To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Sign Plazas
Body
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Executive Summary
The Town Code provides for a sign plaza program that allows for off-site signage within the community to advertise for certain non-profit organizations and businesses. The Code provides as follows:
19.04.076 - Sign plaza.
To further the purposes of this Code, the Town intends upon owning and maintaining certain signs and sign locations upon which private advertisements may be maintained. These may be in the form of sign plazas whereon businesses may acquire regulated advertising, public gazebos upon which churches, clubs and other civic organizations, as well as local businesses, can advertise or any such other type of sign plaza as may be deemed appropriate by the Town. Regulations for the use, rental, maintenance and other circumstances concerning each sign plaza shall be adopted by the Town Council and administered by the Town Manager when such sign plazas come into existence.
(Ord. 2007-24 §7, 2007; Ord. 87-05 §1(part), 1987; Ord. 86-13 §1(part), 1986)
This Code section has been used by real estate developers to advertise their new residential lot locations in the Meadows since the inception of the Meadows. There is now interest in having additional signage plazas within the community to assist the public in locating new residential subdivisions and existing/ new build residences currently for sale. This interest is driven in part with the Town Code provision prohibiting any signage in the public right-of-way, such as real estate signs. Recent court cases interpreting First Amendment rights have larger foreclosed government authority to regulate the content of signs placed in public right-of-way. That is, the Town cannot prohibit signage for one type of business and allow other businesses to advertise in the Town right-of-way. An alternative to signage plazas in the Town right-of-way is for similar signage plazas to be permitted on the developer property as part of approved or amended development plans, similar to monument signage at entrances to subdivisions.
Town staff will take direction from Council on the request for additional signage plazas.