Civic Groups May Post Own Signs

Private Property Display Would Shield Leesburg From Controversy

Leesburg officials have come up with a new idea in their effort to bring back the civic group signs removed from the town's four main entrances in 2005: Place the signs on private property.

The signs, which displayed the names and logos of service organizations such as the Lions, Kiwanis and Masons, were posted for many years on public property but removed by the city when the Sons of Confederate Veterans sought to have its name and emblem included. Leesburg officials refused, saying that the group's emblem, a Confederate battle flag, was too divisive.

Instead, town officials decided to remove all the signs, saying they otherwise would be risking a discrimination lawsuit from the Confederate group. They also cited a Virginia law that prohibits the posting of emblem-clad signs on state roads.

In response to civic groups' complaints about the signs' removal, however, Leesburg officials said in 2006 that they would put up new signposts displaying only group names and not their logos.

Since then, the council has considered several options -- including listing groups' Web sites on banners -- but has taken no action, in part because of concerns about cost and aesthetics.

On Monday, council members reacted favorably to a proposal from staff members to have the town pay for new signs but to have them placed on private property. It would be up to each civic group to find a property owner willing to participate.

Supporters of the idea said it would shield the town from controversy over the groups or emblems being displayed.

"If the signs were located in the public right-of-way, the town would determine who maintains it, whose emblems go up," said Tom Mason, director of engineering and public works for the town. "If the same sign were on private property, it's not subject to the zoning ordinance. . . . Then the signs don't need the town's approval, just the landowner's approval."

Council members directed staff members to study the proposal further and determine what it would cost the town.

Kenneth M. Fleming, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans' Clinton Hatcher Camp, the chapter that sought to have its emblem included on the signs in 2005, said he was pleased that the council was moving toward a solution.

"It's long overdue," Fleming said Friday. "I think it's frustrating for everyone."

If the signs are put on private property, Fleming said his group will seek to have its emblem included.

Mason said that leaders of most of the civic groups that used to be listed on the sign boards have expressed interest in having their symbols included on new signs.

"The organizations would prefer to have their standard, world-recognized emblem" displayed, he said.

Vice Mayor Susan B. Horne, who appointed a task force more than a year ago to discuss the issue, said she would like to see the town act on the matter sooner rather than later.

"I really feel we owe the civic groups an answer. I think the answer is that we put the signs back up and allow the civic groups to manage the structure," she said.