Join Us in Opposing Unlimited Signage Downtown

The Reno City Council will review for the first time a staff proposal that would allow all businesses in the downtown entertainment district to have almost unlimited signage – including giant digital signs – normally allowed only for casinos.

• What – Sign Code Text Amendment, Item D.1
• When – December 4, 2024, starting at 10 a.m.
• Where – Reno City Hall Council Chambers

City staff has prepared changes to the sign code to allow any business – from pawn shops to liquor stores – in the downtown district in addition to casinos to have 100-foot-tall signs with no limit on number, size or types of lighting.

That could mean more digital displays as big as those erected by casinos. Or it could mean many smaller signs cluttering the downtown streets, degrading further the aesthetics there and possibly lowering property values. And with the prospect of more and bigger signs allowed, it could lead to zone change requests in the future to extend the boundaries of the downtown district so that others can have unlimited signs.

Staff Wants Council Feedback

City staff is in the final stages of asking for feedback on its proposal. So far staff has presented its draft at stakeholder meetings for the community, technical users, business owners downtown and the Reno Planning Commission.

On Wednesday, council members will be asked for feedback, too. Assistant Director of Planning Services Angela Fuss has said that a final draft will be ready early in 2025. Then it will be presented to the Planning Commission for its recommendation and adoption by the City Council.

Please join Scenic Nevada in opposing this move to increase signs downtown. Click here to send a letter to the Reno Planning Commission, City Council, city staff, and city manager.

Also, click here to see the agenda, which provides several ways to participate on Dec. 4. You can attend in person, call in a comment, fill out a written comment card, or preregister to attend virtually and speak.

Sign Code Changes

The targeted area is called the Mixed-Use – Entertainment District (MD-ED) – one of the many mixed-use districts in the city – and spans about 136 acres. Ms. Fuss told planning commissioners that the downtown businesses have been allowed unlimited signage for the past 20 years and the City staff can’t take that right away without council permission. Therefore, she’s including it in her current proposal of changes to the sign code chart.

But city code changed in 2021, and today the sign code chart says signs in the mixed-use districts like the MD-ED are limited to eight feet tall on parcels under an acre and up to 35 feet tall on over an acre. The sign size is set at 125 to 250 square feet and digitals are allowed under limited circumstances. Only casinos get the largest signs in the mixed-use districts and in “Gaming Overlays,” areas of the city that include gaming establishments in and outside of downtown. See the current sign code chart.

In Ms. Fuss’ proposed draft, casinos continue to have the most liberal sign regulations. But the downtown entertainment district would be excluded from the other Mixed-Use Districts on the chart and placed in a separate category that allows almost unlimited signage, too. See the proposed draft. Her proposed code changes will ensure the district has unlimited signage in the future by right without public hearings or public input, just like the casinos.

We think bringing back unlimited signage for the entire district is wrong. Reno citizens have opposed big signs in the past, including digital billboards, and continue to do so. Close to a hundred people have weighed in against this proposal so far. We hope the city council listens and rejects the unlimited signage for all non-casino businesses in the district. Send your letter today.