The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend the Town Council approve a proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance’s Sign Regulations.

The proposed change creates the new sign category of “residential directional,” which includes signs for such activities as garage sales and open houses.

Development Services Director John Wesley told the commission that staff is currently reviewing the entire sign ordinance to assure compliance with a 2015 Supreme Court decision related to a case out of Gilbert, Ariz.

In the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert, the court ruled that local sign regulations cannot be based on the content or message presented on the sign. Signs can only be regulated based on physical characteristics of the sign such as size, location or material, among others, Wesley said.

“There are several examples in the town’s sign ordinance where the regulations are based on the content of the sign,” Wesley said in his written report to the commission. “Therefore, the town has started a process to review and update the entire sign ordinance to be compliant with the Supreme Court ruling.”

He said the biggest challenge for the town is to update the code related to temporary signs including garage sale signs, for sale signs and open house signs.

State law has preempted most local regulation of political signs.

The current ordinance provides for separate categories for garage sale and open house signs. The amendment proposes to designate a single category for “residential directional signs.”

“The new regulations are a combination of the requirements in the code today for the two types of signs,” Wesley said.

At an earlier meeting Commissioner Susan Dempster asked for clarification regarding the ban on such signs in the median, specifically medians that separate main roadways from business or residential frontage access.

Wesley said code enforcement officers treat the median restriction as applying to all medians, including the frontage dividers.

The commission asked that its recommendation include the provision that will allow the temporary signs within the frontage medians. That includes a setback restriction from intersections.

The commission recommendation was on a 5-0 vote and will be forwarded to the Town Council for its consideration.

There were no members of the public present to comment on the proposal during public hearing.