City moves to define billboards, limit electronic signage; sign code amendments approved for follow-up

City staff presented amendments to the city sign ordinance that redefine and regulate billboards and electronic message signs and remove an older ‘‘off-site sign’’ moratorium that had limited enforcement after litigation.

Aaron Venet, presenting the staff package on signs, said the draft ordinance replaces the previous off-site sign category with a clearer definition of billboards (freestanding signs over 250 square feet) and sets height and separation rules tied to road classification. "Billboards are classified as a freestanding sign over 250 square feet in size," Venet said during the hearing, adding that the rules align city standards with TxDOT classifications to avoid conflicts on state-controlled corridors.

Key provisions in staff materials and in the adopted first-reading language include: - Definition: Billboard =…