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Volunteer planner outlines sign-code rewrite, cites recent Supreme Court rulings
Summary
Volunteer Mark Butler told the joint meeting he has spent more than 100 hours on a proposed sign ordinance rewrite focused on Supreme Court guidance (content neutrality and off-premise signage) and said the draft will go to Planning & Zoning, then Design Review, then council in the coming months.
Mark Butler told the council and Design Review Board that he has volunteered more than 100 hours rewriting the city's sign ordinance and that the draft is structured to reflect two Supreme Court decisions: a content-neutrality decision from about 2015 and a 2022 decision addressing off-premise signs. Butler said the changes aim to avoid content-based restrictions while giving the city tools to control temporary and unsightly signs.
"I've got a little over 100 hours into it at this point on a volunteer basis," Butler said. He described proposed design-oriented language to reduce bulky, rectangular signs and tighter enforcement of temporary-sign rules. Butler also said the sign ordinance will be coordinated with the design-book update and that staff and Planning & Zoning will review the draft before it reaches the Design Review Board and council.
Council and board members asked whether the Design Review Board would review the ordinance prior to council action; staff said the draft will go through the usual Planning & Zoning and Design Review Board steps and not reach council for a few months. Butler suggested some design changes to monument signs in scenic corridors and flagged an intent to add three-dimensional visualizations for corridor-monument proposals.
