Caldwell holds workshop on 2025 sign code after businesses raise compliance, permitting and enforcement concerns

Robin Collins, Community Development Director for the City of Caldwell, briefed the City Council at a workshop on the 2025 sign code amendments and the concerns raised by sign companies and local business owners.

“The purpose of the sign code is really mainly to remove visual clutter, means to maintain aesthetics, maintain your property values,” Collins told the council, summarizing the code’s aims and the public outreach that preceded adoption. She said legal counsel had reviewed the code and found it content neutral.

Council and staff said no decisions were made at the workshop. Instead, council members indicated they want staff to meet with sign industry representatives and other stakeholders to review ambiguous provisions and consider potential amendments before returning to council for further action.

Sign-industry speakers at the workshop said parts of the new code are unclear, costly to comply with, or inconsistently enforced. Aaron Vance of Superior Signs urged clearer definitions for “pole,” “monument” and “freestanding” signs and asked that pole signs be limited to freeway-oriented zones. “Pole…