Council advances UDO text amendment to allow and regulate digital signs; limits and safeguards added

On first reading the council advanced a Unified Development Ordinance amendment to add clear performance standards for electronic message boards and digital displays across zoning districts. The amendment prohibits video and animation, requires a minimum 10‑second hold between messages, adds automatic dimming and daytime/nighttime brightness caps, and requires that displays be built into architecturally integrated monument signage with landscaping.

Mister Cahill, who presented the amendment, said the changes "modernize the standards" and added objective limits previously absent from the code. He noted tiered size allowances in the Regional Center District: 32 square feet for sites 5 acres or less and 64 square feet for larger sites, with the electronic face smaller than the cabinetry footprint. The planning commission held a public hearing July 20 and recommended approval 4–1. Council members asked questions about material standards, how the rules would apply if a parcel later rezoned to Regional Center, and whether monument sign requirements would preclude billboards; staff said the monument requirement prevents billboard‑style installations and that façade‑mounted electronic message boards were not included in this amendment.