“A lot of thought was put into it,” Smith said.
The Springfield City Planning Board members recommended approval of the sign code revisions on Monday, June 7.
Under the city’s current sign code, the same large sign could be allowed on East High Street and Bechtle Avenue as many of the businesses have the same zoning.
The new code calls for eight geographic districts that each regulate the type, size and frequency of signs, rather than zoning dictating what’s allowed, said Heather Whitmore, the city’s planning and zoning administrator.
The current code permits single-color electronic signs. The revisions would allow full-color digital signs in highway areas such as along I-70 and U.S. 68, and as conditional uses reviewed by the Board of Zoning Appeals in most other districts. They would be prohibited in residential areas.
Animated digital entertainment-style signs, such as those seen in the Arena District in Columbus, would be allowed in downtown only with a conditional use permit. Those signs might work on buildings such as the Clark State Performing Arts Center and a future ice arena.
The brightness of signs would be regulated for the first time, Whitmore said, and the new code is clearer and easier to interpret.
Existing signs that aren’t abandoned will be grand-fathered in.
Planning board member William West asked about enforcement measures. Several enforcement measures have been added, Whitmore said, such as stating that signs can be turned off or demolished if they fall into disrepair or out of compliance.
The city’s property maintenance code also has been strengthened to allow the code enforcement division to take corrective actions.
“We have strengthened enforcement,” she said.
The changes were also approved by the CEDA Planning Board last week and now head to city commissioners, who will hold a July 20 public hearing on them.
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