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Council tables broad sign-code rewrite, asks staff for work session
Summary
After a lengthy staff presentation, council voted to table a comprehensive sign-code rewrite that would prohibit new pole signs and billboards in most of Denison, create a sign board under planning & zoning, and strengthen enforcement; council asked staff to schedule a work session and provide clearer, color-coded draft materials.
Denison — The City Council on June 15 chose to table a proposed comprehensive rewrite of the city’s sign ordinance and asked staff to schedule a work session for broader review.
Staff explained the rewrite was the product of a multi-year review and a sign committee that included council members and planning commissioners. Major proposed changes include new definitions and measurement standards, formal recognition of vintage signage, the creation of a sign board under the planning and zoning commission to hear waiver requests, strengthened maintenance and enforcement authority for staff, and a near-citywide prohibition on new pole signs and billboards with a limited exception for an already-developed FM120/US-75 corridor.
Council discussion focused on the draft’s scope and the effects of blanket prohibitions. One councilman urged a waiver path for certain constrained sites and asked for a clearer mapping of where pole signs would be permitted; staff said prohibited sign types would not be eligible for a waiver under the proposed draft and acknowledged the need to make language black-and-white to avoid inconsistent interpretation.
Councilman Courtright moved to table the ordinance and direct staff to schedule a work session so more than three council members could participate in detailed review; Councilman Thorne seconded and the motion carried. Council members also requested future drafts be color-coded to show language changes and policy shifts.
Staff noted the city already has many noncompliant or dilapidated signs and emphasized that the rewrite is intended to provide clearer tools for enforcement and removal of abandoned or unsafe signage. The council took no final action on the proposed ordinance tonight pending the work session.
