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3 <br /> <br />Standards <br />Staff have proposed the following changes/clarifications to Temporary Sign standards: <br /> <br />2. The current Code has language carving out special provisions for “Campaign Signs” due to a <br />State preemption law; however, State Courts have provided a broader definition that <br />“noncommercial speech” is protected and allowed in an unlimited size/volume during the <br />defined campaign season window, not just signs supporting a specific candidate or ballot <br />measure. The City Code has been updated to reflect that. <br />a. Additionally, the City Attorney stated that the City should provide a firm number of <br />signs allowed on a property which Staff have set at three (3). The Planning Commission <br />should consider if they would like more or less allowances. <br /> <br />3. The current Code permits banner signs to be up to 36 square feet but holds other types of <br />temporary signs to be 32 square feet. This regulation seems needless and unnecessary. Staff <br />have made it 32 square feet regardless of the sign material. <br />a. Alternatively, the Planning Commission could request the standard be set to 36 square <br />feet. <br /> <br />4. The current Code has strict provisions related to the number of temporary sign permits that can <br />be pulled on multi-tenant property at the same time. The standard is rather arbitrary, difficult to <br />monitor, and such signage has not been a problem for the City. Staff will treat each business the <br />same regardless of their multi-tenant status. <br /> <br />5. The current Code provides for “bonus” temporary sign allowances during a business’s first <br />year, but does not state exactly how much of a bonus is given. Staff have written it to allow <br />such businesses an additional four (4) permits for their first year of operation. <br /> <br />6. The current Code is explicit in prohibiting temporary signage from being used to advertise a <br />business generally, meaning that they must advertise a specific product/sale/promotion/etc. <br />Historically, this provision is not something that the City has strictly enforced. Staff have <br />largely removed the provision in the code. <br />a. Staff believes that the standard is trickier to enforce but ultimately, the Planning <br />Commission should discuss the issue. <br /> <br /> <br />Staff did not propose to change the size allotment beyond the banner provision mentioned in point 3 <br />above. Staff also did not change the length of time temporary signs can remain up (30 days), the period <br />of time they must be down before a new permit can be pulled (30 days) or the number of temporary <br />signs permits that can be granted in a year (4, with the exception of new businesses). <br /> <br />Billboards <br />The City currently deems billboards non-conforming signs which means they are no longer permissible <br />to construct under the City’s Zoning Code. The three billboards in Little Canada were likely <br />established at a time when such signs were explicitly legal, or when no standard existed. <br /> <br />Because of a litany of legal precedent, City’s are exceptionally limited with how they can handle “non- <br />conforming structures”. Communities may prohibit the expansion of non-conforming structures, but <br />they are required to allow maintenance to occur, and under State law, even if a structure is destroyed, <br />the owner has 180 days to pull a permit to replace it. <br />