C. Falls considers downtown zone changes

The Columbia Falls City Council tonight will consider a number of changes to zoning regulations in the city’s central business district aimed at improving the downtown business climate.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. at Columbia Falls City Hall.

City officials received a number of inquiries from downtown business owners and citizens about making some changes in the downtown area, so the city staff launched a review of zoning regulations.

Several of the proposed zoning amendments deal with the city’s sign ordinance.

The city wants to add way-finding signs to the list of permitted signs. Those include signs for local amenities erected by a government agency or in cooperation with a government agency.

To crack down on abandoned signs, the city proposes to shorten the amount of time a sign may stand before being considered abandoned from 18 to six months. If a new business occupies a structure or site, the city wants any abandoned signs removed in 30 days.

The city further proposes to lift a ban on internally illuminated signs and neon signs and replace it with softer language that would encourage people with lighted signs to turn them off during off hours because of a growing problem with light pollution.

A parking-related change would add a sentence to zoning regulations, stipulating that “to avoid conflicts with nearby residential uses, a plan to show employee parking on site is required.”

In the land-use section, the city proposes to remove commercial recreation facilities from the list of permitted uses in the central business district.