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Planning Commission forwards Sign Ordinance to BOS - At the 31 March 2011 PC Hearing the Sign Ordinance revision was recommended for approval. the 31 March 2011 PC Hearing Sign Ordinance Staff Report and Draft Ordinance with Appendix added to right column of this page on 29 March 2011
31 March Planning Commission Public Hearings on revisions to the County Sign Ordinance - Since the Public Hearing for these changes on 24 February 2011 increased uses for florescent lights have been removed from the draft, but it is still a work in progress. CFFC's current analysis is posted below.
You are encouraged to down load a copy of the draft, available in the right hand column of this page, to review it, and express your views to your Supervisor.
CFFC Analysis - March 2011
In the current draft ordinance the County considers a "Freestanding" sign to be something either mounted on a pole or polesto be the same asa "Monument Sign" mounted on the ground. But should they be considered as the same? Are they not very different entities? Monuments Signs are more massive obtrusive structures that are usually seen at the entrance of a shopping center, which would contain the names of several businesses. But, the new Sign Ordinance (SO) does not make a distinction between a Freestanding pole Sign and a Monument Sign, in fact the new SO even gives a bonus increase in size, if you build a Monument Sign, which is lower in height than the pole sign would be. Even for a single business a Monument Sign is allowed. Every business in a Service District which is located on a separate lot could have a Monument Sign of 60 sq. ft. This could result in sign over load! The following figure is a not to scale depiction of the current ordinance and various options in the proposed revision.
Click on the image to see a printable copy of this figure
It is suggested that Monument Signs of any size be reserved for only Commercial or Industrial uses which have more that one business on a single site. Or a single business with more than set amount of road frontage anda building of more than a defined sq. ft. size. An example would be a big box store on a single lot like Wal-Mart in Warrenton. Fortunately, at the most recent work session of the Planning Commission, it was decided that they would not allow any increase in the size of neon signs than are allowed under the present SO. Today one neon sign is allowed inside the building usually in the window such as "OPEN" or "CLOSED" . Keep your eye on this neon ball, because the business community could push to allow more neon signs. You can see what was contemplated on page 3 of the appendix.
CHANGES TO THE SIGN ORDINANCE There are many different changes to the new Sign Ordinance (SO) as proposed by the Planning Commission. The Commission has been working for many months on the SO which was developed by a committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors. There are several different kinds of signs:
1) Free Standing signs which can be either elevated on poles (Pole Sign) (shown on page 14) or one that is a Monument Sign built on the ground (shown on page 3), 2)Building Signs i.e. a sign attached to a building. 3) Directional Signs such as "exit" or"entrance" .
The new Sign Ordinance (SO) is organized by three categories:
1) By use i.e. Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, 2) By location i.e. Inside a Service District outside a Service District. There a total of nine Service Districts in the County such as New Baltimore, Marshall, Bealeton etc. The vast majority of the land outside the Service Districts in zoned for agricultural uses. 3) The third category of signs is those located in the 40 villages and settlements throughout the County such as Upperville, Orleans, Markham, Goldvein, etc.
In general the new SO allows for bigger signs. The height of the sign maybe lower than it would be today, but if the sign is lowered say from a height of 20 feet to a height of8 feet then the allowed square footage of the sign can be much larger; as an example : if a Pole Sign is lowered from 20feet in height to an 8 foot high Monument Sign, then the sq. ft. can be increased from 50 sq. ft. to 60 sq. ft. See Figure
CFFC December 2010 Analysis
The changes address the general framework of the ordinance. Basically, under the existing ordinance, an overall sign area for a lot is based on a sign budget calculated from the amount of building frontage, with a maximum square footage on the free standing signs, and building signs allowed depending on the remaining available sign budget area.
The proposed amendment eliminates the sign budget concept and specifies the allowable number and size of each type of sign (freestanding, building, directional) based on the type of land use and zoning for a lot. Land Use is divided into 3 categories: Agricultural, which includes farmers markets, greenhouses, and wineries; Institutional; and Commercial and Industrial and Mixed Uses. Within each of the three land use categories, the sign ordinance has two columns for the two different zoning categories: commercial and industrial zoning in one, and rural, residential and commercial village district in the other. Of note is that CV has been added to the rural and RA category. We are sure the Planning Commission will take their time to ensure that all elements of the community are properly addressed.
