The Lexington Planning Commission voted to approve design standards for internally illuminated canopy signs as part of zoning ordinance amendment ZOA 2025-03, adopting the standards developed over four meetings and recommending them to city council.

Commissioners said the standards respond to direction from city council and aim to allow canopy signage in limited circumstances while controlling brightness, color temperature and size. The motion was made referencing ZOA 2025-03 and carried unanimously.

Discussion and key provisions
Commissioners and staff discussed how to measure and limit light output from canopy signs. One participant observed that “Inside this channel that are cumulatively, it's not gonna crank out more than 800 lumens,” and others noted practical challenges in measuring lumens on installed signs, including ambient light and the difficulty of holding a meter correctly. Staff and commissioners agreed it would be difficult to require field-measured lumens for enforcement without a standardized process.

The standards incorporate a color-temperature guideline of 2,700 kelvins for illuminated elements, and commissioners repeatedly referenced 2,700K during the discussion. The draft language preserves allowance for one neon window sign and places a three-square-foot limit on that neon sign’s display area.

District and size limits
The adopted language applies to C1 and C2 zoning districts. For C1 canopy signs, the commission placed an additional eligibility threshold: canopy signage is permitted only on buildings with more than 40 feet of street frontage. For C2 (commercial) wall signs, the commission discussed keeping a display-area rule of 1 square foot per linear foot of building frontage with a 32-square-foot minimum and a 100-square-foot maximum; commissioners clarified that the 32-square-foot figure is a minimum display-area entitlement when a building’s frontage would otherwise yield less.

Motion and vote
An unnamed commissioner moved “With respect to zoning ordinance amendment ZOA 2025-03, I move to approve the design standards developed by the planning commission over the last 4 meetings with respect to internally illuminated canopy signs as presented,” the motion was seconded, and the commission voted in favor. The chair called the vote and said, “Opposed?” then announced, “And the motion carries unanimously.”

Context and next steps
Commissioners noted the planning commission had previously voted to deny an earlier version of canopy-sign language, and that city council had unanimously approved the concept and directed the commission to refine technical standards. Several commissioners who had opposed the measure earlier said the new brightness and sizing limits reduced their concerns; at least one commissioner remained opposed in principle but supported approving the standards as the commission’s recommendation to council.

City staff said the revised standards will be transmitted to city council with the commission’s recommendation. The motion explicitly referenced ZOA 2025-03 so council will have the commission’s recommended text for further action.