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Argyle commission creates primary/auxiliary canopy-sign categories, recommends ordinance amendment
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend Ordinance TBS 25,006, which revises canopy-sign standards by establishing primary and auxiliary canopy categories (primary up to 65 sq ft and 4 ft height; auxiliary up to 20 sq ft and 3 ft height). The change responds to new building designs at Argyle Station.
The Argyle Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 6 recommended approval of an ordinance amendment (TBS 25,006) that revises canopy-sign standards in the town development standards. The commission voted 4-0 to create distinct primary and auxiliary canopy-sign categories and to set larger maximum dimensions for primary canopy signs.
Staff described the amendment as a staff-initiated response to a new two-story building at Argyle Station, which uses deep verandas and beams that make standard wall signs ineffective. Harrison (staff member) said the current canopy-sign maximum is 20 square feet and 3 feet in height; staff proposed raising the primary canopy maximum area to 65 square feet and height to 4 feet after reviewing examples from the Argyle Station building where canopy-mounted signs ranged from about 29 to 63 square feet.
Commission discussion touched on intent and future precedent. One commissioner said canopy signs traditionally serve pedestrian downtown contexts and questioned a wholesale increase for every future development. Tom Anderson (legal/administrative advisor) suggested splitting canopy signs by function: "when used as a primary sign it's 65 and 4; when used as an auxiliary sign or the secondary sign it really needs to be 20 by 3," and recommended that the director of development make determinations on whether a canopy sign is primary or auxiliary.
Commissioners agreed to that approach. The final motion—crafted and offered by staff counsel—directed staff to amend the ordinance text to create primary and auxiliary canopy categories, with a primary canopy maximum area of 65 square feet and height of 4 feet, and an auxiliary canopy maximum area of 20 square feet and height of 3 feet. The motion passed 4-0.
Staff said the change would address cases at Argyle Station where signs attached to beams or canopy elements would otherwise be limited to very small wall-sign areas, and that any monument signage for widened visibility (for example, along State Highway 377) remains a separate standard and will still require its own permitting.
The commission’s approval will be forwarded to Town Council as a recommendation to approve Ordinance TBS 25,006 at the Aug. 18 meeting.
