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Commission refines freestanding sign draft, favors straight-line spacing and exempts directional signs
Summary
Planning staff presented a revised freestanding sign draft May 15. Commissioners told staff to simplify measurement of separation to straight-line distances between signs and to exclude small directional signs from the spacing calculations.
Planning staff brought a revised draft on freestanding signage to the Planning and Zoning Commission on May 15, and commissioners asked staff to simplify how separation between freestanding signs is measured and to exclude directional signs from the sign allotment calculation.
Staff said the draft starts with one square foot of freestanding sign per linear foot of frontage up to 200 feet and would allow additional sign area for lots exceeding that frontage. Commissioners raised editing suggestions: replace “measured along the frontage” with a straight-line measurement between sign points and remove wording that could double the intended separation distance.
One commissioner noted a practical problem: counting small directional or entrance signs against the freestanding-sign allotment could produce absurd results, such as requiring a 200-foot separation for a small 4-square-foot directional marker. Patrick (planning staff) confirmed the commission’s prior practice of exempting directional signs from the allotment and said staff would preserve that exemption in the draft.
Commissioners asked staff to remove the highlighted language that referenced linear frontage measurement, keep the existing separation-distance calculation in the draft, and return a revised draft clarifying that distance is a straight line between sign locations. They also asked staff to correct phrasing such as “200 square feet of frontage” to read “200 feet of frontage” or “200 linear feet of frontage.”
The commission did not vote on an ordinance at the meeting; members asked staff to return with a cleaned-up draft for further review and left the item as an ongoing discussion item on the agenda.
