DAPHNE, Ala. — The Daphne Planning Commission and City Council have been discussing a solution to the exception to the city’s existing sign ordinance from the developers for Academy Sports and Outdoors for months, and Wednesday during a special meeting the planning commission discussed a plan from a city in Tennessee, which may work as a model for Daphne.

The city’s sign ordinance is a 20-page document that limits the signs that can be placed within the city limits. Under the ordinance, property along the Interstate corridor that has at least 200 minimum feet of frontage space may have one sign that cannot be higher than 40 feet, and cannot exceed 250 square feet.

The city council has created overlay districts, which include Jubilee Square and the property south of the interstate along Alabama Highway 181. Under these overlay districts, developments are allowed to have higher signs, including a 120-foot sign for Lowe’s Home Improvement and a 90-foot sign for Jubilee Square.

The property that developers want to use for a new Academy Sports location does not fall into either district and the developer has asked for a 115-foot sign because the location and extensive right of way from the interstate purportedly would make a 40-foot sign impossible to see through the thick trees from the interstate.

The planning commission sought the expertise of an Alabama Department of Transportation employee regarding the options open to the city and the developer to remove or trim trees to increase visibility.

According to the representative, there are three options available regarding enhancement of state-owned rights of way.

“We have two different kinds of permit applications,” he said. “We have a tree-trimming permit you can only use to improve visibility for signs … the other one that we use is a brush cutting and most utility companies use that to maintain their right of ways.”

He said the additional option available to the city has to be approved by the Alabama Department of Transportation when all of the factors are considered. Someone will have to come in and survey the trees, determine which ones can be removed, survey the costs of the trees to be removed and the department’s Montgomery office will evaluate the request.

“That is the only other alternative we have,” he said.

Commissioner Larry Chason was intrigued by the other option.

“There are actually three kinds of permits,” Chason said. “We have got an applicant looking to do something about the trees and we have been looking at what to do between the two interchanges. One of the things that is unique about that situation is that here the entire right of way is not clear. Our whole issue we have before us is signage. Your department’s decision about what can be done in that right of way, at least for me, is an important consideration.”

Commissioner Don Gibson asked if hills could be graded out to improve visibility as well. The representative said ALDOT would have to be compensated for the dirt removed, but that the grading was possible.

Because of the unique terrain along the I-10 corridor, the commission has decided to ask the council to authorize a committee to begin the process to determine if ALDOT will allow the trees to be thinned to improve visibility along the whole corridor.

Commissioners also heard from Tom Hickman, representative for the development of Academy Sports.

“The goal is to have visibility of the sign over the tree line along Interstate-10. The elevation of the interstate is at a finished elevation of 95 (feet),” Hickman said.

Chason said that Hickman seemed to be operating under the assumption that ALDOT would not allow enough trees to be removed to make a shorter sign visible.

“To me, the key or the flaw, in your argument is that you are looking at it as what can Academy get if they go ask for the permit. What I am hearing is that ALDOT is saying if the city of Daphne comes forward on behalf of Academy and others and says we would like to be more aggressive in the cutting and trimming of trees and we will be the guarantor of the maintenance, then all kinds of things may be available,” Chason said.

Hickman said the development would be open to any option that would allow the sign for the development to be available.

Chason cautioned his fellow commissioners against knuckling under the pressure of commercial interests, but he also said the current planning commission is more supportive of signs than previous commissions.

Community Development director Adrienne Jones presented three options to the commissioners during the meeting. The commissioners discussed the options, but chose not to make any decision on Wednesday to give more time to review the material before their next meeting on June 23.

“I searched for other areas on Google and found their ordinances on interstate signs,” Jones said.

She found an overlay district in Sevierville, Tenn., which only deals with signage, which she presented as the first option. The second option she presented to the commission was an interstate overlay district, and a third option, which is an amendment to the current land ordinance.

In other news, Wednesday, the commission:

• Discussed a request from Audubon Holdings L.L.C., to annex a 19.08-acre parcel into the city. The parcel is southeast of the intersection of Pollard Road and County Road 64. The property would be zoned R-4, which is high-density residential zoning. (Editor’s Note: For more details, look for the story on baldwincountynow.com.)
• Discussed the options open to the city regarding the possible annexation and/or acceptance of a maintenance agreement for the city to maintain the right of way on Alabama State Highway 181 from Lawson Road to the south parcel line of Oldfield subdivision.

• Discussed the master site plan for property owned by Gateway Companies. The company requested a revised master plan review for Laurel Springs Apartments, which were formerly known as Jubilee Ridge Condominiums. The owner has decided to change the property from condominiums to apartments. The property is southeast of the intersection of Pollard Road and County Road 64. It is currently zoned R-4, multi-family residential.