Colleyville staff proposes Chapter 7 sign changes to limit large commercial 'for lease' signs, add permits and set durations

City planning staff presented proposed amendments to Chapter 7 of Colleyville’s sign regulations at the June 17 work session, focusing on commercial real‑estate signs, standardization across shopping centers, electronic‑display limits, and procedures for murals and dilapidated signs.

Ben Breiner opened the item: “So this is coming back to you to discuss chapter 7 potential changes to the sign regulations,” he said, summarizing staff priorities to address large, long‑standing ground signs and signs that have become dilapidated.

Key proposals discussed included limiting ground‑mounted commercial real‑estate signs to roughly 3 feet by 3 feet (9 square feet) and no taller than 4 feet when used on vacant properties; allowing building‑mounted banners or window signs for existing occupied buildings; and permitting a ground sign only when the building is set back more than 100 feet from the road. Staff said multitenant centers and planned‑unit developments (PUDs) would be limited to window or building signage for individual tenant vacancies rather than separate ground monument signs.

Breiner explained duration limits for vacancy signage: “So it can be while it’s vacant, but then once the sale or the lease is effectuated, then they have 7 days to remove those signs.” Council members discussed permit and enforcement mechanics; staff said no permit is currently required for many commercial vacancy signs and that amended rules could add a permit with an expiration (council discussed 90‑day permit periods and periodic renewal) to prevent perpetual, unmaintained signs.

Other proposed cleanups and new regulations included: - Electronic signs: limit electronic content to 50% of sign area with a 30‑second message change interval (schools allowed 15 seconds). - Awnings: allow identifying a business in lieu of a wall sign, with size and content limits. - Wall signs: clarify a single primary wall sign plus a smaller secondary feature (address or slogan), with a three‑color cap and only lettering illuminated on cabinet signs. - Window signs: limit signage to 25% of an individual window pane and allow administrative review by staff; no permit would be required for a single window sign or banner. - Obsolete/dilapidated signs: add removal or replacement authority to improve appearance. - Mural signs: create a review pathway; staff asked whether mural approvals should start with council and then proceed to the sign board of appeals (staff recommended initial council review, with appeals to the sign board and then council).

Council members debated tradeoffs between visibility for difficult‑to‑rent interior units and the visual clutter created by many large ground signs along corridors. One council member noted that some centers remain functionally occupied despite prominent exterior vacancy signs and that a permit and address/suite requirement could force brokers to maintain signs more responsibly.

Staff also raised a separate question for future consideration about whether certain year‑round residential illumination packages (attention‑getting devices on columns or gates) should be regulated; council asked staff to return with possible language in a future discussion.

If the council directs staff to proceed, staff said it would develop ordinance language and a compliance timetable; staff suggested a transition period (for example, a 90‑day window) to bring existing signs into compliance once an ordinance is adopted. No ordinance was adopted at the June 17 session; the item was a policy discussion and direction to staff.