Flower Mound addresses confusing sign rules after business complaints

Laurie Walker, president and CEO of the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce, urged the council to continue engaging with local businesses to streamline permitting and enforcement processes.

The request crystallized during public comment when Clayton Flurry, owner of Flurry's, told the council the town's sign rules are "confusing" and appear to be applied unevenly across developments. "It seems like in some areas of town, you can do one thing and others you can't," Flurry said, pressing for allowances that would let small businesses display A-frame (sandwich-board) signs while preserving the town's visual standards.

Staff presented the town's sign regulations and explained that portable signs such as A-frames are generally prohibited under the sign code unless a specific comprehensive sign package for an area (for example, Riverwalk or Lakeside) explicitly allows them. Krista Crowe, Property Standards, confirmed that portable signs are prohibited under the current ordinance and that the special-event permit cited in one recent violation required signage to be shown on the approved site plan.

Town staff recommended a targeted approach: work with the Chamber and a small set of businesses to identify narrowly defined, "laser-focused" changes (for example, rules permitting small announcement signs during business hours or clarifying when signs can remain overnight). Staff offered to draft ordinance amendments if council directs and proposed convening a focused stakeholder group rather than a full sign-code overhaul.

The council also heard that enforcement typically begins with a notice of violation and staff attempts compliance first. Krista Crowe described the standard compliance cadence: an initial door-hanger notice with a compliance date (generally seven to ten days) followed by reinspection and, if necessary, escalation to citations or third-party correction at the owner's expense.

Next steps: staff will meet with the Chamber cohort to define the scope of possible sign-code changes and return with recommendations; staff also flagged outreach tools and a small-business hub as resources to reduce friction for first-time or small-scale permit applicants.