Planning commission approves 110-sq.-ft. electronic message center with nighttime limits

The South Salt Lake City Planning Commission on July 9 unanimously approved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) allowing ClearVista to install a 110-square-foot attached Electronic Message Center (EMC) at 170 East 2100 South.

Deputy Director Eliza Ungricht presented the staff report and told commissioners that the sign is within 500 feet of a residential use (approximately 170 feet south) and therefore must meet the municipal code's nighttime lighting standards. Ungricht read the proposed conditions of approval, including limits on light intensity, a requirement for an automatic dimmer, and a prohibition on operation between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. “The sign may not operate between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day,” Ungricht said as she recited the staff conditions.

Staff noted the proposed digital face would remain within the city’s maximum allowed area (the application is for 110 square feet and the code allows up to 150 square feet for attached signs in the Commercial Neighborhood district) and recommended approval provided the conditions were adopted. The commission’s conditions also require any display to remain lit for at least two seconds between changes and that a minimum of 5% of the sign’s operating time be devoted to public service messages; staff clarified that simple time-and-temperature displays would not satisfy the public-service-message requirement.

Commissioners asked several clarifying questions about potential cross-jurisdictional impacts near the city boundary and the proximity to residential property; staff said the code’s 500-foot standard applies regardless of city borders and that the adjacent area was not zoned residential. With no public comments submitted on the application, the commission moved to approve the CUP. The motion passed unanimously (Commissioners Pechmann, Self, Southey, Slifka and Chair Carter voting yes).