Gulf Shores considering regulations for sign structures, Gulf Place info displays

 Gulf Shores considering regulations for sign structures, Gulf Place info displays
By John Mullen
At a recent city council work session, signs were a hot topic. New regulations were considered for sign structures and signs for instructions at the revitalized Gulf Place beachfront were studied as well. Also, during the session, the council considered buying a portable X-ray machine for the police department with help from a grant.
“Most of the signs in the city are attractive right now,” City Planner Andy Bauer told the council. “What we don’t want is someone to use our regulations and build something that would not be attractive. Right now, there is an opportunity for someone to do that.”
The problem, Bauer said, is city ordinances regulate the size of the sign but not the size of the structure holding it. A sign itself is limited to 96 square feet.
“No one’s really done it yet but they could build a huge wall,” Bauer said. “You would put a 25-foot by 100-foot wall and put your 96-square-foot sign on it and that’s what we’re trying to eliminate.”
To fix this problem Bauer and city staff have proposed counting the surface of any structure holding a sign that is two feet wide or wider toward the 96-square-foot limit.
Rick Armstrong of third-generation Modern Signs of Gulf Shores made a presentation to the council showing some of his company’s award-winning signs that would have to be significantly smaller if they were held to the proposed new standard.
“It’s all about aesthetics and trying to make something look nice,” Armstrong said. “There needs to be a restriction but I don’t think two feet is quite it. Maybe it’s four feet, maybe it’s six feet. I don’t know. I’d hate to be restricted from a design point of only having two feet.”
Mayor Robert Craft said after the presentation some more work needed to be done on the ordinance before it was considered by the council. He asked Planning Commission Chairman Bob Steiskal about the new regulations his panel voted for unanimously.
“We didn’t have the advantage of seeing some of the actual signage to consider,” Steiskal said. “Other than that it was purely an explanation where we went with the two-foot wide supports. There’s definitely a preference pushing for more monument-style signs.”
It was decided to delay any action until more study was done. Armstrong said he would work with the city to help iron some new regulations.
“That was left out of the ordinance in the rewrite and historically it was 12 inches wide and we’re doubling the allowance in this revision and that was pretty much the limited the discussion at the planning commission,” Councilman Philip Harris, also a member of the planning commission, said. “Not really understanding the impact it would have on the signs.”
Craft suggested the rewrite come before the planning commission before coming to a city council vote.
Gulf Place
Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Grant Brown said his department is studying ways to develop tasteful signage to let beachgoers know what is and what is not allowed at the revitalized Gulf Place.
“The success of Gulf Place and the new beachfront is continuing to be more and more popular,” Brown said. “Along the lines of the popularity of that, we felt it was important to once again confirm and amend any restrictions on activities that are allowed at the Gulf Place beachfront. That will allow us to better inform the public and manage this unique facility for the enjoyment of all.”
Among those are no pets, no glass, no smoking, no motorized vehicles including drones, no tent structures and no fishing in areas of the city’s beach. Alcohol has always been banned from the city’s public beaches.
“In this draft ordinance most of this is already restricted, for instance, animals or dogs,” Brown said. “When we talk about Gulf Place we’re talking about everything south of the road all the way to the water’s edge from the western edge to the new eastern end Phase Three we hope to begin construction on this fall.”
Brown said to raise public awareness of the rules and regulations of the beach and new town green areas signs are being considered.
“We’ve not done a good enough job explaining to the public what’s allowed and what’s not allowed,” Brown said. “So, having some type of sign within Gulf Place, in a friendly way if we can, to tell people what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.”
Portable X-Ray
The council on June 11 approved $18,400 in matching funds for the police department to purchase portable X-ray equipment at a total cost of $42,400.
“A couple of years ago we hired a guy named Doug Finite who actually operates our jail,” Police Chief Ed Delmore said. “He is a sworn police officer with 27 years’ experience before coming to us. “One of his collateral duties was he is an FBI-certified bomb technician. Because he has that certification he is able to work with other area bomb technicians from the FBI.”
Delmore said the new device would be used when large crowds gather for Hangout Fest or the Shrimp Festival or any other large events.
“We have a number of events here where an explosive device is potentially a concern,” Delmore said. “One of the devices that he identified and the FBI identified for preliminary screening is an X-Ray device.”
In September the city applied for a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and Delmore recently received word $24,000 was awarded toward the cost of the equipment. The city’s portion will be paid out of federal asset forfeiture funds.
“There’s no local taxpayer money being used to pay for this device,” Delmore said.
Pictured: Under the proposed regulations in Gulf Shores, signs like these would have to be significantly smaller.