Planning commission denies proposed 80-foot digital billboard near Highway 360

The Grand Prairie Planning & Zoning Commission on March 24 rejected a site plan for a new digital billboard at 4330 S. Highway 360, finding the proposal did not comply with city sign and zoning requirements.

City planning staff told the commission the proposed 80-foot structure with two 14-by-48-foot digital display faces exceeded the maximum height in the zoning ordinance, did not meet minimum setback distances from property lines, and would be within restricted distances of residential zoning and nearby parks. "So based on that, the development review committee recommends denial," city planner Savannah Ware said during her presentation.

Applicant Nick Keys Jr. of Key Ads Outdoor Advertising argued the company followed the planned-development (PD 140) permitted-uses language and presented a light study showing predicted nighttime illumination below industry standards. "Even at the worst case scenario, the lighting's at 0.17 foot candles above ambient, and we need to be within 0.3 — so we're well within the lighting standards," Keys said.

Commissioners debated whether the sign fit one of the two "safe harbor" definitions — electric sign or outdoor advertising sign — that would allow a digital conversion under PD 140, and whether the PD or the 1983 zoning ordinance controlled height and setback requirements. Commissioner John Federico moved to close public discussion and deny the application, saying the applicant had not carried the burden of showing the structure qualified under the relevant definitions and that the proposal conflicted with the height and setback requirements in the zoning ordinance in effect when the PD was adopted. The motion to deny passed, 6–2.

The denial was a recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission and will be transmitted to city council as the next step in the review process.