Planning commission recommends 7-day real-estate signs with size, framing and no-handwriting limits

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended forwarding to the City Council a change to Diamondhead’s sign ordinance that would allow real-estate yard signs seven days a week provided they meet new size and construction standards.

Commissioners said the change aims to balance visibility and safety for home showings with the city’s interest in consistent appearance. The commission’s adjusted recommendation limits signs to no larger than 24 inches wide by 36 inches high (including any rider), requires a metal or resin two-legged or framed support and prohibits handwritten phone numbers or text on signs. Directional arrow signs would remain limited to weekends.

Why it matters: Realtors and homeowners told the commission the current weekend-only rule hinders sales and creates logistical burdens for agents who place and retrieve signs. Several commenters said yard signs help prospective buyers who drive the neighborhood and provide a safety signal that a showing is legitimate. Staff warned that broader weekday allowances would increase enforcement workload unless the standards are straightforward to apply.

Public commenters including a local agent (Speaker 1) told the commission, “Healthy real estate markets lead to healthy communities and cities,” arguing that more visible signs help sales. Realtor Mo Landry (Mo Landry, Compass) told commissioners she is “all for leaving the signs 7 days a week” and asked who benefits from the current restriction. Robbie Stroud, a longtime Diamondhead real-estate professional, said removing the weekend rule would reduce safety and physical burdens for agents who manage multiple listings.

City staff described current practice: officers typically send courtesy letters to homeowners when a sign is on private property and may remove signs located in the public right-of-way; citation and court appearance is a possible enforcement outcome if a homeowner ignores a notice. Staff also reported about six staff-hours per week currently spent handling sign complaints and noted there are 223 properties listed for sale on realtor.com locally at the time of the meeting.

Commission action and next steps: The commission moved, seconded and voted to adopt the adjusted recommendation and forward it to the City Council for final action. The commission recorded the motion as passing but did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. The council is scheduled to meet on 03/03/2026, at which time it is expected to consider the commission’s recommendation.

The commission and several commenters acknowledged trade-offs: standardizing frame type and maximum dimensions could impose replacement costs on brokers and sellers but, officials said, would give code enforcement clearer standards to apply.