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FDOT seeks temporary 250th-anniversary sign at Pittman Park; council asks about perceived advertising
Summary
FDOT requested to place a commemorative 250th-anniversary sign at Pittman Park; planning director said FDOT/Visit Florida coordinated the request and will install and maintain signs through July 4, and council asked whether sign content could be adjusted to avoid appearing as advertising.
Boyd Lawrence, the city’s planning director, told the council that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), working with VISIT Florida and the governor’s office, asked to place a commemorative sign at Pittman Park to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Lawrence said FDOT selected the Military Heritage Museum location near Shreve Street off West Retta to host a two-sided, roughly 3-by-5-foot sign; FDOT proposed installing and maintaining the sign through July 4. The request was characterized as a late addition that staff had cleared with the city right-of-way contact (David Myers) and was seeking council consensus to allow placement on public property.
Council members raised concerns that the front side of the sign, as presented, looked like an advertisement for the Military Heritage Museum. Lawrence said the design includes two placards and that FDOT could reconfigure placement so the informational placard and the commemorative placard could appear together or face the same direction to offer more context and reduce the perception of advertising. Lawrence said he would seek clarification from FDOT about sign content and design and return the item for final consideration at the regular meeting.
No permit amendment or final approval was granted at the pre-agenda meeting; staff characterized this as a request for consensus and said the proposed signage met the city’s sign requirements and would be placed on public property under FDOT’s maintenance plan while installed.
