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Planning commission approves electronic message signs for public-use sites, defers feather-sign rules
Summary
Kaysville planners recommended allowing electronic message center signs in public-use zones to legalize existing signs and enable Parks & Recreation to add an EMC sign; rules for feather (flutter) signs were deferred for further study and potential temporary-use limits.
The planning commission voted to recommend allowing electronic message center (EMC) signs in public-use zones, a change staff said will legalize existing nonconforming EMCs and let the Parks & Recreation Department install a new sign at Barnes Park.
Staff explained the amendment has two parts: (1) a revision to the signs-permitted table to permit EMCs in public-use zones and (2) a new definition and regulations for feather (also called "wind waver" or "flutter flag") signs, including size and placement rules. "This will allow for existing EMC signs that are already in public use zones to be in compliance, and fix existing nonconformities," a planning staff member told the commission.
Commission discussion focused heavily on feather signs. Several commissioners and members of the public said feather signs are visually intrusive on a permanent basis and should be limited to temporary use, such as a grand opening. One commissioner said from prior experience these signs proliferate and become tattered when left up indefinitely: "Every community I've worked in, these are temporary signs. They should only be allowed for a grand opening."
Staff and commissioners discussed a range of options used in other cities: a 45-day grand-opening allowance, 30 days per year for promotions split across separate periods, and a permit-tracking approach (an over-the-counter building/sign permit with a modest fee) to manage compliance. Staff recommended permitting EMCs in the public-use zone and returning the feather-sign proposal with time-limit options and clearer enforceable standards.
The commission voted to recommend approval of the code change permitting EMC signs in public-use zones and to continue (defer) the feather-sign definition and regulations so staff can return with revised language and rules for temporary use, enforcement and potential permit fees. Commissioners also requested future work on brightness/lumen standards for EMCs and on how the city will grandfather existing signs where state-owned entities (for example, some schools or colleges) may be exempt from local sign rules.
