The cold, hard hand of zoning law is at least temporarily keeping a Dunkirk woman from erecting a neon religious sign on her home.

Catalina Rivera wants the sign on her Main Street home. However, the city Planning Board tabled her request last month over concerns that her home is in a business zone.

The OBSERVER only caught a brief glimpse of Rivera’s proposed sign, which is in Spanish and has two lines of text. It emailed EJ Hayes, Dunkirk’s deputy planning and development director, who takes minutes at Planning Board meetings, to ask for the full text.

Hayes forwarded the OBSERVER’s email to city attorney Michael Bobseine, who responded, “Our department only heard about her application to the Planning Board late yesterday. … We are working with her — and likely suggesting she apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals.”

Bobseine added, “I don’t know if her application will be filed or whether she will make any changes. I’d like to wait and see what she applies for, if she does go to the ZBA.”

During the Planning Board meeting, board member Ed Schober informed Rivera that her house is in a C-1 commercial district. Citing local zoning law for commercial districts, he stated, “The purpose of a sign (in such districts) is to identify a use or a service.”

Schober suggested tabling her request and sending it to the city law department and ZBA.

Rivera then complained that the zoning board already told her to go before the planning board. City Code Enforcement Officer Glenn Christner said that was because her home is in a commercial district.

Planning Board member Andy Bohn said, “It’s not that we’re against the sign. We need to look into it and check it and see if it’s…”

“Something we can approve,” said board member Chris Piede, finishing Bohn’s sentence.