The City of Bloomington is stepping into what promises to be a thorny issue: rules about signs.
City Manager Jeff Jurgens said the city hasn't revised its sign code since the 1970s.
"Honestly, I don't think there's probably going to be too much that's easy about revising a sign code, because I think you're going to find that there are a lot of different opinions out there and that we want to do it right," said Jurgens.
Changes, he said, will require a lot of care because since 1979 a number of court cases have imposed limits on sign regulation.
“We are not able to regulate on content. We cannot say what your sign is going to be able to advertise, and say we do not want any signs, [of a certain type of business],” said Jurgens. “What you can regulate is the size of signs. You can regulate the placement of signs and different things like that.”
Jurgens thinks the city has a nice aesthetic regarding signs right now and should preserve it, though that requires a balanced approach.
“We certainly do not want to hurt businesses that obviously have to advertise their products and advertise what they are,” he said. “Getting the business input will also be important.”
Video signs and LED displays also have developed since the last time Bloomington wrote those regulations.
"The concern there is getting the driver distracted, and does that cause a vehicle crash, or does that cause some sort of other accident?" said Jurgens, adding signs should not be too bright.
He said it is likely many existing signs will be grandfathered in, even if they do not meet a new standard, as long as they do not disrupt traffic or present some other hazard.
“We'll have to see what the process develops,” said Jurgens.
The Town of Normal updated its sign code covering temporary signs in 2022. It took the town about eight months to reach a final draft, following legal research and communication with Realtors, according to staff.
The 2024 town zoning code update in Normal also had changes for permanent signs, primarily cleanup and clarification. That took more than a year.
In Normal, rules for digital signs include a minimum “dwell time,” where nothing is moving for at least four seconds. Digital signs also must not flash, move, or transition. One static image must follow another. Normal does not have standards of brightness, but is researching that.
Staff said the transition to LEDs has made signs, wall-mounted lights, and parking lot lights brighter.
