Planning commission recommends sign‑code changes to allow Love's Travel Center signage; seeks larger directional signs and expanded high‑rise area

The Tooele County Planning Commission on June 3 voted unanimously to recommend the county council adopt text amendments to Chapter 24 (sign regulations) to permit on‑premise freestanding signs in industrial zoning districts and to modify size and height rules to accommodate a proposed Love's Travel Stops travel center in the Interstate Business Park.

Planning staff told the commission the current code does not permit freestanding signs in industrial zones and that adding industrial standards would reduce the need for individual variances. Staff recommended changes to table 24‑9‑4 and related sections to allow freestanding signs that meet an industrial standard, to clarify clear‑view setbacks and to allow a zoning administrator to authorize additional signs in limited circumstances.

Shane Cell, representing the developers and working with Love's, presented a slide package and a balloon test. He said the site's lower grade relative to Interstate 80 means a taller freeway‑facing sign is necessary for safe visibility and safe merging. "If the sign is not clearly visible to freeway traffic, this could potentially cause a safety concern," Cell said, describing tests that showed a 70‑foot sign would be the minimum height visible from the interstate at key approaches.

Key edits the commission approved as a favorable recommendation to council were: allowing directional signs up to 7 feet in height (instead of the smaller maximum in the existing draft) and increasing the potential maximum high‑rise sign face area to 2,000 square feet for sites with sufficient frontage. Staff and applicants also discussed limiting the amendment to parcels within 2,000 feet of an Interstate 80 exit, clear‑view triangles that prevent signs in sight‑obstruction zones, and that a zoning administrator approval path will be required for any deviations.

Commissioners debated precise numeric limits (directional‑sign aggregate areas, allowable height above the nearest traffic lane, and setback flexibility), and several said they favored setting standards now so future industrial developments in the inland‑port area do not each require a variance. Commissioners also discussed visual clutter from existing billboards and the need to balance visibility for truck traffic, nighttime illumination and airport proximity.

Following discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend approval of the proposed Chapter 24 amendments to the county council with the adjustments discussed (directional signs allowed at up to 7 feet tall and high‑rise sign face area up to 2,000 square feet); the motion passed on a unanimous roll call. The commission's favorable recommendation will go to the Tooele County Council for final action.