By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Members of the Neosho Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday will again review a proposed sign code that has raised concerns from some local businesses.

The proposed code would require permits for many signs, spell out maintenance requirements for the signs, ban obsolete or unsafe signs, and detail which ones would and would not be allowed. The proposal has undergone a number of changes that city staff members say make it less restrictive than the one introduced earlier this year.

Yet several business owners who addressed the City Council on Tuesday about the proposal voiced fears that too many restrictions would discourage business development.

Ken Mayer, of GalaxSea Cruises & Tours in Neosho, said he thought community comments signaled that a majority of people opposed most of the proposed regulations.

“I’m kind of disturbed at the position that it (the proposal) takes,” he said.

Mayer said he thought the restrictions needed to be relaxed in order to foster an inviting business climate.

City Manager Jan Blase said on Friday that some measure of sign regulation was needed to avert traffic problems, clutter and distractions to motorists.

He also said the city’s code is less restrictive than codes already implemented in other communities and that a limited sign code in Neosho would not hamper business.

One of the city’s goals, particularly for downtown Neosho, is to cultivate a pedestrian-friendly feel that encourages people to walk about and shop. Good sign management would help achieve that end, Blase said.

The sign code would be part of a larger set of proposed code changes, many of which have already been recommended for approval by the commission. Those changes cover procedures for annexation, additional zoning districts, fencing regulations and the list of operations allowed by a special-use permit.

The City Council is now reviewing those other proposed revisions and plans to conduct a public hearing on those changes at its Sept. 16 meeting.

The City Council is free to reject or accept, in part or in whole, the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendations.