Phoenix city staff is seeking to limit how brightly signs and billboards can be lit, especially near residential areas, but is looking to stay out of telling people what they’re allowed to put on a sign.
City Planner David Williams said planning staff is looking to make a text amendment to city code that will regulate the brightness of signs, mainly near residential neighborhoods, and could include requirements to dim or turn off a sign at a certain hour of night.
A 2015 Supreme Court case stemming from Gilbert, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, limited governments’ ability to place restrictions on the content of signs and billboards. Mr. Williams said staff needs to comb through the city code regarding signs and billboards in light of that Supreme Court case to ensure the language is not unconstitutional.
