Riverwoods panel continues overhaul of village sign code, asks staff to draft ordinance language

Riverwoods Zoning Board of Appeals members continued their review of the village sign code on Aug. 14, concentrating on wall and window signage for the Shops at Riverwoods and Colonial Court and directing staff to prepare ordinance language for final review.

The panel, led by Chairperson Grama, spent the meeting comparing Riverwoods’ current sign criteria with neighboring communities and discussing a range of detailed standards — including primary versus secondary wall signs, maximum sign area, aggregate sign height, lettering size, logo rules, illumination hours and types, and temporary window-sign limits. Director Witt presented a comparative chart of nearby communities and recommended language the commission could convert into ordinance text.

Board members generally favored keeping the village’s current baseline limits for primary wall signs (the commission referenced a storefront-percentage method with an 80-square-foot cap), allowing a smaller secondary sign for corner tenancies, and retaining internally illuminated individual letters rather than cabinet or bare-bulb signs. Commissioners debated, but did not change, criteria for sign area calculation (percent of storefront vs. square-foot cap vs. one-square-foot-per-linear-foot), and they asked staff to draft clear rules for aggregate…