City in the midst of amending sign ordinance
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
With the intent of enhancing safety and guiding motorists – particularly truck drivers – the City of Whitewater is in the midst of amending its sign ordinance.
As it is currently written, the city’s sign ordinance has a number of technical specifications, including a provision two-way directional signs not have more than 9 square feet of signage. So when they are ready to order their signs from a houston sign company or one within the area of their business, they will need to specify the dimensions to fit in with the new ordinance.
Under existing language, this means directional signage for businesses, organizations and other operations cannot exceed 4-and-a-half square feet on each side – a scenario some officials have deemed as challenging.
“Specifically changing this code … will be especially helpful for truck traffic entering and exiting receiving areas,” Latisha Birkeland, neighborhood services director/city planner, wrote in a memo to the Plan and Architectural Review Commission.
Two weeks ago, commissioners reviewed the proposed ordinance amendment and recommended moving forward with the changes. The Common Council is set to make a final decision on the issue.
Prior to taking action, commissioners held a public hearing. No one spoke for or against the proposed changes.
This issue first bubbled to the surface within the confines of the city’s Community Development Authority. Members of the CDA are recommending the city permit two-way signs to be 9-square signs on each side, for a combined total of 18 square feet.
“This will allow for proper signage for vehicles in both directions,” CDA Executive Director Patrick Cannon wrote in a memo. “The end result will be a better traffic flow through the directional signage.”
The city’s sign ordinance has a number of other technical requirements that will be the same. They include specific sizes of the signs themselves and how far the structures need to be erected from a particular roadway.
