Cape Girardeau City Council to decide on rules for electronic signs

Joel Neikirk realizes that the electronic sign along Route K that tries to persuade customers to pop in at Popeye's, and others like them, shouldn't be like watching a YouTube video.

"We're not looking to distract drivers," said Neikirk, vice president of operations for MidAmerica Hotels, which manages the Popeye's and both Burger Kings in Cape Girardeau. "I agree with the concept of having guidelines. We just wanted to make sure it didn't go too far the other way and make them ineffective."

That's why Neikirk and other area businessmen with an interest in outdoor advertising were part of the process that will culminate at tonight's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting. The council is set to vote on an ordinance that adopts five sections of the city's development code that relate to outdoor advertising like signs and billboards, as well as slight modifications to previously drafted ordinances regulating fences, retaining walls and landscaping.

Under the new ordinance, regulations are put in place on electronic, video or digital message signs. The city ordinance calls for such maximum size of the message portion of the signs to not exceed 50 square feet and only in commercially zoned areas. They also have to be turned off no later than 10 p.m. and not turned on before 7 a.m. Flashing signs are prohibited, and animated signs -- the ones that show motion animation messages -- are allowed, with the caveat that the city manager determines whether the animation constitutes a traffic hazard. The animation cannot exceed eight seconds and must be followed by a transition of a minimum of 1.5 seconds or a blank slide of 0.5 seconds. Static messages have to be constant for a minimum of 1.5 seconds.

Movies or videos involving live actors or events are not allowed under the new ordinance.

Parking lot landscaping requirements have also been tweaked since the city began looking at adopting a new development code, which began in March. All parking lots within 20 feet of a street right of way would have to have a 10-foot-wide street landscaping strip on private property separating parking areas from the street. Such strips must also contain at least one tree per 50 linear feet of street frontage.

The development code is the second part of an overhaul of the city's rules governing growth and land use. The first phase, a complete revision of the city's zoning ordinance, was approved by the council in early March.

The development code would be for new developments and would not affect existing properties, except those that are upgraded or redeveloped.

City planner Martha Brown said she believes that this is a good ordinance that has been modified after input from several representatives of the business community.

"It makes a lot of improvements," she said. "It's a good step in the right direction toward an improved quality of life in Cape Girardeau. It will improve the appearances over time and I'm pleased with it. We had a really good process."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO