07/13/2005 P&Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • AGENDA ITEM V. B STAFF ORIGINATOR: Jeff Smyser P & Z MEETING DATE: July 13, 2005 TOPIC: PUBLIC HEARING: Sign Ordinance Amendments BACKGROUND Signage is always an extremely difficult issue. As with any regulation, there will be those who will not agree with a signage requirement. The goal of signage regulation, like any government regulation, is to balance the private interest and the larger public interest. Signage advertises a business, which is good for the business. Successful business is good for the greater public. However, unregulated signage can become an eyesore and a nuisance, which detracts from the good of the community. The P & Z has been discussing temporary signage for several years. These discussions led to the proposed amendments in the attached draft ordinance. When the P & Z is satisfied with the proposed amendments, the Board's recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. The City Council is the only body that can adopt or amend ordinances. The current sign ordinance is Ord. No. 12 -97. Once adopted by the City Council, the new version will replace that ordinance. Deleted text is shown as strikeout, added text is underlined. ANALYSIS The primary changes in the draft ordinance relate to temporary signage. These amendments were recommended by the P & Z. Sometimes, a change to one requirement required comparing to other pieces and checking definitions. This may have revealed confusing or contradictory language. There are a few changes in the text to help clarify some issues. While all of these may not have been specifically recommended by the P & Z, they were important either because they relate to temporary signage or were confusing. We also have increased the amount of permanent wall signage allowed on double frontage or corner lots. The hope is that this will reduce the demand for temporary signs. Some of the permanent signage requirements are inconsistent or incomplete in the current ordinance. We added requirements to address these discrepancies.