Sunset Farm business owners urge flexible directory rules, say 50 sq ft cap is too small

Business owners and property representatives described practical problems under the draft sign code if directory signs remain strictly equal-sized or capped at the draft's 50-square-foot limit. Nate Freund (Speaker 11), owner of Ranch Camp and a Sunset Farm condo board member, said large multi-tenant buildings need proportionality so smaller tenants can be legible and the sign can serve customers driving into town.

"If we just had that much flexibility, we could do something really cool that would benefit the whole town that people would see when they first arrived," Freund said, arguing that strict equal sizing forces tenants into tiny, unreadable panels. John Knight (Speaker 10), a local business owner, also told commissioners that objective rules plus some discretionary allowance would let businesses be "more creative and give a better design" without harming the village visual character.

Participants used Sunset Farm as a repeated example: attendees said the condo association divides sign space by square footage and that a single 50-square-foot cap could leave 15 tenants with unreadable panels. Commissioners discussed options including scaling total sign area to building frontage, keeping a maximum cap, or allowing conditional-review pathways for atypical configurations.

The planner (Bridal) said the draft can be revised to allow proportionality with an absolute maximum and noted conditional review or administrative waivers can be used in nonconforming situations. Staff will prepare revised language before the next meeting so commissioners can evaluate specific numeric options.