Proposed sign rules to restrict size, height

Mathis Winkler

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

North Las Vegas won't turn pretty overnight, but city officials hope stricter regulations for business signs will help improve the town's appearance over time.

The proposed rules -- the most stringent in the Las Vegas Valley -- would prohibit new signs from being hoisted high into the air on a pole in favor of so-called monument signs, which are based on the ground.

They also would reduce the height of new signs from 60 feet tall in commercial districts to a 20-foot maximum.

The new standards are not being welcomed by developers, who say they will give established businesses with large pole signs an unfair advantage over new ones that are limited to shorter monument signs, an attorney representing area developers said.

"If one side of the street is allowed to have 40- or 50-foot-high signs and the other side's restricted to monument signs, there will be some problems," Bob Gronauer said.

He added that several of his clients who could be affected by the new rules were reviewing them and soon would seek a compromise.

But Mayor Michael Montandon defended the proposed rules. "You just got to do it right," he said.

Henderson and Las Vegas limit signs to 40 feet in height and Clark County has no restrictions in commercial areas. All allow pole signs. Las Vegas officials are reviewing their rules, and county officials said they might follow suit.

North Las Vegas officials have faced similar criticism since introducing design standards for new developments, both commercial and residential, a few years ago. Developers have complained that they are required to add more landscaping to their projects than established neighbors.

The sign ordinance, however, avoids a problem that stymied an attempt to revise billboard rules. North Las Vegas officials in 1999 limited billboards to a corridor along Interstate 15 and required owners of billboards in other areas of the city to take them down after 10 years.

Billboard industry officials objected to the change so strongly, they convinced the 2001 Legislature to pass a law that forced the city to compensate billboard owners for the lost sites.

City officials, noting North Las Vegas could not afford to pay for the existing billboards that would have to come down, backed off that part of the ordinance.

The benefits of the new sign rules will be two-fold, city officials say.

The city's newer areas would avoid deterioration in the first place, and business owners in North Las Vegas' older parts would be encouraged to replace their signs with more appealing ones.

The city may even make redevelopment money available to help business owners pay for new signs in the old part of town.

"It prevents the downturn of neighborhoods," Jacque Risner, the city's community development director, said. In addition, monument signs last longer than pole signs, she said.

City Council members appear ready to take the first step downtown. They are expected to approve new signs and information kiosks for the City Hall complex in the near future.

"We want to lead the way and show people that we're willing to invest money in our community," Risner said.

As city officials push for more revitalization projects in North Las Vegas' dilapidated neighborhoods, new businesses with new signs may encourage nearby store owners to follow suit, Councilwoman Shari Buck said.