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Anne Arundel County previews major rewrite of signage rules to align with court guidance
Summary
County planning officials presented a comprehensive rewrite of Article 18 (the signage code) that would modernize definitions, revise how sign area is measured, shift right‑of‑way oversight to Public Works and loosen some restrictions while keeping guardrails to prevent visual clutter. The draft responds to Supreme Court precedent and a multi‑stakeholder work group.
Anne Arundel County planning officials on Nov. 12 previewed a comprehensive overhaul of the county’s signage ordinance intended to make local rules constitutional, clearer for applicants and more flexible for businesses.
Lynn Miller, assistant planning and zoning officer, told the County Council the draft replaces dated terminology, adds a clear purpose-and-intent statement and includes expanded definitions to cover modern sign types. “One of our primary purposes was to make sure that our signage code is constitutionally up to snuff,” Miller said.
Jessica Bella, the consultant who helped lead a 16-member work group, reviewed the legal landscape that prompted the rewrite, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Reed v. Gilbert as the pivotal development. “If you are regulating by the purpose of that signage or its content, you are making a content‑based regulation,” Bella said, summarizing the court’s effect…
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