Time is running out for the Anne Arundel County Council to vote on a bill that rebuilds its code for signage of all types, from yard sales to storefronts.

Among other things, the bill looks at what the county defines as a sign, as well as creating a slew of definitions pertaining to various sign types, like freestanding, banners and electronic. It covers maximum sign sizes and where they’re allowed to be placed for some types. Proponents of the bill say it is meant to curb driver distraction and maintain community aesthetics.

Monday night’s County Council meeting saw the latest in a series of amendments to the legislation that have been put forward.

The first came from District 5 Republican Amanda Fiedler, modifying an amendment passed at the previous meeting that would have exempted signage from the new rules located within private property business complexes, like an industrial park or college campus. At the time, some council members took issue, believing that exempting these complexes would defeat the point of safety that the bill was trying to accomplish. The updated version, which passed unanimously Monday, only exempts signage not visible from both public and private roads.

An amendment introduced by District 3 Republican Nathan Volke would have exempted churches and other religious institutions.

“I was approached by a church,” Volke said. “[It] is currently in the process of looking to update their sign, and in assessing what this bill will allow them to do, the [result], frankly, is too small for where they are, and it doesn’t make sense. So I figured, let’s just go the route of taking the restriction off churches.”

After some county representatives expressed their concern with such an exemption, which could effectively give a religious institution an unlimited amount of signage space, the vote failed 6-1, with only Volke voting in favor. He said he will consider bringing the exemption back as a separate bill in the future.

Matt Minahan of Growth Action Network spoke during public comment, supporting the work done to hash out the details of the bill, but also advocating for a handbook to teach county residents and businesses how to comply with the new law should it pass.

“Here’s a lot that’s left unspecified in this bill, and so the government has to create some guidelines for its implementation,” Minahan said. “We would encourage the county to create a work group to write the implementation manual.”

The bill was introduced in December by Julie Hummer, the District 4 representative and council chair, giving it one more County Council meeting on March 16 before its life cycle ends after 90 days.

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