Raymore council advances broad sign-code rewrite after hours of public comment

On Aug. 5, 2025, the Raymore City Council held a public hearing and approved the first reading of Bill 39-81, a proposed 30th amendment to the Unified Development Code that rewrites the city27s sign regulations. The ordinance passed first reading by a 7-1 vote after council members voted unanimously to amend the draft by striking a provision that would have prohibited home-occupation signs.

City staff told the council the rewrite is driven by legal and practical needs, including to remove content-based rules ruled problematic by the U.S. Supreme Court in Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015) and to replace those content distinctions with rules focused on sign characteristics such as size, height, materials, location and spacing. "The new sign code refines signage regulations to remove any content-based regulations and instead regulates characteristics of the signs themselves," Development Services staff David Gress told the council during the public hearing.

Why it matters: Council and staff said the update aims to bring Raymore into compliance with constitutional standards while giving clearer, more modern rules for businesses and residents. The rewrite reorganizes temporary versus permanent signs, adds clearer permit and review…