Whitefish grounds balloons?

The Daily Inter Lake

Balloons popped up for discussion at Mondays Whitefish City Council meeting.

In response to a citizen complaint about local car dealerships flying too many promotional balloons too often and too high, the council decided it wants to put a ceiling of 20 feet on the height balloons can fly above the resort town.

After realizing they couldnt amend the citys sign law without a staff review and recommendation, council members voted to have the staff draft an ordinance for the amendment.

Its a start, said business owner Rhonda Fitzgerald, who informed the council about car dealerships stretching the limits of the sign law. Balloons serve no purpose and its very destructive for the whole business environment. Our economy is driven by our natural beauty.

Balloons became a hot issue when the city was fine-tuning its sign law a few years ago.

First they were banned, then the city relented and allowed balloon displays under temporary sign regulations: They could be displayed for no more than 30 days in a six-month period.

Theyre flying them every weekend, and its unenforceable. Who goes out to enforce it? Fitzgerald asked.

Council members seemed to take Fitzgeralds concerns to heart.

If theyre pushing it, Im willing to pop them, council member Tom Muri said.