Business owners in Findlay, OH, will not be forced to remove their large, pylon signs after all, according to northwest Ohio’s TheCourier.com. A proposal from earlier this July had previously included the stipulation that the large poles with business signs on them that populate roads like Tiffin Avenue might be forced to come down.

The proposal had called for the big pylon signs to be phased out in favor of “low-profile” monument signage. City Council members held an informal meeting in mid-November where the most recent zoning code updates were discussed.

“We specifically left out some major changes,” said Matt Cordonnier of the Hancock Regional Planning Commission. “We did not want to slow this down.”

Many on the council and in the community believe that getting rid of the custom business signs in question would make the city more aesthetically pleasing, as they see the obtrusive advertisements as eye sores.

However, many others, business owners especially, believe they’re crucial to the economic success and development of the community. One study found that 35% of passersby wouldn’t know a business was there without a sign.

Due to the hotly contested nature of the issue, the planning commission decided to shelve the idea entirely and focus on more clerical issues.

The move would have been in line with what other cities and townships around the country have done. Even nearby Reynoldsburg has taken down signs and now even buried power lines underground to clear up the air.

Yet there would have been much debate over things like whether or not existing signs would be allowed to stand, for how long, would group homes fall into the category etc.

In a related move, the council also changed a rule that allowed businesses to only change their digital sign messages once every two hours. That time limit was reduced to 15 minutes.