Planning commission moves to extend recent business‑district sign rules to industrial zones; public hearing scheduled

Representatives of businesses on Split Rock asked the Brandon Planning & Zoning Commission to apply recently revised signage rules for central and general business districts to light and heavy industrial (LI/HI) zones so industrial tenants can have appropriately sized building signage.

Jordan Whitwell, representing WHIPS, said the company had installed a sign and was puzzled by how frontage‑based calculations limited signage for lots with two buildings. "So we put that sign up. We currently have... we have looked at what the maximum was," Whitwell said, describing a roughly 135–150 square‑foot sign and explaining the practical issues of allocating limited frontage among multiple buildings. Frank Howe added that freestanding double‑facing signs help drivers on Split Rock and said a larger sign improves visibility and safety by letting motorists see signage without taking their eyes off the road.

Staff and commissioners explained the recent CB/GB ordinance offers two options: a frontage‑based calculation or a building‑facade formula (for example, up to 2 square feet per foot of building facade, with no individual sign exceeding 200 square feet). Commissioners indicated they were comfortable copying the CB/GB language into LI/HI to give industrial tenants better access to signage sized to building facades and directed staff to place the amendment on the next planning agenda as a public hearing (likely Sept. 3) and to coordinate the city‑council schedule.