October 6, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
During Monday night’s regular meeting of the Elk City Commission, the commission went ahead and approved to repeal portions of an ordinance that has caused controversy in Elk City, especially on social media.
Ordinance #1232, or better known as “the sign ordinance”, was thrust into the public eye when city officials reminded the public that according to the ordinance, which was adopted in 1994, that political signs could only be displayed in yards 30 days prior to any election.
Before the unanimous passage of the repeal, Mayor Nick Archer explained the ordinance’s original intent.
Archer went on to say that this was an ordinance that the city did not actively enforce.
City Manager Tom Ivester did report that there were nine complaints called into the city regarding signs that violated the ordinance, and that the city did indeed send letters to homeowners that pointed out that they were, at that time, in violation of the ordinance.
The commission also declared the repeal an emergency – meaning the changes go into affect immediately.
