Agenda - Council - 07/22/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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measure the brightness. of LED billboards; so the viabilit}~ of using this approach on billboards has not been explored. In Seattle, sign Iuminance was found too difficult to measure, so signs are visually inspected. `Then complaints from the public are received.. Sign o«mers are then contacted and asked to adjust sign. luminance accordingly. Both Mesa; Arizona and Lincoln; Nebraska have included a requirement for «~ritten certification from the sign manufacturer that the light intensity has been preset not to exceed the illumination levels established by their code; and the preset intensity level is protected from end user manipulation by password protected soft«~are or other method approved by the appropriate city official. This language appears to offer the advantage of ensuring that electronic signs, at a minimum, cannot exceed a certain established level of brightness. At a minunum, it is important for communities to require all electronic signs to be equipped with a dimmer control. A requirement for both a dimmer control and a photo cell, which constantly keeps track of ambient light conditions and adjusts sigh brightness accord'ulgly, is optinal. Over tune, the LEDs used ii electronic signs have a tendency to lose some of their intensity; and an owner may choose to have the sign adjusted acid calibrated; which involves adjustii7g the level. of electrical current in a manner that. affects the brightness of the sign. This occurs over the course of two or three years. Having maximum nit levels established would ensure that the sign company has upper limits to work «jith as far as adjusti7g the sign is concerned. 4.3 Public Re~Tiew Most conununities establish rules within their'', sign code and do not create opportunities for electronic signs to be approved through conditional use permits or special use permits. Some communities with special overlay districts, or 'areas that are oriented toward entertairunent and night life, have established a revie«~ process for. electronic signs; or for various functions of electronic signs such as animation and video. ~, Other coirununities take the opposite approa~ controls v,Thatsoever, except in certa.ii special historic do~~~ntown district; where the signs are application of electronic signs to meet their neec z; where flley allow electronic signs «%ith no areas; such as a historic overlay district, or a rohibited. Each commwiity needs to tailor their As of the tvritina of this report; no ordinances ~~ave been discovered that have a special review committee. just for the purpose of electronc signs. Typically, sign regulations established in the zoning ordinance would be reviewed in accordance with existing review and approval processes. As with other development features, dynamic sgnage should be either prohibited, permitted; or conditional depending upon the zoning disixict and/or the specific features of the sign as established within the city's regulations (i.e. size, specific location ~T~~ith respect to the adjacent road«~ay, zoning district, proximity of sensitive uses). The recommended review process for permitted dynamic signs should be the same as procedures already in place for administrative ~_ ~-27 -235-