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Historic commission discusses Annie Martz banner request and broader update to preservation ordinance and guidelines
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a developer request to hang a large marketing banner on the Annie Martz redevelopment and discussed delegating signage to sign enforcement staff; members also agreed to begin planning updates to the century-old ordinance and 20-year-old guidelines, possibly using a CLG grant to hire a consultant.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission discussed a developer’s request to hang a large banner on the Annie Martz redevelopment and broadened the conversation to consider updating the commission’s ordinance and preservation guidelines.
Planner Katie Stamps reported the developer asked to install a temporary banner up to 8 feet wide by 15 feet tall on the White Street elevation of the former Annie Martz building to advertise condominium sales. The developer proposed removing the banner once units are sold; staff recommended coordination with the city sign-enforcement officer because the site lies in a residential zoning district (R-1B) with specific sign rules.
Commissioners expressed concern about an open-ended display and said any banner permission should include a time limit. One commissioner suggested delegating sign review to the city’s sign-enforcement staff and requiring the banner be tastefully designed and removed after a defined period; another commissioner asked staff to confirm whether existing zoning/time-limit rules already apply.
Beyond the banner, commissioners discussed the need to update the historic preservation ordinance and the commission’s design guidelines. Staff and commissioners noted the ordinance dates to the 1970s, and the guidelines are roughly 20 years old. Stamps said other Alabama cities used Certified Local Government (CLG) grants to pay consultants for guideline updates; commissioners asked staff to estimate costs and potential grant funding and to plan public work sessions if the body pursues revisions.
Stamps said updates to an ordinance would require city council action but that guidelines could potentially be revised with staff and public input and, if funded, by consultant assistance. Commissioners requested a short budget estimate and suggested producing a concise one-page summary of guidelines as a public-facing “cheat sheet” while undertaking longer revisions.
The commission did not take an immediate vote on either the banner or ordinance changes and directed staff to coordinate with sign enforcement on the banner and to prepare options, costs and a public outreach timeline for ordinance/guideline revisions.
