HOLMES BEACH – Backlit signs in the residential and A-1 district along Gulf Drive may have to be replaced under new regulations being considered by the city.
Commissioners discussed the changes to city sign restrictions during a Feb. 23 work session. City Planner Bill Brisson reported that there are four backlit signs in the district along Gulf Drive, but only one has a city permit. And that one, he added, was permitted by mistake.
Brisson said the four signs are at Resort Sixty-Six, the White Sands Beach Resort, Cedar Cove and the Anna Maria Beach Resort. The one at the Anna Maria Beach Resort is the one approved and granted a permit by former Building Official Jim McGuinness. However, no backlit illuminated signs are currently allowed outside of commercial districts, according to city codes.
Commissioners said they are not considering allowing illuminated signs in the residential district where the Anna Maria Beach Resort is located on Gulf Drive. However, they are considering offering the owners a sunset clause period where the sign can be used to help recoup the expense of installing the sign.
During the meeting, commissioners agreed to a five-year sunset period for that sign. The other backlit signs will have six months to either be replaced or have the backlit capabilities removed. Illumination would then be allowed only by a single spotlight.
There was no discussion on allowing the owners of the Anna Maria Beach Resort to use an LED board on their sign during the sunset clause period if approved by two commission votes during public hearings.
And though signs are being allowed for property identification purposes, commissioners agreed that they prefer the low, often wooden signs lit by a single spotlight used by many properties in the area instead of the more commercial-looking backlit signs.
Brisson said he would talk with a lighting expert to determine appropriate brightness, lumen output, and sign size before the issue comes back before commissioners at a future work session. The ordinance will have to pass two public hearings and votes by commissioners before it can be enforced.
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