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Tag: sign ordinance

City revising sandwich board sign regulations

City revising sandwich board sign regulations

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – If an amended city ordinance is adopted in October, city businesses will be allowed one A-frame sandwich board sign per business address.

City Attorney Becky Vose presented the previously requested ordinance to the Anna Maria City Commission for a first reading on Aug. 24.

She said the ordinance, if adopted, will amend section 98.6 of the city code of ordinances pertaining to prohibited signs and will add a new section, 98-21, on A-framed sandwich board signs.

Vose noted city code currently prohibits sandwich board signs, but past city commissions enacted moratoriums on the enforcement of the sandwich board sign prohibition during the COVID-19 pandemic and when the City Pier was closed and later replaced due to damage sustained during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Mayor Dan Murphy said the city has not been enforcing the existing sandwich board prohibition, but it will enforce the newly-amended sign ordinance when it takes effect. Murphy said he doesn’t want sandwich board signs prohibited because it would negatively impact many Anna Maria businesses.

“This is a very straightforward ordinance which removes A-frame sandwich boards as prohibited signs,” Vose told the commission.

She read aloud the proposed new language that said, “Each separate legal commercial use in the city shall be allowed one A-frame sandwich board. Such board shall not exceed 24 inches in width by 36 inches in height, including the A-frame. Such board shall not be located in the right of way, shall not impede pedestrian traffic or vehicular site distances and/or triangle, shall be allowed during business hours only, and shall be removed during inclement weather.”

Commissioner Jon Crane said he met with a constituent who is concerned about this issue and was concerned that the proposed ordinance language didn’t say signs have to be removed at the end of each business day.

Commission Chair Mark Short suggested revising that language to say sandwich board signs must be removed during non-business hours and/or inclement weather. Vose said she would add Short’s proposed language before presenting the ordinance on second reading for final adoption.

City revising sandwich board sign regulations

Sandwich board signs will soon have to be removed during non-business hours. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Short asked if the proposed ordinance needed to first be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board. Vose said that would be up to the commission. Crane, a former Planning and Zoning Board member, said it should be. The planning board next meets on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and the city commission’s second reading and final adoption of the ordinance is expected in October.

City revising sandwich board sign regulations
Businesses will be allowed one sandwich board sign per business address. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Short questioned the ordinance’s reference to “separate legal commercial use” and how that would apply to a single property that contains multiple businesses. He asked if only one sandwich board sign would be allowed per property or if each business could have a sign.

Short also noted the Pineapple Marketplace on Pine Avenue features one building that provides retail space for approximately 30 vendors. Commissioner Robert Kingan said there are at least five sandwich board signs currently being used on that property.

City revising sandwich board sign regulations
The Pineapple Marketplace utilizes multiple sandwich board signs. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

City Planner Ashley Austin suggested replacing the language that refers to “separate legal commercial use” with language that allows one sandwich board sign per business address.

Short suggested the ordinance language specify that sandwich board signs are only allowed on commercially zoned and retail/office/residential (ROR) zoned properties and are not allowed on residentially zoned properties. Vose will add that language to the ordinance as well.

Illuminated sign vote on hold

Illuminated sign vote on hold

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners are skipping a vote on the city’s new sign ordinance, at least for the time being, while they make allowances for suggested changes by city staff and get legal advice on the settlement of a lawsuit.

During an April 13 meeting, Holmes Beach city commissioners were scheduled to take the first of two votes on an ordinance limiting the use of signs in the A1 and R4 residential districts. Under the proposed ordinance, the use of backlit illuminated signs in the districts would be prohibited with three existing signs required to be brought into compliance with new regulations within six months and another to have a five-year sunset period. The new regulations would allow for a sign with a single spotlight to light the sign from above or below, requiring a retrofit of the four backlit signs.

While a permit was given to the sign at the Anna Maria Beach Resort by a previous building official, it was given in error, resulting in the consideration of a five-year sunset clause for that sign. After that, the sign would have to be retrofitted to meet city regulations for the district. The reason for the sunset clause was to allow the resort’s owners to recoup some of the cost for the installation of the sign, about $40,000. Because the roadside sign, LED board and neon lettered sign on the portico were permitted by the city, though erroneously, they are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit between the resort’s ownership and the city.

