Staff Report – Study Session; Electronic Reader Board Signs
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Farhad Mortazavi, APA, City Planner
Lorraine Weiss, APA, Principal Planner
VIA: Dan Barros, City Manager
MEETING DATE: October 22, 2025
SUBJECT: Study Session – LED Reader Board Signs
RECOMMENDATION
This is a study session for informational purposes only. No City Council action will be taken; the purpose of this study session is to allow the City Council to consider different features of LED electronic reader board signs and provide comments, questions, impressions and feedback to staff.
COUNCIL ADOPTED VALUES
The City Council’s review and discussion of reader board signs is consistent with responsibility and vision as it furthers the Town’s efforts to provide signage consistent with General Plan and Municipal Code.
BACKGROUND
On June 25, 2025, the City Council adopted the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. Included within this CIP Budget is $150,000 for two reader board signs.
One sign would be displayed at the corner of the El Camino Real and Serramonte Boulevard intersection in front of the Police Department. The second sign would be mounted in front of the Colma Community Center fronting Hillside Boulevard.
ANALYSIS
W hat is an Electronic Reader Board Sign:
An electronic reader board sign is a digital sign which communicates messages and information.
It is an efficient way of notifying the public of community events and messages. These signs can be programmed to show text and images and look much like a flat screen television. These signs are essentially large computer screens composed of thousands of individual, full-color LEDs (light- emitting diodes).
AGENDA ITEM #7
Staff Report – Study Session; Electronic Reader Board Signs
How does a n Electronic R eader B oard S ign W ork:
Presently, the Town has two wood sign boards in place. One board is in front of the Police Station behind the curved retaining wall at the corner of El Camino Real and Serramonte Boulevard. A second board sign is mounted in front of the Community Center at the Hillside Boulevard frontage.
Each time these signs need to have a message change, staff must go to these sites and manually change the signage on these boards.
The advantage of an electronic reader board sign is that it can be operated by a staff member using a laptop or computer at one’s desk. A designated staff member would be responsible for electronically changing the message on the reader board as necessary.
What the Council Can Consider with Electronic Reader Board Signs
The Council should review standard criteria which may include, but not limited to, the following:
• Size
• Black and white or color
• Speed (technical)
• Sensor based on weather conditions.
• Location
Each of these criteria are discussed below for the Council’s consideration.
Sign Size: Electronic reader board signs come in various sizes. The existing signs at the Police Department and Community Center are each a wooden sign, 48” high by 96” wide. It would be desirable to provide one at each location that is a bit larger than the present wooden sizes for ease of readability as people walk, bicycle ride, and drive along El Camino Real and Hillside Boulevard.
The photomontages below show the existing 48” high by 96” wide signs, and the proposed 60” high by 120” wide signs in context with their surroundings to provide a visual representation of how the signs appear at the respective locations.
Staff Report – Study Session; Electronic Reader Board Signs
Existing Signs
Existing sign in front of Colma Police Department
Existing sign in front of Colma Community Center
Staff Report – Study Session; Electronic Reader Board Signs
Proposed Signs
Proposed signs are shown, 60” high by 120” wide. See below.
Proposed sign in front of the Police Department
Proposed sign in front of Colma Community Center
Staff Report – Study Session; Electronic Reader Board Signs
The Council should provide input on electronic reader board sign size.
Black and w hite or color : Electronic reader board signs can either be with black and white images or in color. Staff conducted site visits of two nearby such signs that vary in displays. The first sign for reference is at the northwest corner of Floribunda and Walnut Avenue in Town of Hillsborough (across the street from the Town Hall). This sign is a simple black and white sign with no movement and no animation beneath a roof structure.
The second sign reference is at the corner of the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and El Camino Real in City of South San Francisco. This sign is large, curved, and in color.
The Council should provide input on whether to have black and white or color image on the electronic reader board signs.
Sign Illumination : Electronic reader board signs can be illuminated in one of two ways. One method of illumination is a reader board that is internally illuminated, and the second way would be with external illumination. The Hillsborough sign has a roof above the electronic reader board, with small LED lights mounted to the inside of the roof eave.
Messages on the Reader Board Sign s
The reader board signs would only include government speech to ensure that the Town does not face any risk of a first amendment lawsuit. If the Town was to open up the reader board signs to non-government speech, it must comply with the first amendment which may require it to allow messages that it disagrees with as hate speech is protected by the first amendment. Under first amendment principles, once the Town opens the reader board to outside speech, it cannot discriminate based on viewpoint or restrict hate speech.
So, it is staff’s recommendation, in consultation with the City Attorney’s Office, that the Town only display Town messages and events.
FISCAL IMPACT
Minimal fiscal impact is anticipated with the consideration of electronic reader board signs. The Town will incur the cost of purchasing the two reader board signs, preparing plans and installing the signs at their respective locations. The signs have already been funded by adoption of the CIP budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 ($150,000).
NEXT STEPS
Staff will take the Council’s direction, and order the appropriate LED reader board signs based on this feedback.