Oops. We messed up. We wish it could have been an early “April Fools’ Day” mock news story, but it wasn’t. We reported that the Fountain Hills Town Council had voted to remove the requirement that businesses need to get a permit before putting up an A-frame sign, but that wasn’t the case.

Instead, council directed staff to prepare a proposed ordinance amendment to that effect for both the Planning & Zoning Commission and Town Council to consider at a future date (likely later this spring or in early summer).

We take full responsibility for our reporting error and offer our apologies for the misunderstanding.

However, we would urge town leaders to review this proposal carefully and not simply remove an administrative requirement to artificially inflate the compliance rate of business owners and their A-frame signs.

Clearly the present system is not working, and a better solution is needed. The town likely needs to beef up its enforcement – seems as if the council has been asking for this for several years – and the business community needs to educate itself more on what the rules are. And then follow them.

So at least for now, businesses need to come into Town Hall and get a permit for their A-frame signs. Let’s see if compliance can go up under the current system and then seek improvements, rather than simply throwing out the entire system.