LAUREL — The use of LED (Light Emitting Diode) signs in the City of Laurel could be a benefit to local businesses and the public.

Norman Beasley with Lamar Outdoors Signs said Wednesday that the use of LED signs informs people of a variety of things.

The Laurel City Council had little discussion before approving new changes to its sign ordinances, which will include regulations concerning LED (Light Emitting Diode) signs.

The council conducted the second reading of amendments to the city’s sign ordinance Tuesday.

According to the ordinance, “a digital sign is any sign having the capacity to display a message on the face or facing of a sign by manipulation of light projected onto a screen or otherwise produced within the screen.”

The ordinance classified digital signs to include those using LED Technology, Plasma Technology or any similar method/technology to produce the same results as LED or Plasma.

The original purposed ordinance included areas in C-3, Heavy Commercial District; C-4, being Central Business District; and I-2, being Light Industrial District.

However, in the approved amendments this week, the ordinance now includes areas in C-2, being General Commercial District.

Beasley with Lamar Outdoors Signs said that his company is happy that the council included C-2 in the order.

“We asked that the signs be allowed in the C-2 corridor from the Interstate up Highway 15,” Beasley said. “The digital technology used with the signs is real expensive and would probably only be used in high-traffic areas.”

Beasley said the company has conducted surveys of traffic in Laurel and determined that “the section of 16th Avenue from the Interstate up Highway 15 is C-2, and it has the highest traffic volume in the area.”

Beasley said while many advertisers use vinyl to display their messages on billboards, the LED signs allows “advertisers to change their messages electronically”

According to Beasley, his company has a lot of advertisers who have expressed interest in using digital advertising in the C2 area along 16th Avenue.

However, in addition to the advertisers, Beasley said LED signs can be beneficial to the city and residents.

“We use digital advertising in other areas, and we partner with local cities and counties to also use the technology for amber alerts and emergency notices,” Beasley said. “We use it for public service announcements also. We use any unsold signs to promote public service announcements for the city or county.”

City Administrator Dennis Keveryn said his concerns about the signs are that “they are more distracting than a normal billboard.”

However, the approved ordinance specifies that the displays “shall not create excessive brightness or glare” and the display change time for the signs shall not exceed one second with duration of each display being no less than eight seconds.

It also states that the “maximum brightness for digital signs shall not exceed an illumination of 5,000 NITS during daylight hours nor 1,000 NITS during the period from sunset to sunrise, as measured from a sign face at Maximum brightness.”

According to city policies, now that the ordinance has been approved at the second reading, the document takes effect in 30 days.

The latest amendment is one of several recent amendments to the city’s sign ordinance.

The council in December approved an ordinance regulating signs, particularly billboards, in certain areas of the city.

City officials said the purpose and intent of that section to the general sign regulations are to govern the placement of general signs and billboards along the corridors or gateways into the City of Laurel.

The December amendment, which was later approved, regulates signs along the Central Avenue Corridor from Maple Street to Cooks Avenue and on West Fifth Street from 13th Avenue to 16th Avenue, which are located in the Central Business District and being situated in the Central Business District  Neighborhood of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Laurel.

According to city documents, all signs considered for the purpose of these regulations and placements are on lots zoned in Residential-3, being High Density Residential Restrict; C- 1, being Restricted Commercial District; C-2, being General Commercial District; C-3, Heavy Commercial District; C-4, being Central Business District; and I-2, being Light Industrial District.

Furthermore, the earlier amendment stated that “billboards shall not be allowed in the gateway corridor district and/or Central Business District Neighborhood.

Earlier this year, the inspection department proposed an ordinance restricting banner use in the city. The proposed ordinance caused some concern among businesses in the city. The ordinance was later dropped.