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Council tables billboard ordinance after sign industry and residents seek clarity
Summary
Planning staff proposed tighter rules and a moratorium on new billboards and a compliance program for nonconforming signs; sign companies and contractors said they were not properly notified and asked for the city’s inventory and photos of noncompliant structures, and the council agreed to continue the item for more review.
Hammond planning staff proposed an ordinance to add requirements for billboards to the Unified Development Code, including a moratorium on new billboards, grandfathering of existing permitted locations and steps for bringing nonconforming signs into compliance. The Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended no new billboards and staff said they had prepared a photo inventory of all signs in the city.
Sign industry representatives told the council the proposed moratorium and enforcement plan could harm local businesses and landowners who earn lease income from billboard placements. Brett Morrow of Bayou Sign Company and Scott Jones of Jones Signs said some permits were submitted and left incomplete or unprocessed before the moratorium, and they requested access to the planning department’s inventory and photos so they could contest nonconformity findings. "If you have permits today for your signs, all permitted signs are allowed to exist and be grandfathered in," a sign company representative said, pressing the council for clarity.
Planning commissioners replied that staff had inventoried billboards and identified those that failed to meet current ordinance standards; commissioners urged owners to respond to building department requests so applications could proceed. City staff also said some permits were not processed because the applicants failed to respond to information requests or submitted incomplete drawings.
Given the number of technical questions (permits, spacing, nonconforming status) and strong industry interest, the council voted to table the billboard item and asked staff to share the photo inventory and lists of nonconforming displays ahead of a work session, with the goal of resolving outstanding permit issues before any final action.
