Pasco County is getting ready to ease a ban on digital signs, but will retain strict limits.
The Pasco County Commission reviewed a proposal on Jan. 9 that would allow digital signs for “regional attractors” that hold a minimum of 50 tourist-related events a year.
The venues must be located on at least 200 acres or have buildings totaling a minimum of 35,000 square feet to qualify.
The venues also must have 450 parking spaces or a minimum seating capacity for 2,000 people, and must have frontage on an arterial road or Interstate 75.
No digital signs would be permitted within Pasco’s designated northeast rural district. Currently, some area schools are permitted for digital signs, including Pasco-Hernando State College.
According to the proposed ordinance, the signs for regional tourist attractions could display “multiple differing messages in a short amount of time to the traveling public without creating the clutter of temporary signage and advertising devices.”
The two immediate beneficiaries of the new sign rules could be Pasco County Fairgrounds and Florida Hospital Center Ice.
Pasco County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the matter at two public hearings. The first was on Jan. 23 in New Port Richey; the second on Feb. 6 in Dade City.
“We’ve been trying to do this for quite some time,” said Dicky Brown, president of the Pasco County Fair Association.
The Pasco County Fair is held there annually but, Brown said, the venue hosts many more events throughout the year.
Some of those events include mud runs, gun shows and circuses.
“The digital sign would definitely give us some more attention,” Brown said.
Brown also noted that the county also could use the sign to get messages to residents during emergencies.
In recent months, the county has been addressing the matter of digital advertising in the age of LED lights, and rotating displays.
In February, commissioners agreed to lift a 17-year ban on digital billboards in a deal with outdoor advertising companies to eliminate older, static billboards.
The goal is to end clutter and blight on county roads.
Digital signs generally would remain banned.
The new rules under consideration would be the exception.
Restrictions on permitted digital signs would include:
- A height limit of 11 feet, as part of a monument sign
- A maximum of 60 seconds each for rotating messages
- No special effects, such as flashes, scrolls or animation
Published January 24, 2018
