SHERMAN — Municipalities are very limited in their ability to place restrictions on the display of signage and other forms of public expression, Sherman Village Zoning Board members learned at a recent meeting.

Village Mayor Colleen Meeder told board members that when it comes to imposing content-based restrictions on signage, municipalities must consider first amendment rights.

“It becomes a free speech issue,” Meeder said. “You can make restrictions, but you can’t impose more restrictions for non-commercial signs than you would for commercial signs.”

Meeder said she and other members of the Zoning Board recently attended a webinar hosted by Southern Tier West which dealt specifically with signage laws. The laws regarding signage are very extensive and detailed, she said.

“You would be amazed at how many things fall under this category,” Meeder said. “Greg (Gormley, village zoning and code enforcement officer) says the matter of signs, ribbons, balloons, banners and so on is a whole zoning issue in and of itself.”

The matter of signage was first discussed at the Aug. 5 meeting of the zoning board when Meeder noted that, with the proliferation of graduation signs, political signs and other ideological signs, municipalities are forced to look at the codes which regulate these forms of expression.

At the August meeting, Meeder described a case about religious signage which came before the United States Supreme Court in 2015, and resulted in the decision that a town’s sign regulations may not violate the First Amendment right of freedom of speech.

The ruling in the case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, clarified the fact that municipalities cannot differentiate ideological messages from political messages, Meeder noted.

In other business, the zoning board approved a special use permit for a six-foot fence at 115 Park Street. Meeder told the board that the owner of the property had contracted to have the fence installed and the posts were in place before he realized that a special use permit was needed.

The board also approved a motion to waive the fee for a roof permit for Tex’s Quick Stop, in an ongoing effort by the Village to support all local businesses.

“We’re trying to be as accommodating as we can during this time,” Meeder said.

In another matter, the zoning board received an update on residences on Main Street. Meeder said that after owners of the Cooler Cafe requested information on apartment regulations on Main Street, it was determined that only single and two family detached dwellings are permitted in areas zoned C1.