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Newton planners recommend clearer mural and digital-sign rules; commission asks staff for model ordinances and maintenance standards
Summary
City planning staff presented proposed definitions and questions about mural and digital-sign regulations. Commissioners asked staff to research other cities’ approaches, maintenance requirements, and size limits; the commission tabled the item for further work.
Planning staff briefed the Newton Planning Commission on March 3 about proposed additions to the sign ordinance to address murals and digital signs. Staff described two mural types — artistic and commercial — and asked the commission whether the city should add more detailed standards, including size limits, maintenance requirements and whether commercial murals should be treated like signs.
Baron, a planning staff member who presented the item, said the draft distinguishes commercial murals (which may display logos, brand names or advertising) from artistic murals (noncommercial, expressive works). The draft definition limits commercial text or logos to 15% of a mural’s surface. “If you have a 20 by 20 only a square footage, 15% that can be the name of the company,” a staff member summarized during discussion.
Commissioners and staff discussed several open questions: where murals should be regulated in the code (for example, under wall signs or a new mural category), whether commercial murals should pay permit fees while artistic or temporary murals be exempt, and how to ensure long-term maintenance. Several commissioners said downtown and other large facades already have painted walls that exceed draft size standards and asked staff to identify how other cities — including Lawrence, Salina and Clay Center — handle maintenance and oversight.
Staff noted constitutional limits on regulating content and warned that rules must be content-neutral to avoid First Amendment issues. The commission asked staff to research model approaches used in other Kansas cities, to draft an explicit mural section (including maintenance expectations and permitting procedures), and to return with recommended language and comparative examples for large highway-facing and downtown facades. Commissioners also asked staff to review digital-sign size and dimming provisions; commissioners suggested adding a size cap or tying sign area to building frontage.
After discussion commissioners moved and approved a motion to table the sign-ordinance and mural discussion so staff can return with proposed code language and comparative research.
