Commercial sign changes in Brookhaven

Brookhaven’s Town Board has enacted changes to laws governing commercial sign use.
The moves, approved unanimously after a Tuesday night public hearing, are designed to “simplify the sign code and help clean up our roadways,” Councilwoman Connie Kepert said in a statement.

Kepert, who proposed the changes, said they will help curb garish signage on major thoroughfares. Sign-owners have until Jan. 1, 2013 to bring their signs into compliance before a violation is written, the law states. The laws will cut down on the “blizzard of signs” that pockmark roads such as Middle Country Road and Route 112, Kepert said.

Under the new law, banners, streamers, flags, pennants and noise-making devices are barred from being used as signs. Another change states that roof signs are prohibited in downtown business districts.