Council Repeals Sign Decision

In a meeting yesterday, the Cambridge City Council voted eight to one to rescind two paragraphs of an ordinance passed Sept. 27 that many alleged would lead to an increase in obtrusive corporate billboards by increasing the height limit for signs.

The decision was a response to a petition drive led by the group Save Our Skyline, which had collected enough signatures—15,535, of which 11,461 were certified by the Board of Election Commissioners—to force the Council to either rescind the controversial part of the ordinance or put it on a ballot for voters to decide.

After a month of debate about whether the ordinance actually relaxed signage regulations, many City Councillors said they were willing to move forward by rescinding the provisions concerned.

“It is not the most important issue [for Cambridge citizens,]” said Councillor Marjorie C. Decker. “It has become a distraction. It’s time to move on and start over.”

Although the City Council eventually conceded to Save Our Skyline’s demand, it had accused the group of resorting to “misinformation and exaggeration” in its campaign to gather signatures.

In its petition campaign, Save Our Skyline had argued that the ordinance would lead to an increase in “billboards.” But Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis said that the Council had voted to prohibit signs higher than 90 square feet, a size far too small to be considered a billboard, which she said would be at least 288 square feet.

“I am not going put my tail between my legs on this issue,” said Mayor David P. Maher.

Although he voted to rescind the provisions in question, he insisted that the group had misled some Cambridge citizens into signing the petition.

Echoing the mayor, Cambridge citizen Sean D. Hope said his mother and grandmother were scared by the prospect of what Save Our Skyline called a “corporate takeover.”

“The combination of misinformation and fear-mongering effectively misled members of my family to sign a petition which they did not support,” Hope said.

But Councillor Craig A. Kelley said that some members of the Council were not well-informed on the issue, either.

“If we aren’t 100 percent accurate, and we certainly weren’t in this case, I found it difficult to fault [Save Our Skyline],” Kelley said.

—Staff writer Sirui Li can be reached at sli@college.harvard.edu.