City to Consider Changes to Business Sign Ordinance

Arnold's Community Development Director Mary Holden met with the Arnold Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to consider changes in the city's business sign ordinance. 

In a city council work session on Feb. 10, Holden said she will also send an invitation to business owners who wrote letters asking for the changes. Business owners wanting to post a sign must pay a permit fee of $35 per sign, per month. The ordinance also limits posting signs to six times per year.

The ordinance limits the use of A-frame signs, also called sandwich-board signs, to within 10 feet of the stores’ entrances and requires owners to remove the signs from the street at the end of the day. No permits are needed for A-frame signs, Holden said.

“I would have been broke in six months without my sign and banner facing Interstate 55,” said Berry Seidel, the owner of , located at 884 Arnold Commons, during the work session meeting.

Seidel said the sign attracts people driving along I-55 and generates income for his small, independently owned business that employs 19 people. He started with three employees two years ago.

Real estate property owner THF, which manages Arnold Commons, approves of the marketing banners, Seidel said. The city ordinance prevents using the banners.

Seidel has been in business for 25 years, and has never seen sign ordinances as tough as Arnold’s.

Seidel said he generates $250,000 during a holiday truckload sale during which a huge banner is draped along the side of the 53-foot truck trailer. Mattresses are sold directly from the delivery trailer.

The truck and banner would only be used on major holidays. “People equate holidays with sales,” Seidel said.

The signs and sales attract consumers who might travel up to Lindbergh in South St. Louis County and make a $2,000 purchase.

“And people usually have lunch at the local restaurant after making the purchase,” Seidel said.

Donna Flamm, owner of , located at 840 Arnold Commons, said the A-frame sign ordinance penalizes Arnold businesses.

“The ordinance is outdated and is from the 1990s,” Flamm said to the council members. The ordinance was written prior to the boom in residential and commercial development in Arnold.

There are other sources of tax and fee revenue in the larger city of Arnold, Flamm said.

Business owners are being penalized for being in Arnold, Flamm said.

Ward 3 Councilman Paul Freese wants to expand the number of times business signs can be posted during the year.

“The current ordinance limits a business with weekly specials,” Freese said. “The ordinance straps their hands.”

The sign ordinance also hinders Arnold-based franchises from using banners issued by their parent companies. Without the banner, the franchises are unable to participate in national marketing strategies.

The sign ordinance needs to be flexible, Freese said.

 “The department is open to suggestions about changes in the sign ordinance,” Holden said.

The changes must go through the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee. Business owners and the Arnold Chamber of Commerce will be invited to the next meeting which will occur in March, Holden said.