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Commission adopts first reading of sign-code rewrite; limits added after debate
Summary
After debate over pole signs, electronic messages and temporary political signs, the commission approved first reading of an amended sign code; commissioners asked staff to lower proposed height and area and to limit pole signs to case-by-case review.
The City Commission on Tuesday approved first reading of a rewritten city sign ordinance that removes content‑based restrictions, simplifies sign districts and updates sign types — but members limited several proposed relaxations after public discussion.
Planning staff said the rewrite was prompted in part by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Reed v. Town of Gilbert decision and related case law that restrict content‑based regulation of signs. The draft narrows the city’s existing 15 sign districts into a smaller set of district groupings (residential, low/medium/high intensity and downtown/institutional) and rescopes rules by use and event rather than by sign message.
Key changes in the draft included allowing pole signs when placed in a landscape setting, authorizing sandwich‑board (A‑frame) signs for businesses, and a proposed increase in the maximum allowable freestanding sign height in some commercial corridors to improve design options. Staff also proposed using a lower damage threshold to accelerate removal or repair of deteriorated nonconforming signs; commissioners later directed staff to remove that lower threshold because state law (Senate Bill 180) constrains such local amortization.
Commissioners questioned size and height increases — in particular a proposed increase to 15 feet in some commercial zones — and the practical effect of permitting pole signs where many historic parcels have little front‑yard landscaping. After extended discussion the commission approved first reading of the ordinance with modifications: revert freestanding sign heights and area limits to current city maximums, remove a general allowance of pole signs but allow a pole‑sign path only through a discretionary variance or design review when other options are infeasible, and retain a single a‑frame allowance for businesses. The ordinance also leaves murals and noncommercial artwork unregulated by sign‑code limits so long as they contain no commercial message.
The motion for first reading, as amended by the commission, passed by roll call vote. Staff will prepare a revised ordinance for second reading that implements the requested changes and will return with final codified language for the commission’s final action.
Ending: The commission asked staff to return for second reading with revised height and area caps restored to current maximums, pole signs limited to a variance pathway, and clarified language about temporary political signs and municipal compliance with state law.
