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Council agrees to pursue narrow digital-sign rules; asks staff to refine plan
Summary
After a long discussion, Downers Grove council gave staff guidance to take a zoning-district-based approach to limited freestanding digital signs (static displays, brightness controls), add theater/performance exceptions, and return the proposal to the Planning & Zoning Commission for detailed review.
Council members signaled support on July 21 for a targeted update to the village sign code that would allow limited digital freestanding signs in business, office, industrial and institutional zoning districts while excluding residential areas and setting operational restrictions.
Staff proposed a location-based model (by zoning district) and operational rules: freestanding monument signs only (one per lot frontage), static display only (no scrolling or video), time minimums between message changes, ambient-light monitors and brightness caps, and automatic reversion to static display in case of malfunction. A commissioner said the concept is “narrow” and designed to avoid a reprise of earlier lengthy sign-code rewrites; another asked specifically for a path to accommodate theater marquees through a special permit or code variation. Commissioners also debated whether the downtown and Fairview districts should be included immediately or considered later; several favored a conservative “start small” approach and mock-ups to show visual impacts.
Staff will prepare mock-ups and refined operational standards and take the proposal to the Planning & Zoning Commission for public hearing and detailed review.
