Fewer banners to be hung at Bay-Ribaut intersection

The city of Beaufort has agreed to limit the number and type of banners hung at the corner of Ribaut Road and Bay Street to satisfy the Beaufort County Open Land Trust, which owns the land over which the banners hang.

The city has hung banners on that site for about 16 years, Open Land Trust executive director Cindy Baysden told the City Council during a workshop Tuesday. In exchange, the city has mowed and maintained that site, based on an unwritten agreement entered into by Baysden's predecessor, she said.

The board of directors of the Open Land Trust, a nonprofit that aims to preserve scenic views in Beaufort County, sent the council a letter last month asking the city to stop hanging banners at Bay and Ribaut.

"The board has decided that (hanging banners) is not really compatible with the Open Land Trust," Baysden said Tuesday. "We're thinking it would look better if the banners weren't hanging up there. … We're just trying to beautify the corner."

The council members resisted the Open Land Trust's request, saying the banners provide a valuable service to the community. They also said it is a Beaufort tradition.

"All those organizations that hang banners up there do a huge service to the community," said Councilman Mike Sutton, who grew up on Fripp Island. "I remember it from childhood. Why is it wrong for a town like Beaufort to continue doing things the way we've always done them?"

United Way of the Lowcountry, the Beaufort Water Festival and other nonprofits were named as frequent banner-hangers.

The city charges $50 to hang a banner at that corner, which city manager Scott Dadson said covers only the cost of labor. The city brings in about $3,000 annually from the service.

The council members discussed other possible locations for hanging banners, but none was deemed as desirable as Ribaut and Bay.

Baysden said the Open Land Trust mainly opposed the large number of banners that are hung at the site, saying the original intent of the agreement was that five to 10 banners would be hung there each year. She added that some organizations also have placed signs in the grass on that site.

The council offered to prohibit the signs and to draw up guidelines that would allow only select nonprofits to hang banners at that corner. "If you are going to pay close attention to what goes up there and how many go up there, I think that will (satisfy) my board," Baysden said.