So many people commute daily through the Borough, and allowing business owners to display signs will catch the eye of these commuters and entice them to return on weekends. I personally found Charles Wasser's original sign to be helpful, as I had forgotten about the awesome sandwiches served at his store.

There is nothing more unattractive and repulsive to me than bureaucratic red tape. I would gladly drive 10 miles out of my way to shop in a town that supports their businesses rather than hindering them.

Wouldn't it be more profitable for the town and businesses if the proprietors could put a sidewalk side that could be designed by the town. It could be designed with a historic appeal. If each business had the same design it would uniform, neat and informative.

I had recently open a business in Chester, if I had known about how unfriendly is this town to business I will never opened my business there. The town do no realize that not only his wealthy citizens but business as well, and if they don't change his obsolete polices they will ended up with a ghost main street.

Oh by the way I am going to sell my business, I can not even place a banner in my car to advertise my business. How can I bring more customers to my business?

I think the Patch owners should try to do something together with all the business in town, the rule is simple, no business no advertisement no Patch...

Really great thoughts, guys. Mike, what is interesting to note is that the historic chester business association is working with their borough liaison on designing more signage that would be more appropriate for the businesses. Hopefully this can all happen before too many more people get taken to court.

I had a little bit on that in here: http://patch.com/A-stfk

I think they are headed in the right direction, and hopefully before more people end up in court they reach an agreement.

Luis, have you spoken to other business owners? Or attended one of the business association meetings? We are certainly willing to work with local businesses to shed light on issues they are dealing with.

Many of the local businesses feel they are now working well with the government. When you say "do something together" what do you mean?

I have been a resident of Chester Borough for over 15 years. As a homeowner I want the businesses to succeed and I do all I can to support the local store owners. The sign ordinance is their to limit unsightly sinage, however, a chalk board should not fall under this category. A neon side would. I do think that the council should sit down with the business association and work something out. What about just amending the sign ordiance, it may not take so much red tape to do this. I will say that I find the zoning officer and the town administrator to take the easy way out. They do seem to target the "little guy". There is a no work before 7:00 am ordinance that is continually broken. Garbage dumpster pickup. I know of complaints for years (the council is aware too) and it is just ignored. The triangle of shops on corner of Grove and Budd Avenues is a disaster area. Peeling paint, garbage thrown around and their sign has holes all over it. Why is the zoning officer not all over that? Start doing your job my taxes are paying you for.

Kat, your idea is brilliant. A sandwich board for every new business! Allow existing businesses to purchase the sign through the borough, that way the trough is being fed, AND businesses have a way to entice customers! Uniform, attractive,and beneficial. Winning...Let's hope the bureaucracy doesn't bog down the process and that the business association stays the course. And Robin, thanks for your thoughts and support.

Common sense will prevail. Unfortunately the government is involved. Good Luck Sandy and the rest.

Have you guys been to a borough council meeting? They always say that they want more participation. Also, maybe you would be interested in meeting as a group to brainstorm ideas. We would love to help you guys out if we can.

Hey Russ, thanks for your input and coverage. I haven't been to a council meeting. I'm a member of the HCBA. I'm not able to attend the monthly meetings. I am at my store 6 days a week, and on that 7th day, I care for my parents. In between, I like to see my kids, maybe share a meal with them. Not trying to be a whiner, just stating my reality, maybe the reality of other hard working entrepreneurs and small business owners. What irritates me is the fact that this "sign" issue has apparently been a bone of contention for a long time. If the powers that be see a problem, I don't understand why they have not been PRO-active in seeking a solution. Why must it rest on the backs of folks working long hours with limited resources? Perhaps I am wrong, but I sense an attitude from Mayor and Council of "Well, why don't they (business owners) DO something about it..." MY question is...Why don't the mayor and council simply amend the ordinance to allow uniform sandwich type boards for each business. It is obvious that there's a problem.The solution is rather simple. Must we have committees, liaisons, meetings, focus groups, market studies? Just get it done. No drama. No hand wringing. Let's get back to business. The business of creating and maintaining a vibrant downtown in Chester. A place that residents can be proud of and that non-residents look forward to visiting. A place that businesses can feel valued as contributors to the community. That's all. Pretty simple, huh?

I understand what you are saying. And I completely understand the full plate you are dealing with. What has been interesting in my dealings is there is no differentiating between a chalkboard sign and a Las Vegas neon sign.
Of course, I can see the slippery slope thought behind that, but all I keep hearing from the borough is that anyone who has a concern should work with the council and try to find some sort of solution.
But your point about the layers of red tape is well taken.
With the HCBA working on a new sign template, maybe in the future those signs will be given out for businesses.
Patch believes in local businesses and wants to support them in any way that it can. So make use of our directory and claim your business listing. Those are free and can help promote your business...with no sign needed!

Lots of passionate discussion here - I love it!

Unfortunately, over time, most people have come to rely on government to take care of them; to get things done. We can all see how well that works sometimes. In the case of the Borough signage - and perhaps in the case of everything! - people need to get involved. We need to attend the meetings, present ideas, and create plans that solve problems. We cannot sit back and rely on government, otherwise we'll be sitting forever.

Russ, unfortunately I was unavailable to attend last Thursday's Borough meeting, but I will plan to attend meetings going forward. Let's shake things up here and work together to get things done!

