Department of Community Development
Reference: Temporary Sign Regulations in the Land Use & Development Code-Article 9
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Grey Shipman, Associate Planner
Date Prepared: June 29, 2026
PURPOSE
To review and consider future amendments to the Land Use & Development Code (the “LUDC”) regarding the City’s regulations for temporary signs.
PROCESS
Amendments to the LUDC may be initiated by the City Council, Planning Commission, and staff on behalf of these entities, as outlined in the LUDC.
The City Council should use the review criteria outlined in Section 2.10 B. when evaluating changes to the LUDC. Generally, amendments should do the following:
• Further the purposes of the LUDC;
• Be in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan;
• Promote the public safety, health, and general welfare of the community; and
• Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of administering the LUDC.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS
The Police Department and Planning Staff have identified language in the LUDC that makes it difficult to enforce some of the City’s existing temporary sign regulations. For example, the LUDC states that temporary signs “[s]hall be removed on or before 90 days after first being placed…” without specifying how long a sign must not be on display before a new 90-day period begins (9.07). A business owner could, theoretically, remove a temporary sign for a brief period (for example, 1 hour), and a new 90-day period would begin. Some businesses may elect to follow the spirit of the LUDC and only leave temporary signs up for a single 90-day period. Other businesses may choose to follow the letter of the LUDC and utilize the enforcement loophole. Either way, the current wording of the LUDC is generally unclear and leads to different perceptions and outcomes.
City staff believe that it would be beneficial to simplify the City’s temporary sign regulations. Clearer temporary sign regulations would help support local businesses by enabling them to utilize temporary signs as a part of their ongoing marketing strategy and would also make enforcement of temporary signs more straightforward. Staff recommends removing maximum duration regulations for most temporary signs, such as the 90-day display period, except for large inflatable signs. Instead, staff recommends adding language to the LUDC that clearly regulates the condition of temporary signs. With the proposed amendments, temporary signs must be kept in “good repair.” If a temporary sign is clearly worn or damaged, City staff would be able to require a business to remove the temporary sign.
Both permanent and temporary signs contribute to a property’s maximum allowed total sign area, which can make enforcement a challenge. According to the LUDC, a property may have up to 1 square foot of sign area for each linear 1 foot of frontage (if a property has less than 50 feet of frontage, they are still allowed a total of 50 square feet of sign area). To enforce the sign regulations, a Community Service Officer would need to determine the size of all permanent signs on the building and would then need to measure temporary signage to determine whether a property is exceeding the total sign allowance. To remedy this, staff are proposing a separate total sign allowance specifically for temporary signs. A separate temporary sign allowance would make it easier for business owners to understand how much temporary signage they are allowed to have, and it would also make it easier for Community Service Officers to enforce. Staff are also proposing some small changes to the maximum allowed areas for a few of the temporary sign types.
Finally, staff are proposing one change to the City’s permanent sign regulations. Currently, a projecting sign (a sign that projects at a 90-degree angle from a business frontage) is limited to 6 square feet. Several businesses have said that they would rather have a larger square 3 feet x 3 feet sign. In response to feedback, staff are proposing to change the maximum sign area for a projecting sign to 9 square feet.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends taking the proposed LUDC amendments to public hearings with the Planning Commission and the City Council in the near future.
ATTACHMENT
● Draft Code Amendment Redlines
● Draft PowerPoint Presentation