Gunnison council conditionally approves GIC sign encroachment, opens Main Street code review

Gunnison Mayor Michael Warren said the council conditionally approved a request from GIC to add a digital panel to an existing sign at 100 North Main Street, but tied the approval to a formal amendment of the city’s Main Street overlay standards.

Warren told the council the sign “has always been there” and that GIC wants “to add a digital sign to the bottom” that would extend slightly over the sidewalk; current city standards do not permit sidewalk encroachments. Dennis, a city staff member, advised the council that it could not permanently authorize a sidewalk encroachment under current code but could “conditionally approve it subject to a future code amendment allowing it and then even initiate that code amendment tonight.”

Councilman Peterson moved to initiate a code review of the Main Street overlay standards with the planning commission and to conditionally approve the proposed sign pending any required code amendment; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote with four affirmative votes. The council’s action forwards the matter to zoning/planning for review and any needed public hearings on the amendment.

Why it matters: approving a code amendment would bring nonconforming signs into a consistent regulatory framework and could affect multiple downtown businesses that currently have signs extending over sidewalks. The conditional approval means the sign is allowed only if the code is changed through the city’s formal amendment procedures and the planning commission reviews the proposed standard.

Next steps: the council’s initiation sends the overlay standards review to the planning commission; if the commission and council approve an amendment, the conditional approval could become permanent. The council did not set a specific timeline for the amendment or public hearings.