Commissioners approve Ponca City sign ordinance

Ponca City’s Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance Monday night revising the city’s sign regulations.

The revisions are intended to cut down on the amount of “sign clutter” in Ponca City, according to Chris Henderson, Development Services director.

Henderson said the sign regulations were first written in 1999 and revisions have been made since then. In 2009, a master plan developed by Ponca City residents addressed the issue of sign clutter.

The new ordinance will go into effect in two months, and business owners will have an additional six months to comply with the ordinance.

The ordinance encourages multi-tenant signs to be grouped together in strip shopping centers. New roof signs would be prohibited. It also provides for institutional signs, such as those for schools and churches, in residential areas.

Henderson said the ordinance also addresses banners and electronic message boards. A banner can be displayed continuously for 90 days before it must be removed. The same banner could be used again the next year for recurring events. An organization would be allowed to display different banners, each for a maximum of 90 days at a time.

Dilapidated signs can be declared a public nuisance under the new ordinance. A business would be given six months to remove such a sign, or sell or lease the property.

Mobile signs will be allowed under the ordinance as long as they remain in use and convey a message.

A major change involves off-premise garage sale signs. They will no longer be allowed at intersections or locations away from the garage sale.