Proposed Amendments to Sign Ordinance

Over the past five months City of Oak Creek staff has been presenting various sign ordinance issues and possible amendments to the City’s sign ordinance to the Plan Commission. Staff has taken the Plan Commission recommendations and comments and has made several proposed amendments to the City’s Sign Ordinance. We would like the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce and the business community to have an opportunity to look at the proposed amendments and provide any feedback to the City.

Some of the highlights of the amended ordinance include the following:

1. Requires that any residential development signs that are placed in a median must be in an outlot
2. Revised wall sign size limits to allow for up to 200 square feet of wall signage if a building is 300 or more feet from the right-of-way.
3. Requires that all pole and ground signs display the street number on the sign for easy identification by police, fire, and EMS .
4. Eliminated the requirement that there be 12 feet of clearance from the bottom of a sign frame to the ground for pole signs that do not have vehicle parking underneath the sign. The original intent of this ordinance was to make sure that vehicles could drive under the sign however most businesses with pole signs either have them outside of the parking areas or in a landscaped island within the parking lot where vehicles cannot go underneath.
5. Amended roof sign regulations so that the size requirements match what is allowed for wall signs. Also requires all roof signs to be approved by the Plan Commission.
6. Added specific language to address changeable copy and electronic messageboard signs including restrictions on size, color, and text height.
7. Added window sign regulations.
8. Established a set of planned sign program requirements for all developments with 3 or more tenants. This includes language that would only allow businesses with their own exterior entrance in multi-tenant centers to have a wall sign. The Plan Commission would review and approve the planned sign program and after its approval all signs within that development would need to adhere to the approved plan.

All of the proposed revisions are in bold lettering. You are encouraged to read through it and either call, write or e-mail the Planning Department with any comments. Staff will compile all comments into a document for presentation to the Plan Commission and Common Council when they review the ordinance. Any correspondence should be sent to Jeff Fortin, City of Oak Creek , 8640 S. Howell Avenue , Oak Creek , WI 53154 . Or you can call at 414-768-6528. Comments can also be sent via e-mail to jfortin@oakcreekwi.org

Sign Ordinance Draft (.pdf, 100kb)