Others in the audience, including Joyce Moore, Janet Evans, Jerry Hall and Paul Collins, submitted petitions to the board with more than 600 names of those who supported the original ordinance, including 25 third-graders from Summit Charter School in Cashiers. Irene Hooper, the mayor of the Village of Forest Hills, gave her support to Gibson and the other 15 members of the planning board. Louise Bedford, a member of the Webster Town Board, said even though her community does not allow billboards, that doesn't mean they are not visible from Webster. A day of reckoning is coming, and it's called election day. George Allison and Gary Ayers, both of Allison Outdoor Advertising, spoke on behalf of the modified ordinance.
People fail to realize the industry gave a lot.
The figures used by Ayers were in comparison to state regulations for billboard advertising. The N.C. Department of Transportation regulates billboards where local laws do not. DOT allows a maximum billboard height of 50 feet and advertising space of 1,200 square feet. The agency also allows signs to be place 300 feet apart. Commissioner Buchanan told his fellow board members.