BRENHAM CITY OFFICIALS CONTINUE TALKS ON SIGNAGE UPDATES
Citizens and business owners met with Brenham officials Thursday afternoon to offer input on downtown signage.
The city brought forth and explained proposed changes to signage, specifically for the downtown area.
Assistant Development Services Director Stephanie Doland covered the changes the city has made to update signage standards around town. These included changing definitions from the old ordinance, originally adopted in 1981, or adding regulation for new types of signs.
Topics that garnered most of the discussion were how to regulate mural signs, defining window signs, and enforcing sandwich board signs.
Sandwich board signs are currently written into the ordinance as being placed within five feet of the front of the business, only being displayed during open business hours, and only having one per business.
Tourism and Marketing Director Jennifer Eckermann said pedestrians have complained to the city about the number of sandwich board signs on the streets. She said there can be so many signs out on a street corner that no ends up paying attention to them.
Several business owners in attendance stated that sandwich board signs were their main driver of business aside from social media, and said customers were attracted to their business because of those signs.
Some members of the audience said that Brenham has the potential to be a “Hallmark” town with its historical feel, and the city needs to embrace that, at least for the downtown square. Some also argued that sandwich signs fit with that historical feel.
After discussion throughout the meeting, Doland said she would look at making changes to the sandwich board sign section, per interest from local business owners. She said she would look to come to an agreement on an acceptable amount of sandwich signs, as well as the size.
Also discussed at the meeting were mural signs, which will need a permit when there is commercial messaging present. Commercial messaging has to be related to the business or products sold on the premises where the sign is located, and cannot take more than 30-percent of the side of a building.
Doland also spoke about window signs, which are not currently addressed in the city’s ordinance at all. Window signs have been included in the ordinance as a sign that does not require a permit. However, they cannot exceed 25-percent of the window’s surface area.
Doland said this is an item starred for City Attorney Carey Bovey to consider. She said the city is accounting for what is mostly current practice by business owners.
Doland said the changes to the ordinance would be brought before the Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting Monday. She said this is the first draft of the new ordinance, so it is still subject to change.
The city will look for final recommendation on the ordinance from the Commission and the Main Street Board at the end of February, followed by the City Council in March.
There will be another meeting next Thursday to discuss signage from a community-wide perspective, held at 5:15 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
You can find the proposed sign ordinance below.