The Planning and Zoning Commission has postponed further discussion on proposed changes to the sign regulations in the Zoning Ordinance until September.

Development Services Director John Wesley updated the commissioners at their June 12 meeting regarding changes he has been working on to the sign ordinance. In January the Town Council voted to repeal major sections of the ordinance with the aim to replace many regulations. The objective was to make the rules more business friendly.

The P&Z Commission got its first look at proposed updates in April and is working with Wesley to fine-tune the language. The focus has been related to temporary and portable signs used by businesses including A-frames and T-frames, banners and post and board used in real estate promotion.

After the June 12 meeting Wesley said he would be addressing a couple of issues brought up by commissioners with a focus on improving an enforcement mechanism.

One of the first actions of the new council that was sworn in in December was to repeal the ordinance approved by the council just a year earlier in November 2021. That version was the fourth major overhaul of the sign regulations in the Zoning Ordinance since 2003. In one instance it took 15 months working with an ad-hoc committee of stakeholders to come up with a proposal approved by the council.

Brief history

Between 1990, the year after incorporation, and 2000, Fountain Hills was one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. The wave of new businesses, housing and real estate signs began to seem out of control. At one time as many as four dozen A-frame business signs could be seen along the stretch of Saguaro Boulevard from Rand Drive to Colony Drive.

New regulations to try and stem the sign clutter were developed by the end of 2003 and adopted by the council in January of 2004. The items regulating A-frame signs totaled 22. Real estate and open house signs accounted for another 22 requirements. There was also a substantial permit fee attached, $82 according to a story in the Jan. 7, 2004, edition of The Times.

Seeing this as somewhat overkill, within five years the Council was looking at new sign regulations, which were approved in November 2008. They loosened the business A-frame rules and addressed some new concerns such as use of neon and garage sale signs.

Within a couple of years business owners were growing concerned as many struggled coming out of the Great Recession. In the summer of 2011, an ad-hoc committee that included business stakeholders, council members and one citizen representative. This group met nearly weekly, and held some contentious discussions, until it had a proposal ready for consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Business owners were not entirely happy, nor were some council members. There was concern about compliance with regulations regarding the A-frame signs and the version the council passed later in 2012 included a sunset clause which had the effect of banning the temporary signs unless progress was shown toward compliance. At one point staff reported that non-compliance with the regulations was about 90%, mostly a requirement the signs be taken in at night, and compliance with the permit process for banners was virtually zero.

The council renewed the two-year sunset regularly as some progress was shown in compliance.

It was a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that prompted another review of sign regulations that were approved by the council in November of 2021. Those amendments were to address concerns related to making sure the sign regulations complied with the court decision.

Just over a year later in January 2023 the council voted to repeal the ordinance and place a moratorium on enforcement until new rules are drawn up. The council was to consider reinstatement of enforcement efforts when it met on June 20 this week. It is uncertain when the new ordinance proposal will be ready for council consideration.