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Grantsville staff recommends 6‑foot monument sign standard on Main Street; industry urges taller monuments
Summary
The Planning Commission recommended amendments to the city sign code (Chapter 20 and Chapter 2 definitions), endorsing a staff preference for a 6‑foot monument height on Main Street for aesthetics and safety while acknowledging industry requests for 10‑ to 20‑foot signs and the state's authority over signs on state roads.
The Grantsville Planning Commission on Oct. 4 voted to recommend changes to the city sign ordinance and related definitions, endorsing staff recommendations that favor lower monument signs on Main Street to reduce visual clutter and sight‑line issues.
Candace Warren, director of government relations for YESCO and speaking for the Utah Sign Association and the International Sign Association, asked the commission to consider monument signs up to 10 feet (and in some commercial/industrial contexts 20 feet) and to provide incentives such as additional wall‑sign area for taller monuments. "I am contacting you on behalf of the Utah Sign Association and the International Sign Association," Warren read into the record, noting research tying sign copy height to motorist legibility.
City staff and the city attorney explained two constraints: (1) state jurisdiction over signs within state right‑of‑way (UDOT governs signs on SR‑112 and SR‑138, including Main Street), and (2) local discretion to be more restrictive than state rules but not less. Staff recommended a 6‑foot monument height standard on Main Street for aesthetic uniformity and to limit visual clutter; the staff report included enforcement language for small illegal 'snipe' signs and nonconforming sign treatment (existing taller freestanding signs would become nonconforming but may remain until replaced).
Commission discussion focused on content neutrality, methods to enforce illegal signs, how ambient light for electronic message centers would be measured (staff discussed foot‑candles vs. nits), and transition rules for nonconforming signs. Following debate, the commission voted to recommend the code amendments to the City Council, asking staff to clarify enforcement language and UDOT coordination for state road areas.
