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VOL 24 No. 14
November 29, 2023
Holmes Beach amending sign ordinance to protect free speech The amended sign ordinance addresses freedom of speech protections pertaining to sign content. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
Space is limited and tickets sell out quickly; visit www.annamariaprincess.com or www.seedolphins.com. The parade can also be viewed from the Longboat Pass Bridge from 6-6:45 p.m. Vessels in the parade will gather near the south end of Jewfish Key. The parade will head northwest along the Longboat Pass Bridge and then continue north in the Intracoastal Waterway, passing the Bradenton Beach City Pier and ending at the Bradenton Beach Marina.
HOLMES BEACH – The city is amending its sign ordinance to ensure compliance with a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects free speech, specifically, words on signs. The City Commission on first reading unanimously voted in favor of the amended sign ordinance drafted by City Attorney Erica Augello and presented by Development Services Director Chad Minor on Nov. 14. The sign ordinance, last amended in 2007, will be reviewed by the Planning Commission before being brought back to the City Commission for second reading and final adoption. During the Nov. 14 meeting, Minor said the amended ordinance presented that day represented the culmination of 15 to 20 commission workshops that occurred over the last year to a year and a half. He said the amended ordinance pertains in part to political signs placed on residential properties being treated similarly to residential “for sale” or “for rent” signs. In response to a question posed by The Sun, Augello provided a brief summary of the proposed sign ordinance amendments. “Several years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision (in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona) that had to do with free speech, commercial speech, political speech and regulating signs. The Supreme Court of the United States says you can’t regulate speech on signs, but you can regulate their size, you can regulate where they’re placed, you can regulate the material they’re made of, but you can’t regulate what’s located on them. Cities throughout the country have been amending their sign codes to make them enforceable and to make sure we are not regulating the content of the signs,” she said. She also noted commercial speech on signs is not as protected as the personal free speech of individuals. The 45-page ordinance also includes numerous definitions and regulations pertaining to different types of signs, sign allowances and sign prohibitions.
SEE BOAT PARADE, PAGE 10
SEE ORDINANCE, PAGE 12
Christmas on Bridge Street to spotlight holiday boat parade FILE PHOTO
A holiday-decorated boat joins the boat parade in a Christmas past.
A day full of family-friendly activities will include caroling, pictures with Santa and live music on the city pier. BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH - The fifth annual Christmas on Bridge Street on Saturday, Dec. 2 will include a holiday boat parade, live music and family-friendly activities. Beginning at 3 p.m., the Strolling Crosley Carolers will sing,
Santa will be available to pose for pictures, and kids can get their faces painted and make ornaments. When the sun goes down, the annual decorated boat parade will begin. The best viewing location for the parade will be on the city pier, where Mike Sales will be hosting music from 6-8 p.m. The boats arrive between 6:30-7:30 p.m. For those who would like to see the parade from the water, two local businesses are accepting passengers on their vessels and donating the proceeds to charity.
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