Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Signage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board discusses signage, holiday lights and signage ordinance coordination; staff to check permit for firehouse gym display
Summary
Board members raised concerns during the March 18 meeting that a lighted image on a firehouse gym may function as commercial signage rather than holiday lighting and asked staff to check permit status with the code administrator.
During the March 18 meeting, members of the Historic Preservation Board discussed questions about façade lighting and signage on properties in the historic overlay, including a recently changed display on a firehouse gym that board members said now shows a commercial image.
A board member said the gym’s roof lights and the image of a person exercising appeared to function as commercial signage and not as holiday lighting. The member said they had visited the site, that neither property representatives nor some city staff were present when they inspected it, and that the display did not appear to conform with the board’s understanding of the sign ordinance as applied to the historic overlay.
Staff and members discussed the work of an ad hoc committee that has been developing guidance to distinguish acceptable “holiday lights” from commercial signage and what elements might be grandfathered as legal nonconforming conditions. Board members said some cases will be legally nonconforming and beyond the board’s authority to change immediately but agreed that clearer rules or guidelines would help.
Board members and staff discussed that changes to the city’s sign ordinance must be coordinated with Chapter 30 of the city charter so the two sets of rules are consistent rather than leaving matters in limbo. A board member suggested a workshop that would allow broader discussion of the committee’s recommendations; staff deferred to Mary and recommended that code administrator Kearns (spelled variously in the record) be asked to check whether a permit had been issued and whether the current display is permitted under the city’s sign rules.
The discussion resulted in staff follow-up rather than a formal motion: staff will ask the code administrator to investigate the permit status of the firehouse display, and the board intends to schedule a workshop after the committee completes its draft recommendations so members can discuss guidance on holiday lights and signage in the historic overlay.
No formal vote occurred on the signage matter during the meeting.
