ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Responding to a request from businesses earlier this year to update sign technology, the City Council passed an ordinance to allow the use of digital signs in the city.

Councilwoman Joni Blalock voted with the rest of the council and Mayor Tony Kennon, but did so after much study on the issue.

“I think there was a concern that people would feel like it would change the nature of our town,” Blalock. “We opposed all those large billboards and here we are. We’re trying to balance it to be business.”

The law does not allow new signs, but just adjustments to current signs. Replacing the old signs which were changed by hand was the goal. Some of those are falling into disrepair or are missing some letters leaving a confusing message possibly causing motorists to pause.

“Some of the signs that we have in the city look atrocious and anything would be an improvement,” Blalock said.

Blalock said before she decided to vote on the new signs, she did study other cities with the signs and effects on traffic there.

“I think in some ways I worried about and did some research on the safety issues,” she said. “I had heard in other cities it was causing some issues. But that was mostly due to the graphics type things with people stopping to turn and look and causing accidents and things like that which is one of the reasons we wanted to not have (graphics).”

Other restrictions apply as well, but all were agreed upon by the council and the businesses in Orange Beach.

One of those restrictions is the message on the signs can only change once every 15 seconds. Some business owners thought that was too long a period and wanted an eight- to 12-second delay.

Blalock says the concern there again was people stopping or being distracted trying to read the changing signs.

“I do have some concerns that people will do that,” she said. “But then again they are doing that now with the $11.95 special, but the 95 is not on the board anymore.”

Other original restrictions concerned the distance between two signs which was set at 300 feet. The final version said the signs could be within 50 feet of each other and not within 30 feet of single-family residentially zoned properties including duplexes.

“It’s a very good middle of the road ordinance that sort of tries to make a compromise and do what we want to accomplish without having a strip like Las Vegas,” Kennon said. “There’s no video screens, they are limited in size, limited in the time they stay up, static after 10 p.m.

“And it doesn’t create any new signs. A lot of folks were under the impression that this would create a number of new signs. No more new signs. It has to go on the old signs unless it’s a new business that is permitted for a sign.”

The deal closer for Councilman Jeff Boyd was the businesses agreeing to use the signs to disseminate public information during a crisis.

“I want to thank y’all for putting on the table the ability to do the alert system for hurricane evacuation or an emergency,” Boyd said. “It’s a great idea. It was probably the determining factor in this and it just showed the working between us and the businesses in town.”

The full list of restrictions are signs:

Must not change more than one time per 15 seconds;

Must remain static between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. with no copy changes;

Must not exceed 50 percent of the sign face area;

Must not exceed eight feet above the crown of the nearest roadway or 10 feet above the existing grade, whichever is greater. And it will be secondary to the permanent nonchangeable portion of the sign;

Must have an automatic dimmer control “to produce a distinct illumination change between one-half hour before sunset and one-half hour after sunrise and must also be able to respond to lighting level changes occurring due to atmospheric conditions;”

Will not be placed within 30 feet of single-family residentially zoned properties including duplex uses;

Will not be located within 50 feet of another electronic sign.