The Wright City Board of Aldermen approved amendments to the city’s signage regulations at their March 13 meeting. The measure was originally considered at their Feb. 27 meeting and was left without a vote since board members felt the ordinance needed work. 

City Clerk Abbie Ogborn clarified that the bill had gone without a vote at the previous meeting and had returned before the board following some changes made by Alderman Karey Owens. 

“So that changed the definition for temporary signs and then where it was in the code was different, so now it’s 90 days for a temporary sign,” said Ogborn. “We removed the section that talked about signs that are grandfathered and we’ll just resort back to our property maintenance code to get those addressed.”

Concerns about temporary signs were raised at the Feb. 27 meeting since the board did not want to place unnecessary burdens on businesses and nonprofits in the area and force them to update signage immediately. 

“That’s one of the reasons we pushed it off, because we didn’t want to put any undue burden on current businesses,” said Hakim. “So  they are fine until (signs) come into disrepair, at which point Lance (Bauer) will have that conversation with them anyway and they’ll have to upgrade to a more permanent sign.”

The changes to the ordinance also added a requirement for a conditional use permit for any illuminated sign, regardless of what the relevant property is zoned as. 

The regulations for temporary signs also required they be placed at least 15 feet from the curb, placing them outside of the city’s right of way, provided those placing the signs have permission from the property owner. 

Pastor Joe Purl was in attendance and inquired about signs being used at Immanuel UCC and the Wright City Food Pantry. As long as temporary signs are up for less than the maximum 90 days, Owens clarified they would not need a permit for the signage. 

“Any sign that’s on that (board) I would consider a temporary sign, because it’s not gonna leave up the (Vacation Bible School) sign for six months right?” said Owens. 

City Attorney Paul Rost also cleared up any confusion about construction signs, which are often placed near new developments outlining the changes that are coming with the construction. 

He said developers will still be allowed to place those signs although they must be placed in the same lot where the construction is being done. 

In total developers can have up to three signs with a total area of 64 square feet. 

“They can still put signs up, we didn’t change that, that’s still the same,” said Rost. 

The ordinance was approved unanimously.