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Belgrade planners recommend easing freestanding sign area near I‑90, keep smaller signs in town
Summary
The Belgrade Planning Board voted to recommend changes to the city sign code allowing larger freestanding signs within a limited distance of Interstate 90 while retaining the existing 40‑square‑foot limit elsewhere; planners also discussed buffers, residential adjacency and design standards.
The City of Belgrade Planning Board on an agenda item about sign regulation recommended that the City Council amend the zoning code to permit larger freestanding signs within a buffer measured from Interstate 90 while keeping the 40‑square‑foot limit for freestanding signs elsewhere in the city.
Planners presented options for buffers measured from the travel lanes (not including on‑ or off‑ramps) and examples of sign face areas: 40 square feet (current code), 100 square feet and 200 square feet. Staff said the draft ordinance measures buffer distance from the pavement edge of the nearest interstate travel lane on the applicable side of I‑90 and noted sample buffers at 500, 750 and 1,000 feet for board consideration. Senior planner Brad Stein said Levi Simonson prepared the GIS buffers used in the staff exhibits.
Board members discussed aesthetic and safety tradeoffs, existing large signs that predate the current code (the Albertsons sign and older Flying J/target‑area signage were cited), and how code changes might affect future development on commercial corridors such as Jackrabbit Lane and West Post. Several members said a larger sign area for properties fronting the interstate could help businesses be visible to passing motorists while other members cautioned about commercial signage becoming intrusive for nearby residents and the city’s long‑term character.
After discussion and public comment (one resident spoke against very large permanent signs), the board made a motion and voted to recommend an amendment that would: allow larger freestanding signs inside a measured buffer from I‑90 (board consensus ultimately settled on a 500‑foot pavement buffer for the staff recommendation) and set the allowable freestanding sign face area within that buffer to 100 square feet while retaining 40 square feet for eligible non‑residential parcels outside the buffer. The staff presenter said other code refinements proposed by staff — for example, limiting the number of freestanding signs per street face and clarifying landscaping/setback requirements — would be included when the recommendation is forwarded to City Council.
Board members emphasized several policy clarifications they want carried into the ordinance language: measurement from the asphalt edge of the nearest travel lane (not ramps), excluding strictly residential zones from large freestanding sign allowance when adjacency is immediate, allowing monument‑style bases (opaque/landscaped bases) rather than exposed pole bases, and retaining the variance process for requests that exceed the new maximums.
The board also discussed whether to treat specific commercial corridors differently (a corridor approach rather than a single buffer distance), and some members said corridor‑specific rules could be examined in future sign code work. Staff said proposed code language can be refined and returned to the board before the City Council public hearing.
The recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for further action; staff said the council will have final authority to adopt or modify the proposed ordinance.
