St. Petersburg leaders want to overhaul city's sign laws

ST. PETERSBURG — A week after the City Council rejected a controversial deal that would have allowed digital billboards, the eight-member board has embarked on overhauling rules that regulate all other signs.

During a Thursday workshop, the council discussed ways to go about changing the laws that govern hand-held signs that businesses use to advertise, homeowner association meeting signs, sandwich board signs on sidewalks, and new digital signs called electronic message centers that scroll ads or announcements.

"I'm encouraged to see council broaden its scope to look at the entire ordinance," said Travis Jarman, a neighborhood leader who helped lead the fight to reject a deal to allow six digital billboards in exchange for removing 80 traditional signs.

Don't expect changes soon, it's likely to be a long process.

Council members used Thursday's meeting mostly to listen to staff's comments about its research into the issue. They requested another workshop to consider what changes should be made.

Any changes will almost certainly draw protests from business owners, many of whom depend on signs to tout services or products.

"You will stir up the small business community on this," council member Karl Nurse told city staff. "So it's worth it to engage with them early."