Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sign Code topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parowan planners launch rewrite of citywide sign ordinance to balance safety, businesses and 'rural character'
Summary
Commissioners discussed goals for a new citywide sign ordinance — encouraging business wayfinding, preserving Parowan's rural/historic character, protecting safety and considering dark-sky impacts — and asked staff to prepare draft language by zone.
Planning staff opened a broad policy discussion June 17 asking commissioners what they want signs to accomplish for Parowan over the next decade: helping businesses succeed, aiding visitors in finding places, preserving rural/historic character, and protecting safety.
"If somebody drove through Parowan 10 years from now, what would you want the signs to look like?" staff asked, prompting commissioners to prioritize a mix of business support and aesthetics. Commissioners generally favored encouraging monument signs along gateway corridors while limiting tall pole or freeway-style signs near downtown and the Historic Preservation District, where stricter rules already apply.
Local business owner Elizabeth Bishop urged practical flexibility for small businesses, noting monument signs can be costly and saying the code should not discourage entrepreneurs. "The more I'm told by government how to advertise my business, the less attracted that I am I would be to opening up brick and mortar," Bishop said.
Staff said the ordinance will be citywide but calibrated by zone (highway service, general commercial, downtown/historic), and that staff will prepare a draft ordinance and a matrix showing size and height limits by zone for the commission to review and send to public hearing.
