By Megan Wehring
DRIPPING SPRINGS – Dripping Springs Elementary School will be getting a new sign for the front of the campus.
A comparison of the old sign and new sign at Dripping Springs Elementary School.
With a 3-2 vote, the Dripping Springs City Council approved a sign variance request from Dripping Springs ISD to replace the current sign outside of Dripping Springs Elementary School – council members Travis Crow and Geoffrey Tahuahua were the dissenting votes. The district’s request is to grant an exemption from Section 26.01.004(b)(3) which includes electronic signs as sign types that cannot be expressly authorized.
The proposed new sign is an internally illuminated monument sign which includes an LED display screen. For a Monument Identification Sign within a district such as a government utility institutional (GUI), the regulations are as follows:
• Eight ft in height
• Up to 48 sq. ft. of signable area
• The sign may not be installed within any PUEs
The sign is proposed to be eight feet in height and 32 square feet in overall signable area (including the LED display).
The city has requested that DSISD comply with the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) Texas Chapter’s Texas Model Sign Ordinance, according to building official Sarah Cole, leaving city staff to recommend approval of the sign variance request by the city council.
Council member Travis Crow questioned where to draw the limit for special cases like this.
“If we have these ordinances, we have them for a reason,” Crow said. “We keep on granting this and people keep on coming in. Where do we stop? Why do we even have them if we are going to keep on giving variances for this?”
Cole said that the district does have some mitigation measures but there are no hardships – it’s ultimately based on city staff deliberating on the recommended approval. DSISD also has the same type of message boards at its other properties, Cole explained, and the district wants to remain consistent.
While electronic signs are prohibited in the city’s code of ordinances, they can still be approved on a case-by-case basis.
“The sign ordinance does allow administrative approval of a variance to allow an electronic sign,” said Michelle Fischer, city administrator. “I know they are prohibited but it does allow that. They can be approved and what we always look at is [whether] they are doing something that exceeds the code in other ways. It’s a much smaller sign, a nicer sign that is there right now. They did agree to comply with the International Dark Sky Association Texas Chapter’s Texas Model Sign Ordinance for this type of sign.”
