Horseshoe Bay considers easing some sign rules
HORSESHOE BAY — City leaders may soon relax the rules for commercial properties that want to put out signs advertising space to lease.
Also during the Sept. 17 City Council meeting, officials discussed a change in a decades-old policy that would allow requests for sign variances — or exemptions — to simultaneously be presented to the council and the Architectural Control Committee, instead of just the board first. Horseshoe Bay’s current regulations prohibit any signs, advertisements, billboards or other structures promoting sales, lease or renting of lots.
Councilman Jeff Robinson Sept. 18 asked the council to consider allowing businesses to put up ‘FOR LEASE" signs with contact information to replace blank spaces in "monument" signs in front of vacant commercial properties.
"I can hire a real estate agent to lease my house," Robinson. "We don’t necessarily have the capacity to do that here (for business space leasing)."
Sign laws were originally passed in Horseshoe Bay’s Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions documents, pre-dating the city’s incorporation in 2005. They were drafted in the 1970s when the resort development was created, officials said.
The CCR is enforced by the quasi-governmental Architectural Control Committee, which includes Sam Tarbet of Horseshoe Bay Corp.; Tom Engler, president of the Horseshoe Bay Property Owners Association; and Ron Mitchell of the Horseshoe Bay Resort.
The committee meets weekly to consider requests including sign variances as a precursor to submission to the City Council for a vote. However, if the request is rejected by the architectural committee, the request does not advance to the council.
Robinson recommended allowing the city to hear sign variance requests without prior approval by the committee.
Instead, the request could be submitted to the city simultaneously with the CCR application.
"What it would do is if someone is requesting that variance, they could come to us," Robinson said. "If we’re going to be the governing authority, they should have an opportunity to come before the city in an open hearing, so we can decide what we’re going to do."
No action was taken on Robinson’s recommendation.
The issue is expected to be considered in an upcoming meeting.
"Signs are a little sensitive in Horseshoe Bay, which is why these issues are posted for discussion," Mayor Bob Lambert said.
In other business, city officials passed a $5.9 million budget with the same property tax rate as the past two years, 25 cents per $100 valuation.
The next City Council meeting is 3 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. No. 1 Community Drive.