The sign that started commissioners’ review of the city’s sign ordinance is one of the reasons for the delay in a vote on a new sign ordinance. – Submitted | Google Maps

Resort owners’ attorney, Aaron Thomas, said the proposed five-year sunset period was not enough time for his clients to recoup their investment in the sign. Rather than continue litigation, Thomas proposed a settlement agreement to commissioners.

In the settlement proposal, Thomas said that the sign on the portico would remain and remain in use. The LED board on the roadside sign would remain on the sign but not be used unless requested by the city for public address, such as an evacuation notice. The roadside sign itself would remain lit daily but be turned off at 11 p.m. and illuminated to only 25% of its maximum light output capacity.

Commissioners said they would need to review the proposed settlement agreement with their legal counsel handling the lawsuit before responding to Thomas’s offer. Thomas warned that if the settlement agreement is not accepted, his clients would continue with the litigation against the city.

City Planner Bill Brisson recommended several changes to the proposed ordinance, enough that it may have to be significantly modified and readvertised for a first reading and public hearing at a future meeting.

Upon further research into the issue, Brisson said there were several things he couldn’t identify, including if the three other backlit signs in the A-1 and R-4 district were ever permitted by the city, how long they’d been there, when the city had prohibited illuminated signs in a residential district and when the A-1 district was incorporated as a residential district.

Due to the confusing nature of the appearance of the other three signs, he suggested that if commissioners approve a five-year sunset period it should extend to the other three backlit signs while prohibiting any more from being constructed. He also suggested commissioners consider allowing signs to be double-sided and lit with a single spotlight on both sides.

Commissioners took a vote and agreed to incorporate both of those suggestions in the proposed ordinance. They also agreed on some wording changes to the ordinance to make the new regulations clearer.

Due to the pending ordinance changes and the proposed lawsuit settlement, City Attorney Patricia Petruff recommended commissioners delay the first vote on the sign ordinance until the document could be amended and commissioners receive appropriate legal advice.

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Anna Maria enacts sign moratorium

Anna Maria enacts sign moratorium

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – An emergency sign moratorium is now in effect in the city of Anna Maria.

Enacted by the city commission during an emergency meeting on Thursday, March 21, the temporary moratorium prohibits businesses from erecting new A-frame sandwich signs. It also prevents the city from accepting, reviewing, processing and approving any new sign permit applications.

The moratorium and accompanying emergency ordinance will expire in 60 days – or sooner if the commission finishes amending the city’s regular sign ordinance before then.

These measures were enacted in part due to concerns that each of the 28 or so vendors sharing space inside the Pineapple Junktion co-op on Pine Avenue could theoretically have their own A-frame signs.

Commissioner Doug Copeland said shared commercial units are becoming a trend in Anna Maria. He noted that Commissioner Brian Seymour’s Anna Maria General Store & Deli shares space with Dips Ice Cream, and other Pine Avenue businesses have engaged in or are considering space-sharing partnerships.

Copeland said the commission’s intent is to get a grip on this potential sign issue before it becomes a problem.

Sign allowance

A city-issued sign permit is not required for an A-frame sign. The current Anna Maria sign ordinance prohibits A-frame signs, but the commission, for the second year in a row, is allowing each business to have one such sign.

The recently-renewed commission resolution allows each business to have one A-frame sandwich board sign. Including the frame, these signs are not to exceed 24 inches in width and 36 inches in height. A-frame signs cannot be placed in the public right of way and/or impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic or sightlines. The signs are only allowed during business hours and they must be removed during inclement weather.

During Thursday’s emergency meeting, Commissioner Amy Tripp asked why new A-frame signs would not be allowed but existing signs would still be allowed.

“Because of multiple businesses sharing the same units,” commission chair Brian Seymour said of the commission’s concerns.

“I think our one concern was there could be a multitude of signs on one property,” Commissioner Carol Carter later added.

Anna Maria Rocks souvenir and gift shop owner Bill Arthur expressed his support for A-frame signs.

“The signs really help business, I don’t see a big problem with them,” he said.

