Dear Editor,
We live in a beautiful place. Next time you’re going down the highway, enjoy the views. It is a beautiful stretch of road with sweeping mountain vistas. The reason that we have such wonderful views from the highway is that we currently have a good sign ordinance. If we revert to the state’s loose regulations, as the commissioners want to do, there will be lots of billboards between your car and the mountains. Who wants that? No one we know, except the out of state sign companies. The tourists certainly don’t want that. They come to see our natural beauty.
How will you benefit from having a lot of billboards lining the highway? All of them lit up, some of them moving. Personally, we won’t get a dime but we will lose our view and be less safe on that busy road.
Please call the Ravalli County Commissioners and tell them how you feel. As public servants, they need to represent the public. Tell them to leave our sign ordinance alone. Reverting to the state’s regulations will allow gigantic billboards every 300 feet. Try to picture THAT when you are going down the highway. It’s a much different picture, isn’t it?
Please note: The current sign ordinance does NOT affect on-premise signs. Sign ordinances are common on scenic byways to retain tourism dollars. Existing billboards are, of course, grandfathered.
This is not a political issue. It is about you losing your mountain views. It is about Ravalli County losing tourism dollars. It is about unsafe distractions on a busy highway.
Please call and e-mail your public servants, the county commissioners today:
Greg Chilcott – 375-6502
JR Iman – 375-6501
Matt Kanenwisher – 375-6503
Ron Stoltz – 375-6509
Suzy Foss – 375-6510
AND e-mail to commissioners@rc.mt.gov
Sarah & Andy Roubik
Corvallis