Amador County – Jackson City Council on Monday requested a “redline” version of the latest draft of its sign ordinance, to be able to see and decide on changes that it wants.

Vice Mayor Connie Gonsalves said she was surprised by some of the changes made to the draft ordinance, thinking that after the last meeting and council input, she was expecting no changes. Gonsalves said she remembered saying: “I really am not in favor of any of it,” and she preferred keeping the ordinance the same and she “wanted no change.”

Mayor Pat Crew said he thought that the issue of window signs should be addressed, but that was the only change he thought would occur. Councilman Wayne Garibaldi said the current ordinance did not address digital and electronic signage, which he thought the changes would address.

Gonsalves said in the workshop, Jan. 23, they also discussed the “factor of enforcement,” and they could not discuss that fully until they know the changes.

City Manager Mike Daly said staff would prepare a redline version that shows where the changes were made in city code, and he would also gather information about enforcement and fairness. He said some people are allowed window signs and some are not. The Council continued the public hearing to its next meeting.

City Planner Susan Peters presented a list of changes or non-changes she said was directed from the Council at their workshop. She thought that the council definitely wanted cabinet signs and pole signs taken off the table.

Peters said the draft ordinance would make no change in pole sign regulations, allowing signs of a maximum 35 feet in height and 32 square feet per side. It made no change for internally lit cabinet signs, of which current regulations allow only lettering and logos. It also has no change to banner signs, which would allow two signs to be displayed three times a year for 30 days each.

The draft also would have no amortization period, as recommended by the Planning Commission, that is, no time limit for signs to meet ordinance requirements. Peters said it instead “grandfathers” in the existing, non-conforming signs, with no need to be replaced, unless work being done on a sign is at a cost of 50 percent or more of the value of the sign. She said City Attorney Andrew Morris approved that wording.

She said the Council “directed staff to amend the nonconforming sign section of the ordinance to allow for existing nonconforming signs to be grandfathered,” and the section was amended to grant “all existing permanent signs nonconforming status.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.