The quality of life in your community is determined by various factors, not the least of which is appearance. Residents experience it every day and it gives visitors their first impression of your community. The appearance of your community is an important part of the foundation for civic pride as well as the reason tourists come to visit.

A big factor in the appearance of any town is signage.

To help with the your signage plan, Citizens for a Scenic Wisconsin has produced these model sign ordinances. These model ordinances were prepared by experienced professionals taking into consideration several good ordinances already in effect in Wisconsin communities and in other states.

Model Sign Ordinance is a comprehensive signage ordinance that can be used by counties, cities, villages and towns to regulate all types of signs throughout their community. It may be used in whole or in part and is easily modified to meet the particular needs of your community.

Billboard Control by a Town is a simple ordinance that can be used by towns that don’t have their own zoning ordinance. It limits all signs in the town to a maximum size of 35 square feet and 12 feet high.

Citizens for a Scenic Wisconsin understands the need for businesses, public places and recreational sites to make their location known to the public, to shoppers, to travelers and to tourists. Our purpose in providing model ordinances is to promote signage that is orderly and appropriately sized for its site. Good sign management improves the ability of the public to find businesses and other locations by reducing sign clutter and motivates them by enhancing overall aesthetic quality – creating a place where people want to spend time (and money).

As you start your signage plan, you should seriously consider a one-year moratorium on the placement of new of-premise signs to prevent a rush by outdoor advertising companies to construct non-conforming signs before your new ordinance is ready.

These models can be easily modified to suit your special needs by your local planning and legal professionals.