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Board tables change to land-use notice signs after hours of public comment on QR codes and notice radius
Summary
The board declined to take action March 11 on a proposed amendment to the Lake County Land Development Regulations that would allow reusable signs with QR codes for development notices. Commissioners and members of the public debated whether QR-code-only signs would reduce accessibility; staff was asked to return with a revised proposal.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners took no action March 11 on a proposed amendment to land-development notice procedures that would allow reusable signs with a QR code and a website link instead of the current hand-written, single-use signs.
Mike Fitzgerald, director of the Office of Planning and Zoning, told the board the change would “embrace technology” and reduce sign waste, while reaffirming existing statutory timing requirements for newspaper advertising. Fitzgerald said the proposed sign would be "a generic sign that says that a public hearing is proposed for the property. Website. The Planning and Zoning Board has also made a recommendation that the sign include the phone number," to provide an alternative for people who do not use digital tools.
Multiple commissioners and scores of members of the public urged the board not to reduce on-sign information. Jane Hepting, president of the Lake County Conservation Council, said 10 days' notice is not sufficient for neighbors to research a proposal: “10 days notice is not enough time for a neighbor to do some research into the property,” she said. Other speakers asked that mailed notice go to 1,000 feet instead of the current 300-foot (staff said it often practices 500 feet), and that mailed notice be provided at least 30 days before a decision.
Speakers with disabilities warned that replacing readable text with QR codes could limit access. Barbara Morris, who called in, said she relies on others to photograph signs and forward them; if signs were QR-only she said she would be excluded: “I'm homebound. I rely on other people... That's gonna be removed from me if you do this.” Several residents also raised the risk of tampering or fraudulent QR stickers and said signage should remain readable from the road.
Several commissioners suggested compromises: include both readable summary text and a QR code, add a county phone line/menu option for property-specific inquiries, and produce sign mock-ups for the board to review. The board’s consensus was to take no action and direct staff to rework the proposed ordinance to address signage content, accessibility, and notice radius; staff will return with a revised draft in a few months.
Ending: Staff will prepare sign mock-ups, consider adding a phone-access option, and revisit mailed-notice distance and timing before returning to the board.
