The city of Mandeville is reworking its regulations governing signage in the city.

The city’s sign ordinance was written more than 20 years ago, and Zoning Chairman Nixon Adams said while it was lauded as forwarded thinking when it was written, it is outdated now.

Planning staff members Lori Spranley and John Endres regularly work with business owners applying for sign permits, and they told the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday night the existing ordinance is very ambiguous on certain items. The commission has been charged with clearing up those fuzzy areas as well as to update the ordinance.

The commission will hold work sessions to develop some proposed changes and will hold public hearings to gather input on those proposed changes before making a recommendation to the City Council.

Planning Director Louisette Kidd said the purpose of a sign ordinance is to prevent visual clutter.

“The sign ordinance and the live oak protection ordinance (the city adopted) back in the 80s really started Mandeville’s reputation,” Adams told his fellow commissioners. “A good sign ordinance can really make a lot of difference.”

With that, the first area Kidd suggested the commission look at is temporary signs, which includes real estate signs, construction project signs, political signs and window signs.

As the property values increase, Kidd said, she anticipates more multi-story buildings being constructed in the city, and she proposed looking at the city’s sign regulations for multi-story buildings.

Currently the city has two separate guidelines for professional and retail establishments, and in multi-tenant buildings retail establishments are allowed to have larger signs than office buildings, which also include doctors’ offices.

“It’s really unfair,” Kidd told the commission, and suggested that too be examined.

Endres said the commission needs to also consider what to do for interior office spaces, which are not addressed in the current regulations.

Mandeville started the use of monument signs on the Northshore by requiring them along its gateways, but Kidd said the definition of what is a monument sign is not clearly defined. She asked the commission to look into whether they want to allow low-profile pole signs with landscaping or whether they want all monument signs to be flush with the ground.

The commission will also look at directional signage.

Endres said that many businesses are putting up directional signage that includes their company logo on it, and therefore, he said, it should be included in their sign package and such signs should require a permit.

Other items that will be discussed include murals and artwork on buildings, billboards, a new amortization period for businesses to come into compliance, signage inside the Old Mandeville area and fees.