Alexandria could be loosening up on its fairly restrictive sign ordinance soon.
The changes are broad, but mainly focus around providing more flexibility in the city’s ordinance, increasing some of the limits, and creating an administrative process (as opposed to having to go to City Council) for some sign approvals.
The City’s sign ordinance update comes after a presidential election that saw a war of words across Alexandria lawns. The City’s Department of Planning and Zoning eventually had to get involved after reports of signs that exceeded city limits.
According to the City’s website, among the changes are:
- Staff proposes additional flexibility and minor increases in signs allowances based on projects with sign SUPs approved by City Council, prior zoning history, and neighboring jurisdictions.
- Eliminate setbacks
- Eliminate site specific requirements, e.g., a property must be 100 feet wide to be eligible for freestanding sign installation
- Increase maximum freestanding sign size limit
- Increase maximum wall sign size limit
- Increase limits on number of freestanding, wall, and temporary signs
- Allow digital signs and regulate like illuminated signs with additional restrictions:
- Text and graphics shall not be animated, move, or flash
- Digital signs shall have an automatic photocell dimmer
- The changing of text or graphics shall occur no more than two times per minute
- Allow neon signs
City staff is also proposing to “create administrative SUP process for relief from sign rules related to time limits for temporary signs, size, height, illuminated/digital sign regulations, and number of signs.”
A meeting on the proposed sign changes is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) but attendees could also watch online.
