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Regarding enforcement, the owners of signs that are in violation will be notified of non- <br />compliance, but not for every sign. It is not very specific as to who removes the signs. He <br />would like to be mare specific in future regulations. He welcomed any feedback from the Board. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he finds this overly restrictive. He said that, based on <br />past performance, if these regulations were followed the only place they could put up signs <br />would be in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. He said that there are some real estate <br />signs that really block the view on the road. He said that if it is going to apply to people running <br />for political office, then it should apply to everybody. He does not know what this accomplishes. <br />He asked what happened to get to this point. He said that he will not support any of this. He <br />said that these regulations have existed for at least 20 years and he does not think it is fair to <br />tell people that signs are only allowed an residentially zoned lots outside of the rights-of-way <br />unless it is applied to every other sign in the rights-of-way right now. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that the practice of where signs have been put up in the past <br />is much less restrictive than what has been shown tonight. She also referred to the restrictions <br />on the colors and shapes of the signs, and said that they should only regulate signs that are <br />similar in shape and color to traffic signs. She thinks there should be a balance for safety <br />issues and conforming more to the actual practice. <br />Commissioner Carey said that he thinks that there is a need to make a few changes that <br />promote public safety and minimize confusion, but he does not want to infringe on rights and not <br />drive up the cost of running for public office, because the cost of running now is too high. He <br />does not think that taxpayers' money should be spent on staff time to remove signs. He thinks <br />that signs should not be put up more than 45 days before elections. <br />Chair Jacobs said that this was very badly handled in June and that it is overkill. He <br />does not think that the County should tell people how many signs they can put in their yard and <br />what should be on them. He said that the only good thing he sees in this is the time limit far <br />when to post a sign before the election. He would like to see what Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and <br />Hillsborough do with signs. He said that the NCDOT Division Engineer said that he did not care <br />if people put them upon the far side of the ditch on their right-of-way. He does not want to get <br />into the business of having staff running up and down roads and picking up signs. He would <br />like to make as seamless a transition as possible between the jurisdictions. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis agreed. <br />Craig Benedict said that his job is to take the regulations the Board of County <br />Commissioners have passed in the past and try to enforce them. He said that he hears to <br />change what the regulations say to what the practice is. This makes it easier for him to <br />implement the rules. Right now he is caught between what the regulations say and what has <br />been the practice. He said that the regulations would have to be changed to bring it into <br />conformity with the actual practice. <br />Chair Jacobs would like to see what the other jurisdictions do first. <br />John Link said that he will provide guidance to staff and they will report back to the <br />Board before the November election. <br />b. Report on the Functions and Responsibilities of the Orange County <br />Department of Human Rights and Relations <br />The Board considered the results of a staff review of the functions and responsibilities of <br />the Department of Human Rights and Relations and provided feedback and direction as may be <br />desired. <br />Jahn Link recognized Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey, Human Rights and <br />Relations Acting Director Milan Pham, and Personnel Director Elaine Holmes for putting <br />together the excellent report on the functions of this department. <br />Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey reviewed the background of the Human <br />Rights and Relations Department as stated in the agenda abstract. Since 2003, the department <br />