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Garland committee reviews sign ordinance, considers administrative waivers for downtown businesses
Summary
The Development Services Committee reviewed five years of sign variance requests and discussed options to reduce permitting burdens for downtown and citywide businesses, including a possible administrative waiver for small deviations.
The Garland Development Services Committee on March 17, 2025, reviewed the city's sign ordinance and debated whether staff should be allowed to grant limited administrative waivers to reduce the permitting burden on businesses.
Staff told the committee it had compiled a list of five sign variances in the past five years and identified one recent downtown waiver application for a business called Epiphany. "We did our best. We looked at all the logs. We looked at agenda packets, for the past 5 years to find anything else that had signs in there," a staff member said.
Why it matters: Committee members said the current process can be slow and intimidating for small-business owners, but others warned that loosening rules could lead to cluttered or unattractive commercial corridors. "From this side of the table and from that side of the table, it may seem that simple. But from the other side of that microphone, it's not that simple," Councilman Bass said, arguing the application process deters some owners. Andy, a staff member, cautioned that loosening standards citywide could produce "a very obnoxious environment to drive through."
Most of the variances identified were downtown waivers tied to pedestrian-oriented design standards in the downtown plan, staff said. Staff explained downtown waivers are categorized as "minor" or "major" and noted many of the downtown requests are for signage features that make sense in a pedestrian-scale environment but would not conform to citywide, vehicle-oriented standards.
Options discussed included adding a narrow administrative waiver for small deviations (staff suggested a possible 10% threshold) or preparing targeted code changes focused on wall and awning signs rather than pole or monument signs. "If counsel, if the committee, so wishes, there could be a provision... if it's 10% or less deviation, then maybe administrative waiver could be built into the system," a staff member said.
Committee members asked staff to produce a focused memo listing current restrictions on location, height and area for wall and awning signs, plus transportation-safety guidance. "I'd like to see what the restrictions are on location, location, height, area throughout the city," Councilman Bass said. Another councilmember asked staff to include recommendations about where flexibility could be introduced.
Votes at a glance: At the start of the meeting the committee unanimously approved the minutes from its Feb. 17, 2025 meeting. The motion to approve was seconded and the minutes were adopted by voice vote.
What happens next: Staff will return with a targeted presentation compiling sign standards for wall and awning signs, transportation-safety input, and recommended options for administrative waivers or ordinance amendments. The committee agreed to discuss running signs and wall signs at a future meeting.
