Years of discussions regarding Vicksburg’s comprehensive sign ordinance have resulted in more lenient standards approved Tuesday by the Zoning Board of Appeals and referred to the City Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Most of the changes have to do with billboards, said Wayne Mansfield, director of city planning.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising sued the city in 2003 over rules enacted in 2002 that essentially eliminated their business inside the city limits. A settlement was reached in October, which led to the changes in the ordinance. Lamar will remove some signs, but has permission to add others.

&#8220What we have tonight is a culmination of a lot of work on the city’s part and Lamar’s part,” Mansfield said. &#8220The purpose for the amendments was to come to some agreement as to the location for outdoor advertising.”

According to the proposed changes to the ordinance, Lamar will be allowed to replace signs in the downtown area with signs in more commercialized and industrial areas of town.

The changes also cap the total number of billboards allowed in the city at 51, Mansfield said.

City Attorney, Nancy Thomas said billboards along Interstate 20 and U.S. 61, although in the city limits, are regulated by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Therefore, signs that do not fit within the city code may be allowed at those locations by MDOT. One example is double-decker signs, which are outlawed by the city.

Lamar representative Lisa Reppeto said Lamar will move its signs from the downtown area within a year.

Other proposed changes to the ordinance include eliminating a yearly sign renewal fee and allowing multitenant complexes to have multibusiness, ground-mounted signs.

Roger Fillebaum, manager of Signs First, questioned a provision in the amendments that said to install any sign over 6 feet, an engineer would have to be hired for inspection.

Fillebaum said it did not make sense to require a small business to pay $250 or more to hire an engineer for a sign that may only cost $100. He said he often helps install signs, like simple stop signs, that are not very expensive or complicated to install but are 6 feet or taller.

&#8220It costs you more than the sign to get an engineer drawing,” Fillebaum said.

He suggested the height requirement be raised.

Mansfield replied that the amendment was intended for monument signs, so he did not see a problem with raising the height requirement.

The Zoning Board included the height increase in its motion to approve the amendments.

Dan Waring addressed the Zoning Board to ask how the amendments would affect a new business.

Mansfield said nothing was changed in the ordinance regarding new businesses except that multitenant ground signs are now being allowed.

Waring said he did appreciate the city proposing to do away with annual sign fees.

Also during the meeting, the Zoning Board approved amendments to the city’s parking lot specifications.

&#8220We’d like to urge better layout” of parking lots &#8220to protect safety,” said Kelly McCaffrey, community planner for the city.

McCaffrey said often city officials inspect parking lots that do not adequately accommodate vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

A proposed change to the parking ordinance states that parking lots attached to a commercial use shall not be developed or occur within a residential zone. If such a commercial parking lot is adjacent to a single-family or two-family residential zone, parking may not occur within 75 feet of the residential zone. If the parking lot is adjacent to a multifamily residential zone, parking may not occur within 50 feet of the residential zone.

Parking of tour buses and recreational vehicles may not occur within 150 feet of any residential zone, the proposed amendment states.

McCaffrey said another major proposed change to the ordinance states parking for all proposed athletic facilities will be handled on a case-by-case basis. He said it is difficult to set requirements for athletic facilities because a ball park may need only 40 parking spaces on most days, but could need 400 spaces on a tournament weekend.

Site-review will be required for all proposed athletic complexes, he said.

Also, McCaffrey said another proposed addition to the ordinance requires all submitted drawings to be done by a professional architect.

He said it comes down to the safety issue.

&#8220We’re regulating a public space with fast cars and human bodies,” McCaffrey said.

The proposed ordinance also requires funeral homes to have one space for every four seats in the chapel.

Zoning Board Member Jack Burrell asked about the requirements for funeral homes without chapels.

Burrell said the parking requirements for funeral homes without chapels should be based on square footage.

In other business, the Zoning Board: