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Council committee initiates code change to expand rooftop signs across Central Business District
Summary
Councilor Bellis and planning staff introduced a draft zoning code amendment to allow rooftop signs by right across the Central Business District rather than just limited entertainment and Route 66 overlay areas; size limits and sign‑budget constraints would remain.
The committee considered a proposed initiation to amend the city's zoning code to allow rooftop (roof) signs across the Central Business District (CBD) by right.
Councilor Bellis introduced the item and said downtown signage pilots in the Blue Dome/Downtown Entertainment District had produced a concentrated set of neon and rooftop signs. Susan Miller of the Planning Office explained current code allows roof signs only in a very limited downtown entertainment district and in portions of the Route 66 overlay; the draft would expand allowable roof signs to the full area zoned Central Business District while preserving size limitations and the requirement that roof signs count against an applicant’s overall sign budget.
“Roof sign is a sign that's on the roof that extends past the parapet,” Miller said in describing the definition proposed in the draft. Miller said several rooftop signs have come through the Board of Adjustment for approvals in recent years but that the proposed amendment would allow similar signs by right throughout the CBD while keeping limits on size and permitting requirements.
Nut graf: The change is intended to make downtown signage rules more consistent and to allow more visible, concentrated commercial signage without requiring a Board of Adjustment variance in each case; staff said the draft retains limits and permitting to control size and placement.
Committee members asked how frequently the Board of Adjustment denies rooftop sign requests and whether the city would conduct additional review; staff said the Board typically handles items not allowed by right and that most downtown rooftop requests recently have been approved through the BOA process. There was no final action recorded at the committee meeting; the item was introduced for formal drafting and future consideration.
