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Planning commission asks staff for technical guidance on halo signage and agrees to pursue neon ban downtown
Summary
After two recent Board of Zoning Appeals approvals for halo (reverse‑lit) signs, the North Augusta Planning Commission on May 21 asked staff to return with technical guidance — lumens, color temperature, letter opacity and maintenance standards — and directed staff to prepare a text amendment to prohibit neon lighting downtown.
The North Augusta Planning Commission on May 21 directed staff to return with technical specifications and examples for permitting halo‑style reverse‑lit signs and asked staff to prepare a text amendment to prohibit neon lighting downtown. The action followed recent Board of Zoning Appeals approvals for halo illumination at two downtown properties and a wide discussion among commissioners about brightness, color, longevity and the cumulative visual effect on Georgia Avenue.
Planning staff explained halo illumination (also called reverse‑lit) as a form of internal sign lighting in which “neon tubing, LED, or similar lights are mounted within the sign or individual letter to eliminating the mounting surface to the rear, causing a halo of light around the sign or individual letter,” Mister Paradise said. Staff noted the city code currently states that signs shall not be internally illuminated in the downtown mixed‑use districts (citing the code provision referenced in the staff memo) and offered options: leave the code as written, allow halo illumination in Downtown Mixed Use 1, allow it in Downtown Mixed Use 2, allow it in both, or craft constrained language to permit halo illumination with specific limits.
Commissioners raised several technical concerns they want addressed before any allowance: numeric limits on brightness (lumens), limits on color or color temperature to avoid a multi‑colored corridor effect, requirements that letter faces be opaque so that light does not “shine through” the letters, and expectations or timelines for maintenance when fixtures fail. Commissioners also discussed that any allowance would not automatically apply to other properties — BZA variances are decided case‑by‑case — but that repeated approvals could set a de facto precedent.
The commission asked staff to prepare (1) a draft text amendment to prohibit neon lighting in downtown mixed‑use districts, which can move forward independently, and (2) a technical memo with recommended lumen limits, color‑temperature guidance, letter opacity and maintenance/enforcement options so the commission can consider whether to allow halo illumination in a constrained way (for example, only in Downtown Mixed Use 1). Staff will return with those materials for a future study session and public process.
No formal ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the commission’s direction was to have staff draft language and technical guidance for further consideration and public hearing.
