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Commission debates loosening EMC setback to dwelling rather than property line
Summary
Planning staff proposed changing the EMC setback measure from 200 feet from a residential property line to 200 feet from the residential dwelling; commissioners raised concerns this could allow brighter electronic signs closer to houses and discussed screening, grandfathering, and permitted EMC locations before recommending the amendment.
Planner Will Hager presented TA 26‑08, a sign-code revision that would (among clarifying edits) change required setbacks for electronic message centers (EMCs) from 200 feet from a residential property line to 200 feet from the residential dwelling itself. Hager said staff believed measuring from the dwelling is "more sensible" in many lot geometries where a house sits far from a property line and can avoid excessively conservative setbacks that block reasonable EMC replacement or installation.
Commissioners pressed staff on whether the change would, in practice, loosen protections for nearby residences and asked about screening and the limited areas where EMCs are permitted (for example, Prince Frederick town center and employment center districts). One commissioner noted that a residence could be substantially closer to a property line than the current rule implies and that an EMC could end up only 10 feet from a parcel line while still meeting the proposed 200-foot-from-dwelling rule. Staff pointed to existing screening and the limited locations allowed for EMCs and said some EMCs (e.g., replacements of reader boards at places of worship) are grandfathered. The commission closed the record and recommended adoption of TA 26‑08 after discussion; one commissioner recorded opposition on the motion before it carried.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article: Will Hager (Planner 3).
