Irvington Mulls Sign, Awning Regulations

Irvington is looking to attract downtown business, maintain property values and maintain the small historical village’s look and feel with a new proposed law. The Irvington Board of Trustees is considering changes to the Village’s code that will regulate the types of signs and awnings that are permitted in business district and village as a whole.   

Click here for a copy of the proposed legislation on the Village’s website.

“A work session may be scheduled during January to finalize the draft revisions,” a Dec. 26 note from the Village to the community says. “Once finalized, the draft will be the subject of a public hearing before it is approved. The public hearing could be scheduled as early as February 2013.” 

The proposed law will replace the existing sections of the code that reference signs, and if passed, will require owners of existing signs that are not approved or documented under the existing code to get approval within 90 days. The law provides for grandfathering of existing signs that meet the current regulation. 

The Village Board, Irvington Business Improvement Committee, building inspector and the Village's attorney, as well as interested citizens, have been working to compile these regulations, according to a July 5 article on Rivertowns Patch. 

The Village's existing sign laws don’t offer formal guidelines on signage or awnings. The proposed law would ban signs that emit smoke, vapor, sound or odor; roof signs; and signs “of such a design and location that they interfere with, compete for attention with, or may be mistake for a traffic signal.” It also outlines signs that require a permit and those that do not.

Some of the guidelines proposed for signs and awnings on businesses include:

• The design, color, character, size and scale of the signs should be in keep with the architectural design of the building or structure upon which they are place, the design of the neighboring properties and adjacent signs, and the character of Irvington and its business district

• Lettering shall be limited to 12 inches in height per line of text. Graphics shall be limited to 24 inches in height.

Click on our video to see what a 30-year Irvington business owner has to say about the proposal.

What do you think of the proposed law? Do you think a sign and awning code will help or hurt Irvington? Tell us in the comments.

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