Rockwood School sign proposal: petitioner says EMC will match current manual board and be dimmed overnight

The commission held a public hearing on PZ10‑26, a conditional‑use request from the Rockwood School District to install a permanent electronic message center (EMC) at Rockwood Valley Middle School on Babler Park Drive. Planning staff presented aerials and photos showing the proposed sign location at the site’s existing monument sign, and clarified that some images submitted with the application were stock renderings not permitted under the city’s EMC rules.

Joe Phillips of Piro Signs, representing the petitioner, said the sign will be programmed to comply with Wildwood’s operating and dimming rules. "The sign will be preprogrammed and is programmed to meet whatever city criteria there are out there when it comes to its function," Phillips said, adding that the manufacturer’s security package and automatic dimming reduce the risk of misuse. Phillips told the commission the sign would be turned off at 10 p.m. and would not be turned on until 6 a.m. Mayor Gaetano reiterated that the city's code limits how often the sign content may change (once per hour in the current code) and requires it to go dark at night to avoid driver distraction.

A resident asked whether the EMC could display police or emergency messages; the commission and staff clarified that the sign was intended to replace the manual readerboard and display school information and accessory uses. The public hearing was closed and staff will include commenter feedback in the department’s recommendation packet to the Planning & Zoning Commission.