Take Action: Tell the Reno City Council to Say "NO" to Digital Neighborhood Signs
Artistic rendering of a digital school sign in a residential neighborhood
The Reno City Council will take a final vote Wednesday, June 4 on whether to adopt an ordinance to allow schools digital signs in residential neighborhoods that would flip messages every eight seconds, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 365 days year, whether schools are in session or not.
The first reading of the ordinance passed May 21 in a 4-2 vote, with Council Members Naomi Duerr and Meghan Ebert opposed and Mayor Hilary Schieve absent. Click below to send a letter directly to the city council and school district.
Scenic Nevada remains opposed to some of the regulations and has requested more restrictions to protect residential neighborhoods from the negative impacts of too many digital signs.
The most egregious regulations allow eight second flip times and operating hours until 10 p.m. every day, long after schools are closed and even when schools are not in session. We requested 15 minute flip times and operating hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and only when schools are open. See the comparison chart below.
Proposed Digital Regulation Comparison Chart
| City’s Current Draft | Scenic Nevada’s Position | Scenic Nevada’s Request |
| Eight-second rotation | Opposed | 15-minute rotation |
| Hours of operation are from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., 365 days a year | Opposed | Hours should be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., or until the last school event ends; active only during school sessions (sign inactive on weekends, holidays, and school breaks) |
| Schools with two street frontages can have two digital signs in some areas | Opposed | One digital sign per school |
| Height, sign style, square footage based on zoning district; digital portion limited to 32 square feet | Opposed | Monument style only, 6 foot maximum height, 32 square feet total sign area. |
| No video display, flashing or blinking | In favor | We would add no scrolling, pops of color, and also require instantaneous changes between messages. |
| Nighttime brightness level is limited to 150 | In favor | Agreed, nighttime nits should be limited to 150. Nits measure the brightness level. The higher the nits the brighter the sign. |
At the public hearing May 21, Scenic Nevada board members tried to explain that our suggestions would allow the schools the ease of changing school messages without becoming a nuisance in the neighborhood or a traffic safety issue. And we warned the council that these regulations would allow too many signs while eliminating the public hearing required now.
“With this text amendment there will be a blanket approval for all these signs,” said Scenic Nevada’s attorney Mark Wray. “There will be no notice to anyone in the neighborhoods, no public engagement. Let’s protect the neighborhoods. Now’s the time. Once this passes anyone who has a problem with the sign is going to be told (the school district) can do it as a matter of right.”
The City Council majority generally said that they were voting in favor of the regulations because they trusted the school district to do what’s best for the schools and believed staff’s assertions that the regulations balanced the needs of the school district with neighborhood concerns.
Both Council Members Duerr and Ebert objected to the regulations and asked for changes to accommodate neighborhood residents and Scenic Nevada’s concerns. They agreed with our suggestions to limit the hours of operation, to increase the flip time to 15 minutes, to limit the number of signs to one per school site, and to limit the sign height to six feet.
Calling these suggestions reasonable, Council Member Duerr tried to explain her position to the council majority, which refused to budge. “I just want us to work together; I want us to be responsive to the public and I want to help the school district. All I’m trying to do is come up with a compromise on the issues that are outstanding.”
Council Member Ebert added that neighbors needed notice, “if there’s going to be a sign on until 10 p.m.” She said a new elementary school will be built in an existing residential neighborhood in her ward.
“This residential neighborhood could have a very large sign … that would literally be shining into people’s houses until 10 p.m. without any kind of public input. I think we need to have more guardrails on this. I think the community should have some say.”
Unfortunately for Reno’s residential neighborhoods, the council majority refused to listen to us, the more than 60 residents who sent in letters, two council members and a majority of the Reno Planning Commission who signaled their dissatisfaction with staff’s proposal and agreed generally with our suggested regulations.
Click below to send your letter today.