The Washington Fire Department wants to install an electronic message board in front of its station.
The board would replace the department's existing sign near the northwest corner of N. Wilmor Road and W. Jefferson Street that's believed to date back to when the fire station was built in 1996.
For the change to happen, the Washington City Council must approve a variance request allowing the message board to be within 100 feet of a residential district and have a message area that exceeds 40% of the total sign.
The nearby Washington Community High School campus has five parcels, and each parcel is zoned for single- and two-family residential [R-1]. The proposed location of the board is about 65 feet from high school property.
The message area would be 44% of the total sign.
The city's Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this month unanimously recommended approval of the variance request. The council held a first reading of the request Monday, with a vote scheduled Nov. 2.
Fire department captain Jakob Spitzer assured council members that concerns about the board have been addressed. In one concern brought up at the PZC meeting, a resident worried that changing messages on the board could distract drivers during drop-off and pickup of WCHS students.
"With safety in mind, of course, we thought this would be a great opportunity to display a message that says, 'Watch for pedestrians,' or 'drive slowly,' whatever messaging would be effective," Spitzer said.
"We could set the message to not change during school drop-off and pickup hours, so it would be virtually no different than the sign we have now, where we have to put the letters up manually."
Alderperson Brandon Moss asked if the board's hours of operation could be added to the variance request because of the board's proximity to residences.
Spitzer said department members have talked about turning off the board at 9:30-10 p.m. and turning it back on as early as 6 a.m.
"We're very mindful [of when the sign is on]," he said. "That's not something we'd want shining in our living rooms at 10 o'clock at night."
He also said the message board will have ambient light sensors, which will make sure it's not too bright at sunset or when a storm rolls through.
The board would be about 60 square feet including base and frame, with a 23-square-foot message area.
The fire department must follow the city's rules for message boards that include a ban on graphic animation and high intensity lighting, and allowing advertising only for the business on the premises.
The city is asking for the variance on behalf of the fire department because the station is located on city property.
Three similar requests for a variance for an electronic message board were approved previously by the council.
The first was in 2010 for Evangelical United Methodist Church at 401 Walnut Street within an existing sign; St. Mark's Lutheran Church at 200 S. Main Street in 2023; and in 2025 for Our Savior Lutheran Church at 1209 Kingsbury Road.
On a related note, council on Monday approved an ordinance that makes Bondurant Street a two-way street at all times and codifies the times when turns from West Jefferson onto Bondurant are prohibited.
Neither affects traffic flow during WCHS drop-off and pickup periods.
