City of Wildwood Could Receive Exception to Its Own Sign Code

The City of Wildwood is seeking an exception to its own regulations for a sign for the new municipal building in Town Center.

The structure, which contains city hall and a St. Louis County police precinct, was opened in March of this year but is still lacking several formal pieces of signage.

Part of the reason for the delay was apparent at a work session Monday night as the Wildwood City Council debated how best to accommodate the official Wildwood logo and the words “municipal building” for one of five proposed signs.

The problematic design would be located on the building’s exterior wall facing Main Street. It features the logo stacked above the words “municipal building.” The issue? It exceeds the height restrictions established by the city’s sign code.

Council members debated various ways to make it fit, including changing the font sizes and swapping around positions, but struggled to find any consensus.

A suggestion to break up the logo and the words “municipal building” also ran afoul of the code, since it would then technically count as two signs and exceed the total sign count past what is allowed for the size of the building.

“Now you can see what trouble sign companies have with the city of Wildwood,” said Councilman Jeff Levitt.

City Administrator Daniel Dubruiel indicated that there had been a lot of internal debate between city staff and their contractors and said he had brought it before the council in hopes of receiving some definite direction.

“I am sick and tired of futzing around with the design of this thing and having everyone have an opinion,” he said. “We need to make a decision.”

In the end, the council voted to send the sign to the city’s board of adjustment for a possible variance that would allow the design to stay as it is.

“We will have a fun meeting with the board of adjustment next month,” said Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther. “Signs always bring out the best.”

Planning and Parks Director Joe Vujnich told Patch that the board usually receives three to four requests each year and they are typically granted about 50 percent of the time.