View full sizeBrittany O'Connor (left), 19, accompanies her mother, Andrea O'Connor, to the site of a roadside display dedicated to the memory of her brother Timothy "Scotty" O'Connor, who died last summer at age 20 after a skateboarding accident. The memorial has been up for more than a year in a residential neighborhood of Hillsboro and has triggered a review of city regulations governing such displays.Print publication: Friday, Aug. 17
Private grief, public property and a city bureaucracy might seem like a potentially volatile mix when it comes to regulating roadside memorials. But in the case of a single mother still mourning the July 2011 death of her son in a skateboarding accident, good public policy could emerge from a respectful airing of the issues and an inclusive process to develop a set of rules for Hillsboro.
Earlier this month, Andrea O'Connor took her plight to the City Council after receiving an email from city officials telling her that a roadside display erected in memory of her son was on city-owned property and needed to be taken down by Aug. 15. The display, featuring a 3-foot wooden cross bearing the name of her son, Scotty, is on the west side of Imlay Avenue near Frances Street, on a narrow, grassy easement that drops off sharply to a wetland.
Hillsboro has no rules for temporary memorials on city land, but follows a Washington County policy that limits them to one year from the date of an accident. Permanent memorials can include planting of a tree or purchase of a park bench, with either to be placed in a city park, but O'Connor said she doesn't want a tree and cannot afford the bench, which could cost upwards of $3,000. If you're thinking confrontation and stalemate, think again.
Mary Loftin, a city spokeswoman, said O'Connor has accepted an invitation to serve on a committee, with a parks commissioner and other city employees, to develop rules for temporary memorials on city land -- with the understanding that they would apply to Scotty's memorial. In addition, the city has begun collecting information from other jurisdictions around the country regarding temporary memorials on public property through its membership in a group called Alliance for Innovation. The alliance, a network of local governments and municipal associations, has quickly pulled from its database a series of policies for Hillsboro officials to review as a starting point of what might work here.
It's a difficult line to walk, respecting a mother's loss while also responsibly managing property that belongs to the entire community. Allowing Scotty's memorial to remain in place for a few months while his mom helps the city sort out its rules absolutely is the right approach to take in this circumstance.