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Sign ordinance questions continue

Councilman Cole: Regulations do not go far enough
October 21, 2016

A local attorney says some new Sussex County sign regulations are a step in the right direction, but others are problematic and could go to court.

After more than a year of debate, county council passed an amended sign ordinance during its Oct. 11 meeting.

Three regulations in the new ordinance affect not only sign company owners, but also property owners and commercial enterprises, said attorney David Hutt. He predicts the sign issue will resurface because of its impact on property and commercial property owners' rights. “Everyone wants to avoid legal action, but it could result in litigation or be revisited sooner than the last time,” Hutt said.

The county's previous sign regulations had not been updated for nearly 30 years to keep pace with changing sign technology.

“These changes will have a much broader impact,” said Hutt, who represented sign company owners and other stakeholders at hearings during the debate on the new ordinance.

The regulations he questions include a 40-foot, front-yard setback for billboards, a 50-foot separation distance between billboards and on-premises signs and prohibiting variances for new billboards.

Council voted to increase the setback from 25 feet and there was no separation distance in the previous ordinance.

Hutt said neither the planning and zoning commission, the public, sign industry or working group supported those changes. “These issues were not in dispute; they were pulled out of thin air by council. It's disconcerting,” he said.

He said it's the same case for variances for new billboards, which were permitted under the county's previous regulations.

A letter from the board of adjustment to council last fall set off the debate on new sign regulations. In the letter, board members sought clearer regulations pertaining to billboards and more guidance on variances.

“Nobody requested that. It did not come from the board of adjustment, only from county council,” he said. It's the board of adjustment that rules on variances.

The new regulations allow variances from setback and separation distances when the owner wants to replace an existing billboard. Variances from height and size regulations for replacement billboards are not permitted.

Billboards are permitted only in commercial zones and only with a special-use exception approved by the county board of adjustment. None of that changes with the new regulations.

Hutt said the new ordinance exceeds all Delaware Department of Transportation sign regulations, but sign companies will still need to get a state permit and present a letter of no objection when applying for a county sign permit.

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, said the new sign ordinance stops short of correcting abuses in sign regulations.

“It didn't go far enough. I don't mind having higher standards than other areas, but it appears the majority of council doesn't support higher standards. Joan Deaver – who voted with me on a lot of issues – and I think we can do better in this county,” Cole said.

 

Dealing with variances

A variance can be requested for an on-premises sign by a business owner who wants a new sign. However, Hutt said, the new 50-foot separation distance from billboards or other off-premises signs could leave the business owner without a place for the new sign.

That would initiate the variance process, which includes a public hearing during a board of adjustment meeting.

“I think council has done the opposite of what they said they wanted to do,” Hutt said. “The board will see more variances because there are many more on-premises signs than off-premises signs in the county,” he said. “This makes things worse and not better.”

Cole, who introduced the idea of prohibiting variances, said variances should be approved only when a legitimate hardship is proven. “There has not been much evidence of hardships over the years. The board was out of control with variances,” Cole said.

 

A debate over animation

Council spent a lot of time debating animation and message timing for digital on-premises signs. Council members Cole and Deaver said signs should remain static with no animation for at least 8 seconds. The three remaining council members sided with a planning and zoning commission recommendation and voted 3-2 to allow animation and strike transitional timing requirements. Now, certain movements such as video and dissolve, fade, flip or window-shade are permitted, but signs can't use continuous scrolling, live action or streaming video or flashing messages.

“The old ordinance was confusing and unenforceable,” Hutt said. “Now it's much clearer what's acceptable and not acceptable.”

Cole pushed to limit animation. “We don't really need to have in-your-face-type messaging,” he said. He was also unsuccessful in getting council to support a measure limiting the electronic message section of a sign to 50 percent of the total area. On-premises electronic signs are permitted to be up to 200 square feet.

 

 

Changes clear up regulations

Hutt said several of the new regulations have cleared up ambiguities in the existing code.

Increases in billboard size up to 600 square feet and 35 feet in height on four-lane roads now mirrors industry standards, he said. Limits are 300 square feet and 25 feet tall along two-lane roads.

He said sign companies have been asking county officials for years to add electronic sign dimming standards for digital on-premises signs to the ordinance. “People never complained about animation, it's always been about brightness. There was nothing in the code that allowed the county to take action,” he said. “Now when they receive complaints the county has a way to measure brightness.”

Hutt said one of the goals of the sign ordinance debate was to cut down on the number of signs and to prevent was has occurred along Route 1 between Nassau and Dewey Beach from occurring on other Sussex County highways.

He said the change from a 300-foot separation to a 600-foot separation distance between billboards helps accomplish that goal.

 

Definitions:

On-premises: A sign directing attention to services offered on the same property.

Off-premises: A sign directing attention to services offered in another location than where the sign is located. Most billboards are off-premises signs.

Digital or electronic: A sign capable of displaying words, symbols, figures or images that can be electronically or mechanically changed remotely or automatically.

Go to http://ecode360.com/8884700#8884700 to see more sign definitions and regulations.

 

 

 

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