Zoning officials to review Shockoe sign protesting stadium

Richmond zoning inspectors will return to Club Velvet to consider whether a giant yellow banner opposing a ballpark for Shockoe Bottom is exempt from city sign regulations.

Strip-club owner Samuel J.T. Moore III appeared before the Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday to challenge a ruling that his estimated 300-square-foot sign is illegal because it exceeds size limits.

A zoning official said the sign exclaiming "No Stadium in Shockoe" would be permitted up to 123 square feet.

Rebecca Glenberg, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, argued for Moore that the sign falls under an exemption for political campaign signs. She said the city could run into constitutional concerns if officials don't interpret the exemption broadly.

A minor-league ballpark is included in a developer's proposal for Shockoe Center, a project under review by Mayor Dwight C. Jones' administration. The ballpark would be financed with tax dollars generated by new private development. Moore's sign says, "Why Make Developers Rich at Tax Payers Expense."

Yesterday, the appeals board's ability to hear the case was thrown a curveball when officials learned that Moore had attached a small sign to his banner referencing two General Assembly bills related to the ballpark-financing plan.

The appeals board continued the case until May 6 to give Zoning Administrator William C. Davidson a chance to revisit the club.

The additional language appeared to sway at least one appeals board member toward Glenberg's argument because it related the sign more closely to a governmental action. Another board member questioned whether a court might be the proper venue to settle the case's constitutional concerns.

Moore said he put up the smaller sign about three weeks ago "to make it even more obvious that it was a political sign. I thought it was super-political to begin with."

Bryan White, public-safety director of the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association, had planned to testify against the appeal but didn't get the chance.

"We've been working a lot with the city to try to improve code enforcement in Shockoe Bottom," he said after the meeting. "I think it sends the wrong signal to make an exception to make the neighborhood look worse rather than better."

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .