6.1.
Planning Commission Regular Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 04/22/2026
Title
Request of the Planning Agency to review Chapter 10 of Mankato City Code related to temporary signage ordinances.
City Code
Temporary signage Code standards can be found in Mankato City Code section 10-1699 (f) as linked here: https://library.municode.com/mn/mankato/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH10LAUSDE_ARTXSTGEAP_DIV7SI_S10-1699GERE
Review
Concerns about temporary signage have warranted a review and discussion of the current temporary signage ordinance for code update considerations.
Current Temporary Signage Ordinance
The current temporary signage code is as follows:
(f) Temporary signs.
By definition of the Code a temporary sign means any sign, balloon, banner, blimp, flag, free standing sign, pennant, poster, reader board or advertising display which is intended to be displayed for a limited period of time. Signs other than temporary signs shall be considered permanent signs.
History
The temporary signage ordinance has undergone several changes over the years. An overview of those changes is as follows.
The Planning Agency is requested to review and provide recommendations to address the following recurring temporary signage issues.
Staff reviewed ordinances and spoke with staff of other Minnesota cities with the following results:
Current Temporary Signage Ordinance
The current temporary signage code is as follows:
(f) Temporary signs.
- Temporary use of portable or movable signs shall be allowed in excess of and in addition to the sign limitations of this section.
- Temporary signs shall comply with the following general provisions:
a. A permit is required prior to the placement or installation of temporary signage.
b. A permit shall be obtained from the zoning administrator for each location and time period for placement of such signs. A fee may be established by council resolution. A permit shall be valid for a period of eight consecutive days and signage shall be removed upon expiration of the permit.
c. All requests for temporary signage shall be applied for by the property owner/manager.
d. No business shall be allowed more than eight such periods in any 12-month period. Multi-tenant business centers may have eight such periods in any 12-month period per business which has an exclusive exterior entrance. Businesses within multi-tenant centers may transfer unused permits to other businesses on the same subject property.
e. Such signs shall be limited to 32 square feet in area.
f. Such signs shall only be permitted in B-1, B-2, and B-3, M-1, and M-2 zoning districts.
g. Temporary ground signs shall be set back a minimum of five feet from property lines. Temporary signs shall not encroach into the required sight triangle as defined by section 5-20(b).
h. Temporary signs shall be located on the property which the advertising pertains to.
i. All temporary signs must be maintained and not frayed, torn or tattered.
j. Temporary signage shall adhere to the regulations set forth in section 10-1698.
b. A permit shall be obtained from the zoning administrator for each location and time period for placement of such signs. A fee may be established by council resolution. A permit shall be valid for a period of eight consecutive days and signage shall be removed upon expiration of the permit.
c. All requests for temporary signage shall be applied for by the property owner/manager.
d. No business shall be allowed more than eight such periods in any 12-month period. Multi-tenant business centers may have eight such periods in any 12-month period per business which has an exclusive exterior entrance. Businesses within multi-tenant centers may transfer unused permits to other businesses on the same subject property.
e. Such signs shall be limited to 32 square feet in area.
f. Such signs shall only be permitted in B-1, B-2, and B-3, M-1, and M-2 zoning districts.
g. Temporary ground signs shall be set back a minimum of five feet from property lines. Temporary signs shall not encroach into the required sight triangle as defined by section 5-20(b).
h. Temporary signs shall be located on the property which the advertising pertains to.
i. All temporary signs must be maintained and not frayed, torn or tattered.
j. Temporary signage shall adhere to the regulations set forth in section 10-1698.
By definition of the Code a temporary sign means any sign, balloon, banner, blimp, flag, free standing sign, pennant, poster, reader board or advertising display which is intended to be displayed for a limited period of time. Signs other than temporary signs shall be considered permanent signs.
History
The temporary signage ordinance has undergone several changes over the years. An overview of those changes is as follows.
- January 2002 — An amendment was made to the temporary signage ordinance to change the number of display periods for temporary signs from four 30-day periods to two 30-day periods in a twelve-month period. The PC report at that time outlines that the reason for the change is that, "staff believes the intent of temporary signs is to advertise special or unique events, such as grand openings. The purpose of the signs is not to augment regular advertising, which is now occurring. The use of temporary signs and associate permitted process has also caused administrative difficulties in tracking the permits. Staff believes this would not be a difficulty if use of the signs were confined to special events instead of the practical use that is occurring." The Council unanimously passed the change with a note from a Council member that, "he felt a change in the ordinance would improve the aesthetics of Mankato."
- February 2004 - An amendment was made to change the periods of temporary sign display from two 30-day periods to four 15-day periods. The Planning Commission staff report at the time states as follows. "Recently, the City Council received several inquiries about the possibility of increasing the period of display for temporary signs. Currently, temporary sign permits are limited to two 30-day periods in a twelve-month period. This means that if a permit is issued, it is issued for a minimum of 30 days. The Council discussed this issue at work session and reviewed the history of the current ordinance. It was generally agreed that any proposal to increase the annual display period to more than 60 days would be difficult. However, a possible compromise was discussed in which the method of distributing the annual display period would be revised. The Council requested the Planning Commission review such a proposal. The feedback to the Council is that some businesses only need to display signs for shorter periods of time than the 30-day minimum and more than 2 display periods per year are desired. These situations are often experienced by businesses that are associated with national companies and their advertising campaigns, such as auto dealers and franchise restaurants. The suggestion is to change the ordinance to allow shorter periods of display, but not increase the total amount of display per 12 months. The ordinance would be changed to allow four 15-day periods instead of the current two 30-day periods. Under the existing and proposed ordinance, the next display time remains at 60 days per 12-month period..." The ordinance amendment was passed at the March 22, 2024 City Council meeting, with comments that more enforcement and a fee may be needed.
- February/March 2011 — changes were made to change the term of the permit from (4) 15-day periods in a 12-month period to (8) eight-day permits per 12 months. The ordinance was also updated to allow multi-tenant buildings greater flexibility and to allow the multi-tenant buildings the ability to transfer unused temporary signage permits between tenants. The Planning Commission meeting minutes outline that there was much discussion about the topic. The minutes also note that at the time of the Commission recommendation, there was acknowledgment that the Commission would review the ordinance again after 18-months of adoption to determine if the ordinance needed additional amendment. This version of the code is currently used today.
The Planning Agency is requested to review and provide recommendations to address the following recurring temporary signage issues.
- Multi-tenant business centers are allowed to utilize temporary signage for the entire duration of the year. (based on Sec. 10-1699. (f). (2). d.)
- The ordinance currently allows the transfer of temporary sign permits among tenants. As they can transfer temporary signage periods between businesses, a singular business located within a multi-tenant center with at least 6 businesses may currently borrow more than 365-days of signage within a year period, thus allowing for a temporary sign to act as a permanent sign.
- This strategy is highly utilized by businesses to advertise permanent sales outside of any allowed permanent signage.
- The current temp sign code does not limit the number of temporary signs. A business may technically install an infinite number of temporary signs as long as they are 32 Sq. Ft. or less. (based on Sec. 10-1699. (f). (2).)
- Temporary Signage is only permitted in the B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1 & M-2 Zoning Districts, thusly not allowing temporary signage within some of the heavily commercialized zoning districts, like the CBD, CBD-F, or O-R Zoning Districts. (based on Sec. 10-1699. (f). (2). f.)
- Unless signage falls within the exempt signage type, no temporary signage is currently allowed in the CBD-C, CBD-F, or O-R districts, which are districts that allow commercial uses. In these districts, it is common to have buildings placed at or near the property line. Thus:
- A sandwich board ordinance regulating the placement of signage in the right of way in the CBD-C and CBD-F districts is proposed to formalize the placement of temporary signage within these districts.
- Businesses located in office residential, O-R, districts do not get any temporary signage under the current code.
- Unless signage falls within the exempt signage type, no temporary signage is currently allowed in the CBD-C, CBD-F, or O-R districts, which are districts that allow commercial uses. In these districts, it is common to have buildings placed at or near the property line. Thus:
Staff reviewed ordinances and spoke with staff of other Minnesota cities with the following results:
- None of the cities reviewed allow the transfer of sign permits between tenants in a multi-tenant development.
- Temporary signage is typically restricted in quantity in other jurisdictions. It is common that at any time, no more than 1 temporary sign is allowed per business.
- Sandwich board ordinances guiding the usage of temporary signage in central business districts were utilized to allow signage on public sidewalks in downtown areas where buildings are placed at, or near, the property lines.
- Temporary signage durations typically ranged from a total allowable number of days of between 14–90 days and in no case were temporary signs allowed for more than 90 days.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Planning Agency review the current issues and provide recommendations on the implementation of the following temporary sign ordinance amendments. Based on the feedback of the Planning Agency, a hearing will be conducted at an upcoming Planning Commission meeting.