The Coupeville Town Council is interested in revisiting the prohibition of portable A-frame signs, or sandwich boards, after hearing from local business people at a meeting Tuesday.

Currently, rules for signs in Coupeville are governed by the Coupeville Town Code and Ebey’s Reserve Design Guidelines.

Only the former explicitly prohibits the use of sandwich boards except as temporary signs, according to Community Planning Director Joshua Engelbrecht. With “written approval of the property owner” whose property upon which it will sit, town code permits sandwich boards to be displayed “outside of a public right-of-way for each principal building on a site for up to three consecutive business days.”

As detailed by the town code, sign regulations are meant to be “content-neutral” and concerned instead with zoning, which includes ensuring signs are not “visual distractions” and do not hinder the “free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.” The regulatory purposes of these ordinances are largely economic and aesthetic. “Protect(ing) and enhanc(ing) the historic and rural identity of the town” and “promot(ing) economic vitality” through “reasonable means to inform, identify and communicate with the public” is the aim.

Generally, the regulatory purposes of the Ebey’s Reserve Design Guidelines are similar. The guidelines, created in 2011, are undergoing the revision process, although Engelbrecht reported at Tuesday’s meeting he did not anticipate changes to be made.

Despite the contradictory nature of their stances on sandwich boards, as Engelbrecht explained, both Coupeville town code and Ebey’s Reserve Design Guidelines are “integrated” into the sign permit application and “used in the administration of the sign code.”

Several members of the public at the council meeting Tuesday asked for changes to the sign code, arguing that a ban on sandwich boards makes it more difficult for businesses to attract attention. This is especially true for those that do now benefit from Front Street visibility, they said.

The discussion was a continuation of one held during the planning commission’s June 3 meeting, in which the planning commission heard public comments and “indicated they would be interested in re-examining the sign code,” according to materials provided to the council.

Members of the Coupeville Town Council felt the same.

Councilmember Jenny Bright was the first to call for the council to “revisit” the matter, reasoning Coupeville is a “community of small businesses” which would benefit greatly from such an “inexpensive, effective” way to draw customers. Councilmember Rick Walti pointed out prohibiting signs like sandwich boards makes it harder for businesses to make a profit with which they can pay necessary taxes to the town.

“We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot,” he said.

Councilmember Pat Powell asked Engelbrecht to “gather a little bit more information” and return with a “professional recommendation” on what in the sign code should specifically be re-examined.

Engelbrecht, just before the discussion’s conclusion, explained that sandwich boards are harder to regulate as they do not require a sign permit and thus are not reviewed by the town. Mayor Molly Hughes suggested a change in sandwich boards’ classification from temporary to permanent signs may be necessary.