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Planning Board narrows draft sign ordinance, agrees to require permits for signs over 50 square feet and send draft for legal review
Summary
Members discussed illuminated and digital signs, enforcement and measurement units for LED brightness, and instructed staff to add enforcement language and forward the revised draft to the municipal attorney for review; the board set 50 square feet as the local permit threshold.
The Skyegan Planning Board reviewed a pared‑down draft sign ordinance and agreed to require permits for signs larger than 50 square feet of single‑sided surface area, sending the draft on to the municipal attorney for legal review and asking staff to add enforcement language.
Brian, shoreline zoning department staff, summarized the approach as intentionally simple and said the draft would rely on state statute for many size and changeable‑sign limits. Board members raised questions about definitions — particularly "illuminated," "lighted," and "digital" signs — and about how to measure brightness for modern LED displays. Brian said the town’s existing ordinance previously used a nit limit for sign brightness but that he intended to research whether that unit is appropriate for LED signs.
Board members emphasized public‑safety concerns related to bright, flashing or rapidly changing displays visible from the roadway. At the meeting one member said the permit should capture illuminated signs to avoid lights that could distract drivers or illuminate neighboring properties; staff and members discussed whether a permit should apply to all illuminated signs or only those above a size threshold. Current practice, the board was told, involves coordination with the state for roadside sign limitations and with local staff for on‑premises signs.
The board also discussed enforcement. There is no fee written into the draft currently; staff said the town can enforce state minimums and that adding a clear enforcement mechanism (for nonconforming signs, time to cure, and fines) would be helpful to avoid after‑the‑fact remediation. The board directed staff to insert enforcement language, set a permit threshold of 50 square feet (single‑sided surface area), and forward the draft to the municipal attorney (Ken) for legal review. The board did not adopt a final ordinance at the meeting; the item will return after legal review.
