The city of Sacramento is considering allowing new, large digital advertisements at malls.
A preliminary recommendation from the Community Development Department would permit two digital signs, 300 feet apart on retail sites that are 50 acres or larger.
Evan Compton, a principle planner for the city, says the signs would only be allowed on sites with more than 450,000 square feet of retail.
He says a goal is to “prevent proliferation of this type of sign” throughout the city.
“We want to do a really thoughtful approach. For these really large, regional shopping centers, we feel they could be accommodated on site," Compton said.
Mark Friedman, co-owner of Arden Fair Mall, says the digital signs would allow the mall to advertise a variety of stores at different times of the day.
"It's no surprise to anyone that brick-and-mortar retail is under fundamental assault from the internet,” Friedman said. “We need to deliver more pertinent and timely information to our customers.”
He added that tenants who do not already have signs on the outside of the mall would benefit by being able to attract more customers with the new advertising.
"We've got one main monument sign, which doesn't have room for information about the 180 tenants that we have inside” the mall, Friedman said. He would like to install an electronic reader board that can change messaging and provide “relevant information at relevant times,” he added.
The maximum height of the signs is proposed at 35 feet. They could be double-sided if they stand perpendicular to a road, such as Arden Way or Business 80, near Arden Fair Mall.
A staff report recommending the idea says that “requirement for brightness, hours of operation, and transition would be the same as those for entertainment venues,” such as the Golden 1 Center, where there already exists a digital sign district.
The Sacramento City Council Law and Legislation Committee is scheduled to consider the proposal on September 13.
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