Rogers Council to vote on new sign ordinance
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/66748/
ROGERS — After discussions with the Rogers Planning Commission in August, the city’s Planning and Transportation Department will come before the City Council on Tuesday for approval of its new sign ordinance.
In a September e-mail to planning commissioners, City Planner Derrell Smith outlined changes that came about after the commission meetings.
“ It now allows LED signs in the C-2 and C-4 zones only, ” Smith wrote. “ I have taken the flashing and animation out of the ordinance. There is a section that says the signs cannot be blinding or distracting. That should cover any signs like the hotel in Bentonville that was a distraction from (Interstate ) 540 a few years ago. At the chamber’s request, I raised the interstate sign height back to 70 feet, but left the distance from I-540 at 500 feet.
Smith said the ordinance will continue to prohibit billboards, due to the consensus of the commission.
“ The sign ordinance also raises the amount of wall signage from 200 square-feet, ” Smith wrote. “ It will now be calculated on the amount of wall space, so a large building could have up to 400 square-feet in our commercial zones. ”
Smith told the commissioners he had the cooperation of the business community, particularly those responsible for the signs.
“ The sign representatives at our last meeting stated they thought the proposed ordinance was fair and they could work with the ordinance, ” he wrote.
The council also will vote on a resolution setting the city taxes for 2008, which will be collected in 2009.
City Treasurer Jerry Hudlow called the resolution a housekeeping measure, saying the tax rates remain unchanged from 2007.
Under the resolution, the city would authorize the Benton County Quorum Court to impose a 1. 4-mil property tax rate for the city’s general purposes, a 1. 5-mil tax rate for improvement bonds, a. 5-mil rate for each the firemen’s and police pensions, and a. 9-mil rate for the library, resulting in a 4. 8-mil rate for all city property taxes.
The council is also slated to vote on:
• An ordinance vacating a portion of the West Cedar Street right of way;
• An ordinance authorizing contracts with various companies for the construction and completion of the trail system and waiving the requirements of competitive bidding;
• A resolution authorizing a contract with Sweetser Consulting of Fayetteville for improvements to the Pleasant Crossing Parkway.