Mauldin City Council Votes to Ease Sign Restrictions

In a bid to be more business friendly, the Mauldin City Council gave initial approval Monday night to new rules that would ease sign restrictions for certain businesses on Woodruff Road.

The new rules would primarily allow a handful of Woodruff Road businesses that abut Interstate 385 and the I-385 interchange to erect much higher signs than the city currently allows.

Current city law limits one freestanding sign with heights ranging from 16 to 25 feet depending on the zoning classification. Under the new rules, businesses would be allowed an additional "high-rise bonus sign" as high as 45 feet. Signage structures used by more than one business in the same development would be allowed a height of 55 feet.

Individual signs would be limited to 200 square feet in size, with a limit of three such signs per structure. Further, such signs may only be illuminated internally. External illumination and animated or LED signs would be prohibited.

The new rules also state that sign poles or structures must be spaced at least 150 feet apart and that the signage be oriented towards the highway.

City Administrator Trey Eubanks said the new rules are in response to businesses along the Woodruff Road/I-385 corridor who have told the city that the current sign rules limit their visibility to motorists.

While the new heights would be radically higher than the current ones allowed, they would still be reasonable and more in line with height limits in other areas of the Upstate, Eubanks said. Greer, for instance, allows signs along Interstate 85 up to 90 feet, he said.

The new rules must still be vetted by the city's Planning Commission later this month before final Council approval in October. Council member Larry Goodson was the only one to vote against the new rules, stating that he didn't feel he had been given enough background on the proposed changes and was concerned about moving too fast.

More proposed changes in the city's sign ordinance are coming. A second upcoming phase will address signage for all other properties along the Woodruff Road corridor, said Business and Development Services Director Kim Hamel.