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Kernersville adopts UDO text amendment to regulate murals, plaques and outdoor community art
Summary
The Board of Aldermen approved amendments to Articles 5 and 11 of the Unified Development Ordinance to define and regulate "outdoor community art," historic painted signs, commemorative plaques, permitting, and maintenance standards.
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The Kernersville Board of Aldermen unanimously adopted a text amendment to the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that establishes new rules for outdoor community art, historic painted signs and commemorative plaques.
Community Development Director Catherine Garner, who led the project over the summer, said the revision distinguishes “painted signs” and historic “ghost signs” from public art and creates permitting and maintenance rules. “We found that the term public art is most commonly associated with municipal programs that fund artwork in the public space, and we wanted outdoor community art to encompass all types of artwork that can be placed in public or semi public spaces regardless of who pays for it,” Garner said.
Key points of the adopted amendment include:
- A new definition of “outdoor community art” in UDO Article 11 to cover murals, mosaics, sculptures, fountains and similar features visible to the public without requiring patronage.
- Historic painted signs: the ordinance allows maintenance or replication of painted signs that existed at least 50 years prior to UDO adoption, provided pictorial evidence is supplied.
- Commemorative plaques: permitted on public amenities or outdoor community art but limited to text only (no commercial logos or symbols). Size limits are: plaques within or adjacent to the public right-of-way no larger than 1 square foot; plaques within a public park or on outdoor community art no larger than 3.5 square feet.
- Off-premise wall signage is explicitly prohibited in the revised section of Article 5.
The amendment establishes permitting requirements to confirm installation location and maintenance expectations to avoid future deterioration of artworks. Garner said staff created a web GIS inventory of commemorative plaques in downtown Kernersville to inform size and placement standards.
The Planning Board reviewed the language in August and recommended approval; staff also recommended the ordinance. There were no public commenters at Tuesday’s hearing. Mayor Pro Tem Chris Thompson moved adoption as recommended; Alderman Gorham seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously to adopt the text amendment.
The change is intended to balance property owners’ and artists’ creative expression with historic preservation and downtown character while clarifying when a painted work is treated as signage under the town’s sign regulations.