Arthur noted A-frame signs are allowed in other cities. He asked why Anna Maria banned them in the first place and he encouraged the commission to allow them on a permanent basis.

Seymour said when a previous commission passed the sign ordinance a few years ago the commission majority felt there were too many A-frame signs. There were concerns back then about some businesses using multiple signs and some signs being illegally placed in city rights of way.

Seymour referenced the current A-frame sign allowance and said he doesn’t see the harm in allowing A-frame signs to remain on a permanent basis. Mayor Dan Murphy agreed with Seymour’s position.

Copeland told Arthur the sign ordinance changes would be discussed at future commission meetings and he encouraged Arthur and other business owners to participate in those public discussions.

The agenda for the Thursday, March 28 meeting does not include sign ordinance discussion.

Additional concerns

The commission requested the sign moratorium and emergency sign ordinance when discussing potential sign ordinance changes on March 14. A-frame signs are not the only source of concern. Commissioners also want to revisit the total square footage of signage allowed per commercial property and how that footage is calculated.

Anna Maria enacts sign moratorium
The city commission has discussed imposing a one-sign limit on construction sites. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioners also expressed a desire to enact a one-sign-per-property limit on construction sites because some sites contain multiple signs for contractors, sub-contractors and service providers. They also want to revisit the location requirements for vacation rental signs, for sale signs or other signs allowed on residential properties without a sign permit.

Doug Copeland

Commission seeks sign relief for business owners

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – City Commissioners are proposing lifting the ban on A-frame sandwich board signs due to the impact the closure of the Anna Maria City Pier is having on local businesses.

Amended in 2014, Anna Maria’s sign ordinance currently prohibits A-frame sandwich boards and portable signs.

Commission Chair Doug Copeland proposed a sign ordinance amendment during the Thursday, Dec. 28 meeting. He said the topic came up often while he was out seeking donations from local businesses to provide holiday gifts for city employees.

After praising their generosity, Copeland said many Pine Avenue business owners and managers told him they were suffering because of the pier closure. They also told him they always felt the A-frame signs, allowed until 2014, benefited their businesses.

“My feeling is anything we can do that really doesn’t harm the city, that benefits those businesses during this time, we should consider,” Copeland said.

Sandwich sign
Signs like these may be allowed again in Anna Maria. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioners Carol Carter, Brian Seymour and Dale Woodland supported the idea. Vacationing Commissioner Nancy Yetter did not attend the meeting.

Seymour said he never supported the ban on the A-frame signs, and he felt they got lumped in with the restrictions on real estate signs that he still supports. He said the issue was enforcement and not the signs themselves.

Seymour said the menu boards that are currently allowed benefit restaurants, but they don’t benefit retail operations. Seymour acknowledged that he operates a business on Pine Avenue – the Anna Maria General Store and Deli – but he was speaking on the issue as a whole.

“I thought we were being a little harsh back in 2014 when we did what did, but that was the decision that was made,” Woodland said.

Woodland said any future ordinance revisions that allow A-frame signs could be changed again if the signs prove problematic.

“I agree that we need to make allowances given the issues that we have. I think that we should perhaps put a caveat on there in terms of timing. When things are back to normal, maybe we need to reconsider the changes,” Carter said.

Copeland read aloud the language contained in the sign ordinance before A-frame signs were prohibited: “Each separate legal commercial use is allowed one A-frame sandwich board. Such board shall not exceed 24 inches in width and 36 inches in height including the A-frame. Such sign shall not impede pedestrian traffic or vehicular site distances, shall be allowed during business hours only and shall be removed during inclement weather,” the old ordinance read.

“That’s pretty succinct and concise and defines the size of the sign and what is allowed. You’re not allowed to block the sidewalk; you’re not allowed to put it in the right of way. I would be willing to readopt the language that we eliminated back in 2014,” Copeland said, noting that City Attorney Becky Vose might be able to improve upon it.

The commission reached informal consensus and directed Vose to prepare a proposed sign ordinance amendment for first reading, discussion and public input on Thursday, Jan. 11. The second reading and the commission vote would then likely occur on Jan. 25.