This just does not seem something that fits with the character of Portsmouth.”

Leonard Katzman, Portsmouth Town Council

PORTSMOUTH — The Town Council Monday gave the go-ahead to a pilot street banner program intended to promote local business and boost civic pride, but has excluded the Island Park area due to pushback from neighbors there.

The initiative, which the council approved in a 5-2 vote, allows CGI Communications to install a minimum of 25 banners on utility poles during a one-year trial period in four different locations of town:

• East Main Road/Union Street (Historical Society theme)

• Entrance to Gardner Seveney Complex (youth sports theme)

• Cory Lane/Hedly Street area (“Welcome to Portsmouth” theme)

• Near East Main Road/Turnpike Avenue area (arts/community theme)

Richard Talipsky, the town’s director of business development, said CGI has installed similar banners in North Providence and Fall River. He noted that while “Portsmouth really has no downtown area,” 26,000 vehicles pass through town daily in the summer, and the banners could help push traffic to local businesses.

CGI is the same company that provides the video tours of Portsmouth on the town website’s home page. Like the videos, the banner program is being offered at no cost to the town. The banners would be about 30 by 72 inches in size, with the top 70 percent displaying a community message or image and the bottom 30 percent reserved for a business sponsor. The town would receive no revenue from the sponsorships.

“I see this as an advertising option for our small businesses that don’t get enough exposure,” said Mr. Talipsky, although he later added, “It’s more about community identity than advertising.”

The program is contingent upon CGI obtaining design and placement approvals from the town as well as permission from the R.I Department of Transportation, National Grid or any other agencies, he said.

Council member Leonard Katzman, who voted against the proposal, made his stance clear before Mr. Talipsky had even made his way to the podium to present the program.

“I’m completely against it. This just does not seem something that fits with the character of Portsmouth,” Mr. Katzman said, adding that the town “just doesn’t have that downtown, walkable, urban setting.”

He wasn’t the only one. The original proposal called for the banners to be placed along Park Avenue in Island Park, which drew the ire of some residents. Some pushback had already been expressed in a sparsely attended public forum on Jan. 17 and in an online survey that garnered 36 respondents.

“We don’t need any stinking banners,” said local resident John Vitkevich, who lives on Hummock Avenue, just north of Island Park. “Put them on West Main Road, where the traffic is. Put them on East Main Road, where the traffic is. It does nothing for the town of Portsmouth but say, ‘Portsmouth.’ I think it’s sign pollution.”

Craig Clark, who lives on Park Avenue, also said he opposed the banners. “Island Park is a neighborhood, not a business community,” he said.

Jeannie Smith, of Morgan Street, said the banners don't belong anywhere in town. “It’s not right for Portsmouth,” she said.

Council member Linda Ujifusa, who voted against the program along with Mr. Katzman, said she didn’t believe Mr. Talipsky or council members should be making decisions about a banner’s design. That would be better left to a group such as the town’s Design Review Committee, she said.

“It’s not just a business question; it’s an aesthetic question,” Ms. Ujifusa said.

Could cancel after one year

Most council members said they were willing to support the program, however, and pointed out it could be canceled after one year if the town didn’t like the results. The only question, Council President Kevin Aguiar said, would be where the banners should go.

“The only place that would make sense to me is Island Park, and that’s the area where people are saying they don’t want them,” he said.

The banner proposal was endorsed by the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC), although the panel recommended they be installed on East Main and West Main roads due to opposition from Island Park residents and businesses.

Justin Perry, chairman of the PEDC, noted that the town would have the right of first refusal when it comes to who is allowed to sponsor a sign — a sticking point with some who opposed the program. He said the banners would help publicize what Portsmouth has to offer to drivers who pass through the town.

“People who drive from Providence to Newport go right through our town and they don’t know we’re here,” Mr. Perry said.

On a motion by council member Daniela Abbott, the panel voted 5-2 to approve the installation of banners by CGI on the condition they be restricted to the four designated areas previously listed, and that only local businesses be allowed to sponsor the banners.