Kat, the only reason I mention the meetings is because when I do speak with members of the borough government they always mention that people who have a problem should go to a planning board meeting or a council meeting and be heard.

But with everyone's schedule's that can be hard. One of the things we at Patch were considering doing is trying to coordinate a meeting where your thoughts and ideas could be heard, and invite officials to attend. Not in a town council meeting under those rules with their agendas already in place Just trying to get everyone to talk like people. Worst case, if no officials are available we could organize thoughts and ideas that could be presented to the council afterwards. If there is interest in that, we can explore that as well.

I am going to see if we can come up with a format and time that works and then maybe put up a poll and see if people will sign up, etc. I need to noodle it through just a bit more first.

Russ and all those who have taken the time to respond, thanks for your ongoing support of the businesses in Chester. It is great to finally have a forum in which the business owners and residents of Chester can bring to light the problems we have with the government of Chester. I hope that the poll at the end of your article sends the government a message that they need to do more to save Main Street before it becomes a Ghost Town. Please note, however, that Chester's business owners do want to follow the rules. One problem has been that the process to apply for variances is cumbersome and expensive. I have been through it numerous times with my business. Another is that it has been my experience that Chester Borough is not friendly to businesses. I can write volumes on the negative experiences I have had with Chester Borough in the last 15 years. The simple answer is that Chester Borough needs to be more cognizant of the needs of its business owners and to work with them in a friendly manner to improve the business climate in Chester. In all my 15 years of business in Chester, the only council member that ever stopped in to check in on us (and shop) was Val Schlosser, who is no longer a member of the council. As Sandy mentioned above, it really shouldn't be this difficult to come up with a reasonable solution to the signage issue on Main Street.

In response to Kat, I believe we are attempting to have our voices heard. Allow me, once again, to turn my "complaint" into a request. Mayor and Council, would you please amend the current ordinance to include an allowance for one sandwich board style sign per business, the design and dimensions of which will be determined in a swift and timely manner. Accept design submissions from Chester Borough sign makers/businesses for a period of two weeks. Take a week to meet, liaison, kibbitz, whatever you call it. And make a decision. For the life of me, I can not fathom why this has to be so complicated. Please do not infer that we are just complaining like spoiled children, and that we have not "stepped up to have our voices heard, and get involved". We are business owners trying to make a living

Sandy, I can tell you a couple of things....and this is just informative, mind you. when I spoke to Kathy Barbieri of the HCBA she wanted folks who were having difficulty to come to a meeting and work with them as they attempt to resolve the issue with the council. Over in zoning, they will tell you to attend meetings and have your voice heard there. I am positive that asking them through our site will not get through. But perhaps we can get something together informally so everyone can talk. At the end of the day, Patch is about building community, and both parties need each other.

As both a downtown Chester retail store owner and a Chester Borough resident, I see two sides of this issue. I certainly recognize the importance and value of signage to our retail businesses, especially those not located on Main St., but a bit off the "beaten path". I also feel, as I believe most of my retail business colleagues and residential neighbors do, that we don't want a town where every store along Main Street and the side streets could have a sandwich board sign on the sidewalk. I would not want our Main St. to take on the look of the Pt. Pleasant Boardwalk. We need a revised signage ordinance that better meets the needs of our retail business community while maintaining control and the special look and feel of Chester.

Many may not be aware that the Historic Chester Business Association (HCBA), our local business association, has discussed member's signage concerns with the Mayor and our Council Liaison. And just recently an association signage committee was established to investigate possible solutions to be presented to the Mayor & Council and Planning Bd. for their consideration. The business association is a means to interact and communicate with the governing body and I encourage business owners who are not involved to do so. This is especially important for those who have signage concerns to provide their input and ideas for use by the signage committee.

Yes, Steve is repeating the points I made earlier in the comment string and referencing the signage committee I mentioned, and touched upon in some of the previous articles. Hopefully there is room for wiggle room on both sides.

I know I am new in town but I want a very prosper main street, I do have an approval to bring a flea market into town and we do have the space for it, now is up to them to go to the city and get the permits which I hope won't be a problem. I had being walking around town after 5pm and looks like one of those towns in Detroit...zzzzzzzzzzz it is impossible that most business had to close early because no one is walking or doing some window shopping. I hear that many years ego use to be a flea market right a cross from the Shop Rite, well what happened? I also hear that use be a lot of people coming to the flea market. I hope the city like new revenue and more business coming to town, it is really sad to see too many empty spaces, so lets get together and do something about it and I know that the business association is going to help us. thank you.

I forgot something else...whats wrong with a NEON SIGN? I know that the AT&T had to pay a fine for it...come on this is ridicules, looks like very soon movies companies will move in to film the new western movies in which they come to ghost towns then we can have a job....mmmm good thinking city officials

I always believe that when you have a problem you go to the top...Why not writing a letter with a copy of the nonsense ordinance that fit the town 100 years ego and everyone sign it and sent a few copies to the Governor? this way he really know what is going on in his backyard.

Like someone mention before..everyone complaint but when it comes to action nobody does anything, if we get together we create a voice with power, what happend if we really do something about it? LETS CLOSE ALL BUSINESS FOR A WEEK, like the did somewhere in the west coast? all the business owners close the business and at the end they got what they want and the governor begging them to open...do you want changes, do you want things done? lest do something about it, and for those that the only thing they know how to do is complaining stop crying about it and get together and we will see changes that will favor business and the town. thank you