Historic Preservation Commission backs revisions to downtown sign standards

The Delaware City Historic Preservation Commission voted on June 4, 2025, to recommend approval of revisions to the sign standards that govern the Downtown Historic District, approving the measure by a 4–2 vote with one abstention.

The change transfers most temporary-sign rules into the citywide sign code, narrows some building-sign allowances and removes ‘‘super graphics’’ (referred to in the proposal as murals) from the historic downtown. Planning staff recommended the revisions and told commissioners the changes aim to reduce legal risk by removing content-based rules and to simplify administration.

Planning staff summarized the principal changes and the reasons behind them. Staff said temporary-sign regulations were removed from the architectural standards and retained instead in the base zoning code to avoid duplicative, potentially conflicting rules. ‘‘Property and business owners would still be able to have temporary signs, including A-frame sidewalk signs,’’ the planning staff member said, adding that the revisions limit total temporary signage to 40 square feet per lot, with no single temporary sign greater than 32 square feet and a 5-foot maximum sign height.

Under the proposed…