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Commission discusses possible code changes to allow private school video scoreboards while guarding against digital billboards
Summary
Brentwood commissioners discussed whether to amend zoning language so private schools (e.g., Brentwood Academy) can install video scoreboards like public schools, focusing on hours, sound, light, one-sided displays and proximity to residences; staff will solicit neighbor input before returning with proposals.
Commissioners and staff discussed a request from Brentwood Academy to install a video scoreboard similar to those at local public high schools. Staff explained the current code limits such signs to SI zoning for athletic fields and that Williamson County Schools have an exemption that private schools do not enjoy.
Staff and commissioners explored multiple issues: the number and placement of scoreboards on school property, hours of operation tied to athletic events (one hour before and 30 minutes after events in existing language), setbacks from adjacent residential properties, sound and lighting impacts, and whether to require single-sided installations to limit off-site impacts. Staff showed distance measurements (one existing example cited 751 feet from a scoreboard to the nearest house) and noted that some sport fields, like baseball, can be much closer to residences.
Commissioners raised concerns about unintentionally opening the code to digital billboard–style displays and emphasized limiting the signage to athletic uses, one-sided boards, sound-volume limits, and placement that minimizes off-site impacts. Staff recommended soliciting feedback directly from adjacent residents—door-to-door outreach in some cases—before returning with a code amendment or proposal. Commissioners asked staff to draft language that would allow similarly situated entities but retain the ability to require additional review for closer locations.
No formal vote was recorded; staff was directed to gather neighbor feedback and examine code language to avoid broad allowances that would permit digital billboards or double‑sided advertising displays.
