Edmond, OK Votes to Ban Electronic-Message Signs

On April 7, voters in Edmond, OK elected to ban roadside electronic-message signs within the city limits,. According to www.newsok.com, 1,547 votes, or 55.1% percent of those cast, were made in opposition to the signage. Approximately 45%, or 1,260 votes, were made in favor of such signage.

Three former mayors, Randel Shadid, Saundra Naifeh and Dan O’Neil, circulated a petition that gathered the 973 signatures, enough to call for a special election on the issue.  They initiated the petition in response to a measure passed by Edmond City Council in January 2014 that allowed dynamic digital signage (DS) along primary Edmond thoroughfares. O’Neil went to the extreme to refer to DS as "being as dangerous as texting while driving."

Edmond City Councilman Nick Massey, who had spearheaded the passage of the Council’s ordinance and campaigned in favor or DS, was clearly disappointed with the result. In the newsok.com article, he said, "I’m not sure if this is what the people are thinking, but they need to show up and vote."

There’s more than a grain of truth in Massey’s statement. Approximately 2,800 votes were cast in the special election. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Edmond maintained a population of approximately 87,000 residents. I didn’t contact Edmond’s registrar to see how many registered voters live in the city, but I think it’s pretty safe to assume less than 10% of registered voters turned out for the election.

As I wrote about in May 2014 editorial, Edmond offers a tremendous number of local amenities. Last year, Forbes voted the city among the 10 best in the U.S. for prime-age workers (age 35-49), as well as the 9th-most affordable American city. However, a climate that is deemed unfriendly to business may make maintaining such momentum a formidable challenge.

Hopefully, this result isn’t permanent. If sufficient signatures were collected to call an election to ban DS, maybe a similar number could be collected to vote to reinstate it. And, perhaps this time around, the sign and electronic-display industries will better advocate their position.

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A fortunate few — nine business owners who received permits for electronic signs prior to the vote, as well as six who were granted variances — will be able to proceed with their DS signage. Hopefully, they will document a positive ROI with their sign, and inspire others to take up the cause to greenlight such signage for generations of Edmond business owners to come.