River Heights commissioners refine draft sign ordinance; debate political content and temporary-yard rules

The River Heights Planning and Zoning Commission spent substantial time on Jan. 27 reviewing a revised sign ordinance intended to clarify the difference between temporary and portable signs and address recurring concerns from the city council.

Keenan Ryan introduced the draft prepared by Susan Rasmussen. Commissioners recounted a recent example of an offensive political sign on private property and asked whether the city could limit such messages. Several members said the city’s authority is limited on content and that regulation is more clearly applied to size, placement and duration. As one commissioner summarized: “You can say how big [a sign] is,” but not necessarily “what’s on there,” and commissioners agreed to consult legal counsel for guidance.

Members supported a staff recommendation to replace all uses of the term 'portable' with 'temporary' to reduce confusion. The commission flagged a provision allowing temporary yard signs for events that must be removed "at sundown" and limited to 72 hours; commissioners asked staff to clarify whether 'sundown' means the end of each event night or the final day of an event and to specify how long before an event a sign may be displayed.

The commission also recommended separating real-estate 'for sale' signs into a standalone paragraph (or paragraph 6) to avoid conflating them with event-related temporary signage and discussed a short removal window after a sale. Susan agreed to make the edits and return the draft to the commission for final review before referral to the city council.

No formal ordinance vote was taken; staff will revise language on definitions and time limits and consult with the city attorney as needed.