to see them in many locations.

There are other options to honor our local veterans. We currently have three memorials stretching from the Courthouse on Main Street to the northern end of Pine Boulevard. Perhaps we could add another memorial to meet current needs, values and aesthetics. We are planning projects to add pavers on Hoffman Lane, near the Veterans’ Club, and at Lakefront Park, where we have a memorial to Private First Class Robert W. Atwell, who was killed in 1968. Perhaps we could create a paver program to honor “hometown heroes” in one of those locations, much as Hartwick is planning in its park.

I expect the public hearing on September 23 at 6:30 p.m. will be well attended, and I look forward to hearing from the public about how the village can best recognize and honor its veterans, past and present, and specifically whether we should change the sign law to allow signs on utility poles.

Cindy Falk
Chair, Streets Committee, and Deputy Mayor
Village of Cooperstown