City Council - Ordinance Committee

Easthampton City Council Ordinance Subcommittee Meeting Notes January 23, 2024, 6:00 PM Present: Koni Denham, Salem Derby, Tamara Smith, Homar Gomez I. Introductions to committee members II. All previous minutes have been approved because it’s a new term III. Review of LED sign and electronic message ordinance by Councilor Derby a. Decided to review electronic messaging center sign ordinance i. Mountainview school has electronic messaging center, and the sign is against our zoning. As a result, we sought a municipal exemption which was approved ii.History: when we looked at electronic messaging centers years ago, it was an emerging technology and more often seen in large cities (ex: Las Vegas). 1. Initial ordinance required 100,000 square feet of space and only in industrial business zoning. 2. Since then, technology has improved and we have had some inquiries as to why our sign ordinance is so restrictive, iii. Current issue: 1. Church in town would like to have an electronic sign but because of the restrictive laws on book regarding location, they cannot. This will be going to planning (upcoming 2/27 meeting) 2. How can we update the ordinance but also keep the character of the city intact? 3. Came up with proposed amendments and we can take it to planning board, we can modify it, committee can reject/modify changes. a. Include downtown and highway business districts i. We kept in line with highway business guidelines b. Strike non-message and lights would be off, and that the background couldn’t have color (originally had only one color due to different technology) c. Add section called public service announcements i. Digital signs should have responsibility/capacity to include alerts (amber alerts, silver alerts, weather alerts, etc) 1. ESB, mountain view school, ECC if approved ii.Having decided if it would be special approval, a request, etc. d. Strike: mill industry district in 100,000 square foot buildings only e. No electronic signs after 11, especially in areas with a cohabitation of businesses and residents iv. Smith: concern that if it’s a public service announcement on private business signs, people won’t trust that it’s from the municipality v. Denham: who would be responsible for that? vi. Derby: Police chief, fire chief, mayor would put out mini press releases vii. Denham: Do we need to approve this tonight? viii. Derby: it’s already been voted on to come back to this committee and to go to the planning board. ix. Derby: Have clerk give you the timelines between the planning board and city council. Will this be by right, site approval, or special permit? x.Councilor Kwiecinski: I am concerned about how this would play out with historic areas, be sure to examine those areas. We discuss federal highway standards but those are signs on interstates, so I’m not sure those would be so comparable to small city signage 1. Derby: We don’t have any historic district in Easthampton xi. Councilor Denham: I will reach out to Greg to ask about transportation standards xii. Next action: Planning board joint meeting on the 27th xiii. Motion to adjourn by Derby, seconded by Smith