Imagine not being able to post directional signs for a weekend open house, by ordinance of the community in which you are helping someone to sell a home – and in which others want to become homeowners. That was the threat that loomed earlier this year in Wentzville, Missouri, a growing town in St. Charles County, Missouri, when local legislators proposed repealing an ordinance allowing temporary directional signs on private property. While the real estate industry would not have been the only one affected, the REALTORS® of St. Charles County saw the danger and led an energetic initiative to halt the repeal. With the help of two REALTOR® Party programs, they’ve achieved a compromise that leaves open-house directional signs not entirely unscathed, but legal.
Anna Gourdin, St. Charles REALTORS®’ Director of Governmental Affairs, explains that it wasn’t the intention of Wentzville’s Board of Aldermen to stymie the work of REALTORS® or to interfere in the community’s healthy real estate market; the move was apparently in response to the flocks of new-home builders’ signs that had been appearing along roadways and in local rights-of-way. “In seeking to repeal the existing code, the board over-corrected. This would have abolished all signs – those that are essential in promoting open houses, as well as any other weekend directional signs on private property. We also worried that this could have been a stifling precedent for neighboring towns.”
When Gourdin learned about proposed repeal, she reached out to two colleagues: her fellow GAD in neighboring St. Louis County, who provided helpful insights; and the state VP of Government Affairs, who suggested the situation would be a good candidate for the REALTOR® Party’s Land Use Initiative program, which retains the law firm of Robinson & Cole, LLC to review and analyze zoning legislation. “Having those crucial partnerships within the REALTOR® family is so important to the work we do,” says Gourdin. “My colleagues are great about sharing information and the REALTOR® Party has these tremendous programs. They are already built-out, and all we had to do was tap-in.”
Not having much time before the board meeting that would decide the matter, the REALTORS® submitted an LUI request and simultaneously launched a targeted Call for Action. “The team at NAR was just so great and turned everything around very quickly,” recalls Gourdin, “and at the same time, our leadership was engaging in direct advocacy with the legislators and the mayor.” Over 150 REALTOR® members responded to the CFA, expressing their objections to the six aldermen and the mayor, emphasizing that this was not specifically a ‘REALTOR® problem,’ but a consumer problem, affecting the whole local real estate market. The CFA also prompted roughly twenty members who were not already associated with the Government Affairs Committee to attend the critical board meeting, reports Gourdin.
By then, the REALTORS® had received the LUI analysis, which supported their concerns and provided assurance that they were on firm legal footing in objecting to the ordinance repeal. According to Gourdin, “One of the most important points it made was that what the board was proposing would possibly disrupt a strong housing market, which was not what anyone wanted.”
At the board meeting, the aldermen indicated the message had been received, sending their proposal back to the Planning & Zoning Department for language with fewer restrictions; eventually, a revised version limiting both the number of signs and the distance they are permitted from a given subdivision was presented. “It’s a good compromise,” says Gourdin, who adds that the city staff had been helpful and understanding of the way the signage issue would affect people’s ability to sell their homes. “We’re so grateful to NAR for the help that made this possible. It was also a powerful reminder to our leadership and our members that when we need it, NAR is here to help.”
To learn more about how St. Charles REALTORS® is working to protect its members and the real estate industry in St. Charles County, contact Director of Governmental Affairs Anna Gourdin at anna@stcharlesrealtors.com or 636-946-4022.
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