Rapid City Council approves new sign code - KOTA Territory News

There have been two community task forces, a public vote, and countless hours of discussion. 

After recommended changes sat around for a year, the Rapid City Council finally voted Monday night to approve a new sign code.

Council members approved three ordinances at the meeting, all with just one 'no' vote.  Jordan Mason was the lone dissenter on all three.

The ordinances make a number of changes which include: banning animation on all digital billboards, preventing static messages from changing more than every eight seconds, and limiting the distance, size and brightness of signs (both on and off premise).

The new code also incorporates the ban on all new digital billboards approved by voters a year ago.

Sign company leaders, advocates for billboard regulation, and city council members said Monday night the ordinances aren't perfect.  For example, leaders expressed some frustration with the decision on the amount of time between when static messages can change.  But nearly everyone agreed something had to be done before the new council is seated in a couple weeks.

Sign company leaders say a year ago the citizen task force came back with its findings but before any action was taken, a new council was seated.  They say because the issue is so complicated and the learning curve so difficult on sign codes for new council members, the issue then lingered for a year.  They said they could not risk that happening again Monday night.

City council members, advocates for billboard regulation, and sign company leaders say with a compromise now on the books, "they've picked up the can, instead of continuing to kick it down the road."  They say it provides a base which can now be further tweaked as time goes on.

There is litigation still pending concerning the legality of last year's public referendum.