Port Richey council workshops updates to city sign code; members agree to allow pole signs

Port Richey City Council members spent more than three hours reviewing a comprehensive rewrite of the city's sign code in a workshop, ultimately agreeing to move pole signs off the list of prohibited signs and directing staff to strengthen enforcement of dilapidated signage.

City Manager Andrew Butterfield opened the discussion, saying, "it's to address the amendments for the Port Richey sign code, which hasn't had an update in better part of 2 decades," and noted the draft incorporates Planning & Zoning recommendations and legal edits from outside counsel tied to recent Supreme Court rulings.

The workshop focused on a long list of technical and policy issues: whether signs inside storefront windows that are visible from the public right-of-way should be regulated; whether existing pole (sometimes called "poll") signs should remain prohibited or be allowed as grandfathered or converted monument signs; how to define and limit temporary signs and inflatables; standards for sandwich/A-frame signs on sidewalks; maintenance and abandoned-sign rules; and whether the city should create unified wayfinding or marquee signs to direct traffic to clustered businesses such as waterfront destinations.

Council debate centered on pole signs. Several council members and staff described practical concerns for small or setback properties that lack visibility from Nineteenth Street and said removing the blanket prohibition could help small businesses advertise. Others warned that allowing pole signs citywide could reintroduce visual clutter and that any allowance…