Simpler, more flexible rules for posting signs at commercial buildings could be coming to Arlington.
The Zoning Ordinance Committee of the Planning Commission considered various possible zoning amendments at a meeting last week.
Commissioners expressed hope for removing some of the red tape that, historically, has led to significant delays in some new businesses putting up signage. Still, some want to be cautious about thorough engagement on the topic and striking a balance that protects the character of local neighborhoods.
The goal is to provide property owners and tenants with more flexibility and fewer bureaucratic hoops, said Jill Hunger, assistant director of the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.
The proposal calls for “strategic amendments” rather than a complete overhaul, she said at the meeting.
Under the provisions, “there might be some buildings where there is no change — for some other buildings … there will be a change,” Hunger said.
Provisions include an increase in the allowable size, number and placement of signage 40 or more feet above street level. Current restrictions on signage above 40 feet on buildings less than 70 feet tall would be removed.
The calculation of maximum signage size would be based on the width of the base of a building, rather than the often smaller width at the level where signage will be installed.
Signage could go on approved landscape planters, retaining walls, screening walls and structural walls. There also would be more flexibility for placing temporary ground-level signage on buildings undergoing construction.
A current restriction that prohibits advertising products or businesses unconnected with the building would be retained.
The draft proposal is expected to come to the Planning Commission in July before County Board consideration. Any changes ultimately adopted would amend the signage ordinance that most recently received a major overhaul in 2012 and has seen a few tweaks since.
Until 2012, the process for a property owner to obtain approval for exterior signage could be arduous. More than 30% of the requests had to go through a process that included Planning Commission and County Board review.
With Arlington then, as now, facing challenges in attracting and retaining corporate tenants, the rewrite of 2012 was designed to make the county more business-friendly.
In the end, some residents’ fears about areas of Arlington becoming the equivalent of neon-lit Las Vegas or Times Square did not materialize in the years since 2012.
“We can loosen things up even a little bit more,” ZOCO member and Planning Commission chair Tenley Peterson said.
Still, ZOCO member James Lantelme cautioned staff to remember one of the key lessons of 2012 this time around. He urged them not to assume civic and neighborhood leaders across the county were necessarily engaged and supportive of the proposed changes.
“There was a lot of concern” raised during the 2012 ordinance rewrite, Lantelme said.
“There’s always concern in the neighborhoods about signs that can be a seen in the neighborhood,” he said, urging staff to engage in consultation with the Arlington County Civic Federation on the matter.
Existing limitations on signage facing both residential neighborhoods and federal property are not slated to be changed, county staff said.
