The Cape Gazette reports that Sussex County assistant county attorney is going to propose the following rules for billboards together with tighter enforcement of rules:
- 1000 foot separation between billboards up from 300 feet currently.
- 500 foot separation from dwellings, schools, churches and public lands.
- 300 square feet sign maximum.
- Increase permitted height from 25 feet to 30-35 feet.
- Prohibit double-stacked and side-by-side billboards.
- Prohibit billboard variances.
- Require a Delaware State letter of no objection prior to filing a Sussex County appliction.
- Require a special use exception for electronic billboards.
Insider’s take: No billboard variance and then you require a special variance to put up a digital sign. Hope this isn’t a catch 22 where you need a variance to put up a digital sign and variances aren’t allowed. The assistant county attorney is also talking about prohibiting billboard companies from upgrading non-conforming wooden signs. This will have the unintended consequence of creating eyesores and safety issues as aging, sagging, wooden signs cannot be repaired or upgraded.
