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discussed at that meeting, staff has added certain details which ate incorporated into the proposed
<br />ordinance.
<br />ANALYSIS
<br />The primary direction from the Board of County Commissioners to staff was to revise the County's
<br />regulation of temporary signs requiring permits (LDR Section 956.15) to eliminate content based
<br />regulation of signs. In reviewing the overall sign ordinance, however, staff determined that certain sign
<br />definitions, as well as categories of permit -exempt signs, also needed to be revised to serve content -
<br />neutral regulation of signs. In drafting the proposed amendments, staff's approach was to revise solely
<br />content -based regulations by tying those regulations to size, location, number, and duration of display,
<br />instead of to sign content.
<br />Definitions
<br />LDR Chapter 901, Definitions, currently contains 48 definitions relating to signs. Most of those sign
<br />definitions are content—neutral, such as descriptions of free-standing signs, animated signs, and canopy
<br />signs. Some of the definitions, however, are content based descriptions, and therefore are proposed to be
<br />removed from Chapter 901. The sign definitions proposed to be removed are listed as follows:
<br />Sign, construction Sign, development Sign, directory
<br />Sign, political Sign, real estate Sign, special event
<br />Other sign definitions, such as sign, directional and sign, memorial, which could be construed as content
<br />based descriptions, are proposed to remain in Chapter 901, but with revised descriptions emphasizing
<br />location as the basis of the definitions.
<br />Permit -exempt signs
<br />Section 956.11 of LDR Chapter 956, Sign regulations, lists signs that are exempt from needing a county
<br />permit, provided certain criteria are met. Permit -exempt signs include signs required by law, such as
<br />traffic regulatory signs; real estate signs (subject to certain criteria); garage sale signs (subject to certain
<br />criteria); carried signs; and non-commercial decorative art. Some of the listed exempt signs, such as
<br />garage sale and real estate signs, are currently distinguished by content and have different criteria to meet
<br />based on content. Therefore, those regulations are in need of revision.
<br />In an effort to eliminate content—based distinctions of permit -exempt signs, staff is proposing a new
<br />category of permit -exempt signs: "temporary signs of limited geographic scope and number." This new
<br />category is to apply to signs that are currently exempt from needing a permit, such as garage sale signs
<br />And real estate signs, by regulating the size, number and duration of temporary signs displayed,
<br />irrespective of sign content. Although this new category of permit -exempt signs will eliminate content
<br />based distinctions, it will still generally maintain the criteria for permit -exempt signs in the existing
<br />ordinance, such as allowing for but limiting garage sales .signs and real estate signs, but with minor
<br />adjustments in duration of display to provide for uniformity of regulation within the category.
<br />Also under Section 956.11, staff is proposing to revise the description of "temporary construction signs"
<br />to "temporary signs on constructions sites," and revise the description `free expression sign" to "on -
<br />premises yard or window sign." In both cases, the new distinctions are based on location instead of sign
<br />content.
<br />P190
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