HRB appeal: Property owner agrees to replace non-conforming no-parking signs

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 — Following the Bardstown City Council’s 50-minute appeal hearing regarding the signs posted outside the Marketplace building, 120 W. Stephen Foster Ave., in downtown that declare “THIS IS NOT MAMMY’S PARKING,” the property owners agreed to remove signs that violate the city’s sign ordinance and replace them with approved signs.

According to Historic Review Board records, the “This is Not Mammy’s Parking” signs were placed outside the Marketplace building in late 2015.

According to Roger Carey, the Marketplace property includes all of the parking lot between the Marketplace and Mammy’s Kitchen, and the signs were installed in an attempt to keep restaurant customers from parking in Marketplace parking spots. According to Carey, a survey he commissioned confirmed that he’s owns the paint on the side of the restaurant building.

According to Carey, the matter was tabled by the Historic Review Board in 2015, and has been dormant ever since.

Carey told the council that he thought the lack of additional follow-up by the city meant the signs had been grandfathered in and were no longer an issue. Preservation Coordinator RaShae Jennings said the signs had remained non-conforming and her office was following up on some dormant compliance issues.

Carey explained that he felt he should keep the signs because from his perspective, the adjoining restaurant had never followed through with HRB-required screening for some rooftop equipment. Mayor Dick Heaton explained that the matters aren’t connected and the only issue up for discussion were the no parking signs.

After additional discussion about the ongoing lawsuit over ground-mounted equipment improperly located on the Marketplace property, Jennings told Carey that resolving the sign issue would not be difficult.

Heaton told Carey that they property owners could have two approved no parking signs at the rear of the Marketplace property, and then six along the eastern property line adjacent to Mammy’s Kitchen. The new signs would not mention Mammy’s by name, and they would be the proper 12×18-inch size.

The property owners have 60 days to replace the non-conforming signs.

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