Electronic signs top city's agenda

Public hearing slated on size, condition, location of signage

Texarkana, Texas, City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd., is shown in December 2015.
Texarkana, Texas, City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd., is shown in December 2015.

Those who have opinions on how electronic signs should be zoned, and where they should and should not be located, can express their opinions at tonight's Texarkana, Texas, City Council meeting.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. inside council chambers on the second floor of City Hall at 220 Texas Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.

A public hearing will be held on two ordinances related to zoning in the city's Code of Ordinances. The first ordinance deals with sign size, nonconforming signs, damaged signs and definitions. A public hearing will also be held about the corridors where these signs will not be allowed.

The electronic signs, technically known as Changeable Electronic Variable Messaging Signs, caused controversy last fall when Landmark Pentecostal Church on Texas Boulevard asked to put up an electronic sign it purchased before seeking the council's approval-even though the area is not zoned for electronic signs. The church is in an area designated as the gateway to the city's historic district by passage of a 2012 ordinance.

Ward 3 Council Member Tina Veal-Gooch voiced her opposition to the sign because of the direct conflict between the passage of the ordinance and the historic district guidelines. Veal-Gooch cast the lone dissenting vote regarding the issue.

In other business tonight, the council is set to take action on a cellular telecommunications tower and maintenance platform on a leased space at 910 Franklin St. The property is owned by Walnut Church of Christ. During the council's last meeting, two men who live close to where the tower will be placed told the council they did not want the tower in their neighborhood. They said they feared it would lower their property values and potentially affect their health. A representative from Verizon told the men their fears were unwarranted and the tower would neither lower their property values nor cause them to be sick.

The council will discuss inviting representatives from the Texarkana, Ark., Board of Directors to have meetings with representatives from the City Council. Texarkana, Texas, City Manager John Whitson said the idea he had about the meetings would involve the mayor from each city along with two members of each council and board. How the process would work and who would represent the groups would be up to the groups to decide, he said.

"Well for a number of months, maybe close to a year, I have been mentioning this to officials on both sides and finally I decided that I would just put a resolution together and let them decide on it," Whitson said.

Whitson said the meetings could be quarterly and could help officials from both sides of Texarkana discuss any number of matters including water, land use, walking trails, streets, sidewalks, public safety, crime, homelessness and the city's appearance. Whitson said in his previous city manager job in Morrisville, N.C., members of that council had met with officials from neighboring Cary, N.C.

"The council may want to appoint members to meet routinely to discuss matters of joint interest," Whitson said. "The meetings should be routine meetings so it doesn't seem extraordinary and create an unnecessary amount of attention. We want attention, but we don't want it to be, 'oh what's going on.' We would rather it be routine and, 'oh, they are meeting again.'" 

The council will also have a first briefing about deleting a section from the Code of Ordinances regarding requirements in building health care facilities. Whitson said the International Building Code does not require as strict of rules as the updated city code. Builders have been saying this section of the code is costing them an extra $5,000. Whitson said he is recommending the council delete the section.

[email protected]

Upcoming Events