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BETHEL — The town has asked for a judicial conference to settle a civil lawsuit against brothers Rick and Ron Savage for alleged multiple violations of the town’s sign ordinance.

The suit, filed this past summer, claims the Savages repeatedly placed temporary directional signs for their restaurant in the public right of way and made unapproved changes to their business sign.

The Savages acknowledged placing temporary signs this past summer because the town was not acting quickly enough to put up town-approved signs, following approval of an amended sign ordinance.

The law states that violators will be fined not less than $100 nor more than $2,500 per day and will be liable for court costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the town.

Doar said last week that Bethel has a legal bill so far of $8,000 to $9,000.

“We’re seeking relief under the law,” he said. “We are willing to settle for attorneys fees.”

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The town recently asked for a judicial settlement conference to try to resolve the case, he said.

Ron Savage said Tuesday that when the town filed the suit, there were no sign violations on their Black Diamond Restaurant property. As for the signs on Route 2, he said they were under state jurisdiction at the time, because Bethel had not yet asked for required approval from the state for its amended sign ordinance, which voters approved in June.

“The suit has no merit,” he said, and for that reason he and his brother would not pay legal fees.

Rick Savage said Tuesday that they look forward to making their case to show how the town is specifically targeting their business. “We want to go to court,” he said.

Ron said they would cite dozens of sign violations by other businesses that have not been pursued by the town. He gave as an example Selectman Peter Southam’s Bethel Bicycle business sign. He said a skateboard and the words ‘skate shop’ had been added some time ago, modifying the sign.

“We need a level playing field,” he said. “If you want to have an ordinance, that’s fine, but apply it evenly across the board.”

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Bethel Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Warden confirmed Tuesday the skateboard on Southam’s sign was not part of the original sign permit, and that changes such as size, lettering and location are considered a new sign.

For that reason, he said, many signs in Bethel are out of compliance at one time or another.

Warden said in most cases, when he has asked people to take down, fix or move offending signs, the owners comply. The Savages, he said, had not cooperated.

Ron Savage was also critical of the overall management of the implementation of the amended sign ordinance, saying the town had taken too long. In the meantime, he said, his business, as well as others, has been losing business because there currently are no signs on Route 2.

He said he had paid $1,540 last week for two new signs for which he had applied.

He also compared the cost to that of the two temporary state-provided signs Black Diamond had this summer. They cost $440, he said.

Savage was on the committee that recommended the sign system proposal, but he said it is more complicated than it needs to be compared to the state’s, and too expensive for many small businesses.

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