Lake Forest Park councilors agree to revise sign code; staff to set May 8 public hearing

The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole directed staff to prepare a public‑hearing draft of proposed changes to the city sign code and to notice a hearing for May 8, 2025.

The proposed ordinance (referred to in the meeting as Ordinance 25-13-08) would amend Chapter 18.52 of the Lake Forest Park Municipal Code to reflect recent court precedent and to make several local adjustments. Director Hoffman, who presented the staff memorandum, summarized the package and a Friday memo listing eight staff items for council review.

Why it matters: The discussion would affect business openings, real‑estate marketing, recurring community events such as the garden tour and farmers market, and the city’s enforcement approach to temporary signage in the public right of way.

Committee members and several public commenters pressed for specific changes sought by local organizers and real‑estate agents. Randy Banneker, speaking for the Seattle‑King County Realtors, asked that the code explicitly accommodate the industry standard sizes for two common signs: “the for‑sale sign... is 24 inches by 30 inches” (approximately 5 square feet) and the open‑house a‑board at about 24 by 24 inches (4 square feet). Banneker told the committee those on‑site and event signs “play an important role in a swift and smooth real estate transaction.”

Resident speakers including Sarah Phillips and Rosberg urged more flexibility for event banners and temporary wayfinding signs used for the city’s garden tour and the Farmers Market. Phillips said the town‑center lamppost banners currently in place are larger than what the draft code would allow and asked council to permit larger, more legible banners for market and town‑center uses.

After extended discussion, Council members generally reached a working consensus with staff on a set of edits Director Hoffman will incorporate before the public hearing. Key clarifications the committee directed staff to draft for the public‑hearing version include:

- Increase the allowed area for common temporary signs used by realtors and for event a‑boards to accommodate industry standard dimensions (staff explained intent to measure the sign face and proposed raising the allowance to about 5 square feet for on‑site for‑sale signs and to allow a 5‑foot sign height for the sign face measurement).

- Raise the allowable size for certain temporary banners on town‑center poles so existing lamppost banners (such as those installed for commercial grand openings) can be legalized by the code provision; staff will return a specific measurement to match what is currently in use.

- Shorten the post‑event removal window for temporary signs from the planning commission’s 10 days to 5 days to improve enforceability.

- Remove the strict numeric cap (previously proposed as “no more than six signs”) on the total number of temporary signs in the public right of way and rely instead on safety and location rules; several councilors and staff said a numeric cap would be difficult to enforce because sign copy cannot be read under the new legal standard.

- Add recommended language encouraging sign placers to obtain the consent of the abutting (adjacent) property owner before placing temporary signs in planter strips or adjacent right‑of‑way as a courtesy; the recommendation is explicit but not mandatory.

- Remove the separate 30‑day/60‑day duration language for different sign categories in favor of a uniform approach tied to events and permit paths; staff will make the temporary/permits sections consistent across the chapter.

- Clarify that certain temporary safety and construction notices (for example, required OSHA or job‑site safety signs) are not intended to be restricted by the proposal and that permitted signs and permitted temporary sign processes remain available for site‑specific arrangements.

Director Hoffman said staff will produce a clean public‑hearing draft that reflects the committee’s consensus and will flag any changes that could be legally substantive. Committee members asked that staff recheck cross‑references across Chapter 18.52 and related sections (for example, nonconforming sign amortization and home‑occupation sign limits) so the public‑hearing draft is internally consistent.

Quotes: “Five square feet would allow the industry standard,” Director Hoffman said when explaining measurement intent for on‑site real‑estate signs. “We would like to hold, notice public hearing, May 8,” Hoffman later told the committee when proposing a hearing date.

Next steps: Staff will revise the ordinance language and attachments to reflect the committee’s direction, circulate the public‑hearing packet in advance of the May 8 notice period, and return to the council for the noticed hearing. The committee did not take a formal, roll‑call vote at the meeting; instead it provided direction and a scheduling consensus for staff to notice the May 8 public hearing.