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Commission reviews proposed sign-ordinance amendment for athletic-field scoreboards amid advertising and timing concerns
Summary
Planning staff presented a proposed amendment to Brentwood’s sign ordinance to allow larger athletic-field scoreboards for Brentwood Academy; commissioners raised concerns that the text might let electronic displays carry temporary advertising and asked staff and the city attorney to clarify the language.
Planning staff presented a draft amendment to the sign ordinance (section 78-4-20(c)(4)) that would modify rules for athletic-field signs and scoreboards so Brentwood Academy — a city school subject to the city code — could install a scoreboard similar in size to those at Brentwood High School and Ravenwood High School, which are county schools not bound by the city’s sign rules.
Staff explained the draft ordinance caps scoreboard height (existing language references a 40-foot maximum) and retains a provision allowing a permanent advertising panel no larger than 100 square feet on the lower portion of a scoreboard. The draft also retains time limits for electronic message displays: staff read language that would allow electronic score-and-time messages only during a defined window, described as one hour before an athletic event until 30 minutes after the event concludes.
Commissioners probed two issues at length: (1) whether the draft would permit advertising to be displayed on the electronic portion of a scoreboard for a limited period before and after events, effectively creating a temporary billboard, and (2) whether the ordinance text as drafted was internally consistent and matched the commission’s intent. Commissioners and staff said the existing city code language was unclear and that earlier scoreboards had not run electronic ads, but the draft amendment’s phrasing could be read to allow electronic advertising during the permitted time window.
Staff said they had met with Brentwood Academy neighbors, that a public meeting had been held with no attendees, and that the academy had performed door‑to‑door outreach with no opposition reported. Commissioners asked staff to consult with the city attorney and the ordinance author (staff member Todd) to clarify and tighten the proposed language to make clear whether and when sponsorship or commercial messages could appear on electronic displays. Staff said the amended ordinance had completed first reading at the Board of Commissioners (May 12) and that the commission would see it again at its June 2 meeting; a public hearing at the Board of Commissioners is scheduled for June 9 with final reading on June 23.
Commissioners requested a redraft or an explicit recommendation from staff to remove ambiguity about temporary electronic commercial messaging and to preserve the difference between a scoreboard and a billboard; staff said they would follow up with legal.
No final action on the ordinance was taken by the planning commission in the transcript; staff said the item would be before the City Commission on June 2 and back for a public hearing and final reading on later dates.
