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Commission discusses sign-code revisions, murals and constitutional limits on content regulation
Summary
Staff previewed a full sign-code rewrite emphasizing content neutrality required by federal court rulings; commissioners discussed murals, placement limits, digital signage, and the practical challenge of restricting content without violating free-speech protections.
Commission staff presented a planned comprehensive revision of the sign code and highlighted the need to conform to federal court precedent requiring content neutrality.
Sean (staff) told the commission that the last major update was in 2015 and that a Supreme Court ruling requires the city’s sign code to be content neutral, meaning the city may regulate time, place and manner but not the content of signs. “We can regulate the time, place, and manner. We cannot regulate content,” Sean said.
Commissioners discussed how that constraint affects murals and advertising. Staff proposed limiting murals on landmark historic façades by permitting murals only on side and rear walls to avoid obscuring primary historic frontages. Commissioners asked whether the code could bar “lewd” murals; staff explained that content-based bans are legally risky and that regulation should focus on placement, size, illumination, and other manner-of-display standards.
The draft revisions would also address digital signage (how often a display can change), height limits, and backlit signs. Commissioners discussed using development-review processes to manage murals attached to new projects and noted that some restrictions could be implemented through guidelines tied to development approvals.
No formal vote on the sign-code rewrite was recorded in the meeting; staff said the full revised code would be circulated to the commission for review.
