By Ted Carter, SBJ.com Staff

Tybee City Council is facing the sensitive issue of restricting advertising signs in an effort to erase what the majority of the Council views as visual blight on the island.

The revamp of the sign ordinance, designed to make it conform to the city’s master land-use plan,  has raised concerns among businesses that new restrictions could hurt promotions of their business during the economic downturn.

The ordinance calls for reducing the maximum size of signs from 192 to 100 square feet. The maximum size of directory signs for locations with more than one business is proposed to go from 250 total square feet to 150 square feet.

Further, requests for new sign permits must include a site plan detailing size, shape and placement.

Another change specifies that new signs must be internally illuminated to protect motorists and wildlife.

The ordinance places new restrictions on advertising benches, as well,  but specifies that existing benches can remain under grandfathered provisions.

Meanwhile, the city plans to take a hands-off approach toward the political signs that dot the island for lengthy periods before and after elections. The signs are protected under free speech and challenging them could create a “nightmare” of legal issues for the city, said Jonathan Lynn, Tybee planning and zoning manager.

The courts have held that the signs can’t be regulated “in any way, shape or form other than regulating location and size,” Lynn said. “In all reality, these signs could remain up for two years and we could not do anything if they meet location and size regulations.”