CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Charleston City Council unanimously approved an amendment Monday to the city’s zoning ordinance that removes size limits for digital signage used by businesses.
The amendment, which was first approved by the Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee, eliminates the previous requirement that digital signs be 12 feet or smaller.
Committee Chair Mary Beth Hoover said the change does not remove other restrictions governing digital signage.
“It’s still going to have to conform with all the other restrictions that we have on these free-standing signs, like a minimum of 15 minutes as they turnover, brightness, etc.” Hoover said.
Hoover said she recommended approval because the amendment passed unanimously in both the Planning, Streets and Traffic Committee and the Planning Commission.
Council member Beth Kerns also supported the amendment, saying it could be a benefit to local businesses, including grocery stores.
Kerns said the change allows businesses to modernize their signage while maintaining safeguards.
“Brings it into the more modern look and appeal,” Kerns said. “It will only change every 15 minutes; it won’t be like the billboards in the area and then in the daytime the luminous will be higher and at night it will be reduced so it’s not blinding.”