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City staff propose one‑page banner policy restricting non‑city advertising; council asks for exceptions tied to strategic plan
Summary
Deputy City Manager Jason Loveland presented a one‑page draft banner policy that would restrict banners to city events and municipal interests and ban commercial advertising except for city‑aligned sponsorships; council sought clarity on whether civic pronouncements (for example anti‑racism messages) could qualify and staff will return the policy for April 13 consideration.
Deputy City Manager Jason Loveland presented a draft one‑page banner policy on March 23 that would permit banners promoting city events or municipal interests, prohibit general commercial or nonprofit advertising unless it is part of a city sponsorship, and require sponsor recognition not to dominate banner design.
Loveland said a cross‑functional staff team reviewed regional policies and identified these themes as best practice: municipal control over banner content, limitations on advertising, and clear sponsorship recognition rules. He asked council for feedback and recommended returning the item to council on April 13 with any modifications.
Council members asked whether values‑based messages tied to the city's strategic plan (for example anti‑racism or community‑values statements) could be allowed. City Attorney Corey Hoffman said such messages could potentially qualify if tied to official municipal interests or the city strategic plan and suggested staff could add clarifying language. Council member Goff asked about past banners (including anti‑racism messaging) and whether the one‑page policy would allow similar civic pronouncements; Hoffman agreed a limited allowance could be drafted.
Other questions covered the municipal sponsorship policy referenced in the draft and whether examples from other cities were based on size or voluntary outreach; staff said the memo examples came from jurisdictions that responded to outreach, not a size‑based sampling.
Loveland said staff will refine the policy, add clarifying attachments if desired and present the revised draft for council consideration on April 13.
