Legal Question in Business Law in Maine

municipal sign law

We have a small business in a rural town in Maine and are having trouble with the town codes enforcement over the placement of our on premise business signs.

We have a permit for a sign that is in place 33 feet setback from the centerline of the road that our business is located on, which puts it too far back for drivers to see as we are on a bend in the road.

That is conforming with the present law.

We have an existing permit for a sign from our old business that is attached to our mailbox which has our hours and the type of store we have.

We have been told the latter signs must be removed because they're not conforming with the setback distance .

We have been told that all other businesses in our town must conform and there are no ''grandfathered ''signs.

We have asked and only a few other businesses have been contacted by the codes department ( although there are over 100 non conforming business signs , all like ours), but most are told to just pay a small fee and they may leave their signs on the road.

We wonder what recourse we have in order to get fair treatment , or do they have the right to grant permits to some and not others.


Asked on 8/22/07, 5:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jerome Gamache Ainsworth Thelin & Raftice, P.A.

Re: municipal sign law

The ability to use your existing sign may indeed by "grandfathered," as you suggest, but that depends upon the relevant ordinance language. I would suggest contacting an attorney to review the ordinance language: That attorney could then outline your options for you, including whether or not your right to use the pre-existing sign might continue, despite the changes to the ordinance language.

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Answered on 8/27/07, 3:01 pm


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