Council passes amended sign code language

In a special session Thursday night, Stanwood City Council heard a second reading of the sign code ordinance, amending language, and passed it unanimously, accepting council members Andy Chappel and Leonard Kelley, who were absent.

Passing the code’s amended language is only phase one of the sign code changes in progress, as Rebecca Lind, the city’s planning director, explained at the last council meeting. Now that the language has been clarified, the next step is to look at the regulations themselves.

One regulation, however, was changed in the process of amending the language. There is now a sign modification permit fee of $10, which covers the replacement of lettering or changing out the sign’s face, providing the new face is of the same structure, design and material as the old one.

This fee is much less expensive than the current fee of $100 for a sign permit, and allows business owners to update or make basic modifications without paying the full permit fee.

Mayor Dianne White said, “I think this sends a message to the community that we want to work with our businesses and encourage new businesses. I’m pleased with this.”

There are a few stipulations for the permit.

Businesses must already have a valid permit, issued after October 2000, when significant changes were made to the codes, and signs must conform to current code.

The $10 permit fee also assumes the new sign faces will use existing connection hardware, and that the new face doesn’t require additional reviews for wind load, structural integrity, hardware or electrical features.

As long as business owners are essentially replacing “like with like,” the fee is merely $10.