[11/18/03]The face Vicksburg’s four casinos present to traffic could be changing as city officials consider a request from one to put up a 56-foot sign with a video screen.

The ordinance city officials adopted nearly 11 years ago in anticipation of legalized gambling set size guidelines and protected “view corridors” for scenery across the Mississippi River.

For now, signs are limited to 35 feet in height and 400 square feet in overall area.

Ameristar Casino Hotel, 4116 Washington St., asked Monday to install a larger sign that would be similar to displays on the Gulf Coast or in Tunica.

The proposed sign would be 1,047 square feet with the video sign, reader board, the Ameristar logo and stars extending skyward.

The board tabled the request without a vote. No time limit was set for discussions.

“We want to support the private sector, but we don’t want to undermine our ordinance because frankly it opens Pandora’s Box,” said Mayor Laurence Leyens.

Ameristar General Manager Ray Neilsen said the new sign is part of ongoing improvements that included a $10 million renovation in 2001 and a recent $7 million renovation of the casino buffet. He said the sign is estimated to cost about $2 million.

“This is part of a series of projects to make our product better and more competitive,” Neilsen said.

Under the city formula, the size of individual signs is limited, but the total amount of sign space a business can have is based on the amount of frontage to roadways.

Ameristar has property on both sides of Washington Street just north of Interstate 20. Based on frontage the casino and hotel have, the company could add another 2,350-square-feet in signs, according to Dalton McCarty, Vicksburg zoning administrator.

That amount would allow Ameristar to line six, 400-square-foot signs along Washington Street and be in compliance with the current ordinance, but city officials and casino executives say that’s something neither wants.

“We want the sign to be appropriate for the entrance to the city,” Neilsen said.

Without the stars above the logo and video signs, the proposed sign would be 547 square feet, 37 percent larger than allowed under the ordinance. City officials said they did not want to approve a variance and would rather investigate rewriting the code section.

“There are some issues in the ordinance that we need to address,” said City Planner Wayne Mansfield.

Mansfield said the goal of the ordinance was to keep Vicksburg from looking like Las Vegas. Special rules were put in place for casinos that have changed little since the first casino opened in August 1993.

In other matters the city board:

Heard an appeal from business owner Jamal Khouri seeking to demolish a house at 1917 Washington St., built in the 1890s. The Board of Architectural Review had placed two stays on the demolition, one expiring in January and the other in April, citing historical significance of the building. The Mayor and Aldermen lifted the second stay to allow Khouri to tear down the house in January if it is not purchased by someone for renovations.

Awarded sealed bids for sewer-cleaning equipment, trash pumps and an air compressor.

Approved a building permit for Warren Guider at a development on U.S. 61 North. The city boundary passes through the tract. Guider had started construction after getting a permit from Warren County, but the building site is inside the municipal limits.

Authorized an application for grant funding through the Mississippi Arts Commission for the annual symphony concert. The grant is for up to $1,000.

Accepted a letter from the Zoning Board of Appeals proposing an amendment to the zoning ordinance to govern wireless communication towers.

Established special assessments for demolition and cleaning of five properties.

The city board will meet again at 10 a.m. Nov. 25 at City Hall Annex.