Planners will take a closer look at whether distance rules are fair for those who want to use a new method of advertising on city streets.
Red Deer city council raised questions Monday over whether separation distances for reader board signs, or dynamic signs, are a good idea.
City administration is looking at adopting new regulations related to these signs that display rotating messages or images, like the one found on Red Deer College property near Taylor Drive.
One rule calls for limiting the number of such signs along a street through a 150-metre separation at the minimum.
Councillor Frank Wong wondered if that limitation was good for business.
“Whoever is in first (would get the sign approval),” said Wong. “It’s not really fair.”
Questions also arose on another rule which suggested a reader sign couldn’t be within 75 m of homes.
“Spacing may be a little over ambitious,” said Mayor Morris Flewwelling.
For instance, he said a number of homes are within 75 m of Gaetz Avenue.
The proposed regulations include a requirement that electronic messages be displayed for at least three seconds, their level of brightness be acceptable to the city’s development officer, and the dynamic portion of a sign cover not more than 25 per cent of its total area.
More than a dozen businesses and other organizations have these dynamic signs, including Westerner Park.
Council delayed first reading of the land use bylaw amendment for up to four weeks.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com