In the age-old battle of property rights versus zoning laws, one downtown Savannah business owner’s two-year tussle with the city over a painted sign is remarkable only in its longevity.
Since 2012, Ruel Joyner, owner of 24e Design Co. and president of the Savannah Downtown Business Association, has been quietly dueling the city’s zoning department over a large black-and-white logo he painted on the back of his Broughton Street building.
The sign was put up without a certificate of appropriateness (COA) as is normally required for all exterior work done to buildings within the Historic District.
According to an action report from the Metropolitan Planning Commission, the zoning inspector sent a notice to Joyner in October 2012 notifying him of the infraction and advising him to contact the historic board staff.
What followed was a two-year stalemate between Joyner, his attorney and various city staff. According to the report, scheduled mediation meetings with zoning and preservation staff were canceled in February, April and November 2013.
By March of this year, zoning inspector Geoff Goins sent Joyner a letter stating that if the property was not brought into compliance, a certified letter would be sent.
After the certified letter came a subpoena in June and a court date for Aug. 4, which was later rescheduled. On Monday, the date of Joyner’s latest scheduled appearance, Assistant City Attorney Lester B. Johnson III said the case had once again been postponed.
Reached by phone, Joyner said he was working to resolve the issue and directed other questions to his attorney, Mark Tate.
Tate did not return a telephone call Monday afternoon.
Within the city’s broader sign ordinance there are special rules governing signs in the historic district and beyond that, two sub-sections for signs along River Street and Broughton Street.
Typically, signs are only permitted along the fronts of buildings on Broughton and must meet size and visual compatibility requirements. Signs painted directly on exterior walls of a building are expressly forbidden in this district, though not citywide.
Although somewhat rigid, at least a half-dozen new signs are approved by the historic board each month without incident.
If Joyner did seek a COA at this point, it would likely not be approved due to the size and placement of the sign.