Planning Commission approves change to sign rule, limits building-mounted signs to below roof line

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Planning Commission on June 5 voted to recommend amending the city zoning ordinance’s sign regulations (section 11-808) to clarify that building-mounted signs must be below the roof line, rather than permitting signs up to 20 feet above ground.

Miss Durham, the Community Development Director, told the commission staff reviewed other cities’ ordinances and found that most specify the roof line as the limit for building-mounted signs. She recommended striking the language in the existing code that allowed a 20-foot mounting height and leaving the requirement as “below the roof line.”

Durham said the change aims to reduce the number of variance requests staff has been seeing for wall-mounted signs. Commissioners asked whether the city should add rules to make sign locations more symmetrical in multi-tenant strip centers; Durham said square-footage limits already constrain signage and that some design controls are often addressed in developer covenants, but staff could consider adding guidance.

Commissioners voted in favor of the amendment on a roll-call vote recorded as nine yes votes and no recorded opposing votes. The meeting record did not identify a named mover or seconder for the motion to recommend the ordinance change.

The commission’s packet included a comparison of other cities’ sign regulations and examples staff had collected. Durham said the office will continue to examine related signage questions, including monument-vs.-pole sign square-footage limits and coordination with the electric department on pole signs.

Votes at a glance: Amend Section 11-808 (Sign Regulations) to require building-mounted signs be below the roof line — Passed (9 yes, 0 no, mover/second: not specified).