Hoffman Estates lifts sign ban to help businesses

"Going out of business" signs are familiar sights these days, but Hoffman Estates officials hope a different type of sign will help existing business avoid that fate.

The village board decided this week to lift its ban on temporary business signs for six months to give local retailers some relief during what officials called "depressed economic conditions."

This way, business owners who feel they need extra promotion will be able to put up additional signs up to 100 square feet in size.

Local business owners approached officials with the idea, and Deputy Village Manager Mark Koplin said the signs will have a positive impact on business.

"We tried to come up with a way to help them out," he said.

Businesses will have to apply with the village before putting up temporary signs. Certain types, like signs that rotate or have flashing lights, remain banned.

Still, Jerseys Pizza and Grill owner Gregg Majewski, one of the businessmen who requested a moratorium on the sign ban, welcomes the chance to show motorists driving past that he's open for business. He envisions posting a sign with an arrow and list of daily specials. The eatery can easily be missed because it's on a barren site about 300 yards off Barrington Road.

The area, northeast of Barrington Road and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, was supposed to benefit from an anchor like a proposed Meijer or Costco. Neither has progressed, with Meijer recently looking at opening in Prospect Heights.

If he knew Meijer wasn't coming, Majewski said he would've opened elsewhere. He said he invested $4 million in his restaurant, which opened in late 2005. The lack of an anchor store, coupled with the recent closing of a neighboring eatery, La Strada Ristorante, has hurt Jerseys during off-peak hours. Majewski said he frequently gets calls from people wondering if he's still open.

"With them going dark, my whole development is black except me," he said.

In Hanover Park, the local chamber of commerce is encouraging businesses to lobby the village for changes to its sign and advertising ordinances, which chamber Chairman Kevin Swan said have been "a bone of contention" for years.

One issue he said he's heard from local real estate agents, for example, is that they can't post open house signs on public parkways, even for a few hours, without fear the signs will be removed by local authorities.

The chamber is encouraging residents to attend a Monday meeting in which the village will seek public feedback as it embarks on rewriting its comprehensive plan for the first time in more than a decade.

That process, expected to take about a year, will include possible revisions to the village's zoning and sign codes, Community Development Director Patrick Grill said.

The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. Monday, July 13, at the Poplar Creek Library Sonja Crawshaw Branch, 4300 Audrey Lane, Hanover Park.