Riverwoods planners push to unify storefront sign rules after staff photos show widespread inconsistencies

At a recent meeting of the Village of Riverwoods Plan Commission, members reviewed staff photographs and discussed aligning signage rules for the Shops of Riverwoods and Colonial Court after staff said current signs vary widely and many appear to violate the village sign code.

Director Witt presented photographs of storefronts and the applicable code language, saying he "really wanted to display the disparity between signs" and walked the commission through where existing storefront and window signs appear to exceed the standards in the Shops of Riverwoods special use permit and the village sign ordinance. Witt said the code limits permanent window signs and cited section 12-4-1B, noting that "window sign can be no greater than 2 square feet." He recommended the commission start with the Shops and then consider whether the same criteria should apply to Colonial Court.

Why it matters: commissioners said inconsistent application and limited enforcement have left a visible, ongoing problem for the village’s main retail clusters. The discussion covered safety and visibility for first responders, business aesthetics, and how to implement changes without unfairly penalizing tenants who installed signs years earlier.

Most detailed facts first: Witt provided examples from his photographs and preliminary measurements. He said a typical storefront used in his calculations is about 10 feet high by 20 feet wide (200 square feet). Under the Shops special-use formula (8 percent of storefront area), that yields 16 square feet of allowable sign area; Witt said the Jimmy John’s sign is roughly 27 square feet, and the sign’s length is about 16 feet 4 inches versus the 75 percent-of-frontage maximum (15 feet). Witt said the dental suite sign was allowed about 15.86 square feet under the same method but is roughly 24.5 square feet on site. He also noted a minimum letter-height requirement in the special-use language (18 inches) and that some letter elements meet that while others do not.

Commissioners and staff discussed other recurring issues: multiple neon or exposed-bulb signs in windows, large photographic images or vinyl shades that staff and some members considered effectively large window signs, and numerous small, hand-drawn notices taped to glass. Witt said those window displays and interior neon fixtures frequently exceed the 2-square-foot-per-pane rule and that exposed-bulb neon is not permitted under the sign code. The group also discussed back-of-building/employee or delivery signage and code-required safety signage (for example, fire-sprinkler-room labels or door-unlock notices).

Enforcement and process: commissioners asked about enforcement options and consequences. Staff cited enforcement authority in the zoning/sign code (section 12-2-5), which allows fines of $75 to $750 per offense and treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense. The commission and staff discussed a stepped approach: (1) clarify and, if necessary, revise the ordinance or special-use language so there is a single, coherent standard to enforce; (2) notify landlords and tenants in writing with an opportunity to cure; and (3) escalate to citations only if compliance is not achieved. Commissioners and staff emphasized that enforcement should not begin until the commission adopts clear, enforceable language; otherwise, letters requiring removal could be superseded by code changes under consideration.

Next steps and direction: Director Witt agreed to measure every storefront and produce a compliance chart showing each tenant’s measured sign area and length, the ordinance-allowed area/length, and the percentage of variance. Witt also said he would canvas surrounding communities for sample language and return with proposed sign-area calculations, possible diagrams for how area is measured, and suggested language to clarify window-sign rules. The commission asked members to review the properties in person before the next meeting and directed staff to coordinate with the village attorney on whether and how to amend the Shops special-use permit or the village sign ordinance.

Formal action at the start of the meeting: the commission approved the minutes from the previous meeting by voice vote.