Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Proposed Rockville sign regulations update before Planning Commission Wednesday

Businesses getting the attention of potential customers driving through Rockville might become even more challenging under changes proposed for the city's sign regulations. Those changes will be considered for final recommendations to the Mayor and Council by the Planning Commission Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 7:00 PM at City Hall.

City staff have suggested outlawing pole signs in favor of ground-level "monument signs." Staff has also suggested the Commission declare existing pole signs as "nonconforming," and require them to be removed in eight years. You may notice that without such signs out at the property edge on Rockville Pike, for example, it's very hard to notice businesses set back from the road while driving.

The proposed changes would also eliminate the Sign Review Board, and have its primary functions reassigned to the Board of Appeals. To see changes that might affect your business or neighborhood sales and activities, review the staff report online before tomorrow night's meeting.

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11 comments:

  1. This is a sign for a suburban shopping center which was not in Rockville, and which closed five years ago, was completely demolished, and has since been replaced by an exciting new urban development.

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    1. 6:38: It's a great example of roadside signage, and the United States government officially confirms the property was in Rockville - just ask the USPS.

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    2. That is an area called "North Bethesda" by many these days though some people still call it "Rockville". The important part here is that the shopping center/sign were not located in the City of Rockville even if you would like to call the area "Rockville". That means that area would not have been covered by any City of Rockville sign ordnance change. It is governed by county rules. If you want to see the dividing line between North Bethesda and Rockville, drive down Montross Rd from Rockville Pike towards 270 and you'll see the blue Rockville road signs on the Right and the green County road signs on the left. The left side of Montross is "North Bethesda" and the right side is City of Rockville.

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    3. Or you can ask the Rockville government proposing the sign regulation, and they would tell you that it is not in their jurisdiction. USPS uses all sort of weird zip code boundaries. Friendship Heights MD used to have a DC zip code.

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  2. "it's very hard to notice businesses set back from the road while driving."

    This is why suburban strip malls are dumb, and becoming obsolete.

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    1. 8:51: Wrong. The suburban strip malls actually had roadside signage you could read. Town centers don't, and you drive past without even knowing the businesses are there. Not everyone is crawling by as a passenger on a bus. Most of your potential customers are driving cars.

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    2. The "U.S. Government officially confirms the protery was in Rockville - just ask the USPS"? You are really out of your worm infested gourd. The U.S. Govt. and the USPS do not dictate were an actually municipality is located. If you clean your fogged up glasses and look due north on Rockvile Pike you'd notice the welcome to Rockville sign at the intersection of the Pike and Rollins/Twinbrook Pkwy. In addition the street name signage is green in the county and blue in the city. The signage at that location is GREEN. Last, but not least, if this location were IN the city of Rockville, the plans review would be conducted solely by the City of Rockville. But, wait, I'm sure you have some alternative facts to refute this truth.

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    3. 12:24: Rockville is larger than the municipality. You need to remove your distortion lenses. Unincorporated Rockville includes all of White Flint, and most certainly Pike & Rose. It's moronic to argue undisputed facts.

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    4. Wow, you keep missing the point, Dyer. The Rockville City Council, the City of Rockville Sign Board, and the City of Rockville Board of Appeals have NO JURISDICTION over the unincorporated area where this (long-gone) sign is.

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    5. 7:33 AM - Spot on! Foggy lens, Dyer does not seem to have a clue to the powers of sub-state governmental divisions. An incorporated city such as Rockville has political boundaries which delineate the areas which they govern. All else is governed by the next highest agency, in this case MoCo. Not hard to understand the concept, if your glasses are clean, or you're not a wannabe dictator.

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  3. Is it so hard for you to admit for once, I was WRONG! Hey the Fonz did it.

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