City Passes Political Sign Ordinance
At the Aug. 20 meeting, the Pierre City Commission passed two ordinance changes regarding political sign displays. The first change aligns the local ordinance with state law; the second change makes political sign rules the same within city limits and within the city’s extraterritorial area.
After hearing the second reading for Ordinance 1867 and receiving no public input, the City Commission unanimously passed it.
“We don’t really have much of a choice,” said Mayor Steve Harding. “The change puts us in line with state law modifications that were made during the last legislative session.”
According to City Planner Emeline Post the updated ordinance language adds about a month to the amount of time political signs can be displayed.
“For the November election, political signs can be displayed starting Sept. 10,” said Post.
The city also approved Ordinance 1868 through the consent calendar. Because the city and county have joint jurisdiction in the extraterritorial areas, a second reading and public hearing were held at the Joint City/County Commission meeting August 19 where both bodies approved the changes.
The ordinance applies the same political sign timeline changes in extraterritorial areas as Ordinance 1867 applies to areas within city limits.
“This move is designed to provide consistency and limit confusion on political sign rules in and around Pierre,” said Post. “It too adds about 30 days to the amount of time political signs can be displayed in extraterritorial areas.”
Both ordinances will be effective for the November election.