The city of Soldotna has been working on updating its sign code since the beginning of the year. That work is nearing completion, with the city council signing off on a new set of rules at its meeting last week.
Interim city manager Stephanie Queen says the rewrite of this portion of city code accomplishes two things.
“One is it would allow sandwich board signs to be displayed for commercial businesses every day of the year without a permit. Sandwich board signs are currently prohibited under our code in most circumstances. So this is an expansion of the signage that would be allowed under Soldotna municipal code. The other change is pertinent to temporary signs. Temporary signs are currently allowed under Soldotna municipal code but this would clarify some inconsistencies in regards to the size. It would change the number of days, it will be set at 30 calendar days a year (allowed), and it removes language we felt would be problematic. It used to be tied to be special events and holidays, now it’s content-neutral, which is the way our sign code should be.”
The council also approved a process for hiring a new city manager. Mark Dixon resigned from that position unexpectedly last month. The city plans to have a replacement hired by the end of January.
*This post has been updated for a correction. The city has not finalized its full rewrite of the sign code.