An ordinance that would amend the Urbana Corridor Development Standards (UCDS) will undergo a second reading during Urbana City Council’s 6 p.m. meeting today in municipal court chambers.

The proposed change outlined in the ordinance was recommended to council by the Urbana Planning Commission and involves the signage section (Section D) of the UCDS.

Community Development Manager Doug Crabill said the ordinance, if passed, would change the total amount of signage a business in the Urbana Corridor Overlay District is able to have by allowing 2 square feet of signage for every lineal foot of occupied frontage.

“Right now, we allow 1 square foot of signage for every lineal foot of frontage,” he said. “If you have 25 feet of frontage at your business, you are allowed 25 square feet of signage. We think it’s a little bit under what it should be.”

Crabill added based on the signage variances being sought by businesses in the Urbana Corridor Overlay District (commercial or industrial properties located on a state or U.S. route within the city), the proposed amendment is a “common sense change to make to this section.”

Businesses in a planned unit development (PUD) or the downtown overlay are not included in the UCDS, Crabill said.

For example, he added, the Urbana Commons PUD (Walmart) allows 2 square feet of signage for every lineal foot of frontage a business occupies. Nearby cities like Marysville also use the 2 to 1 ratio instead of a 1 to 1 ratio.

The ordinance originally underwent a second reading on July 19, but the Planning Commission on July 25 recommended another change be made, which requires another second reading, Crabill said.

The additional change involves removing the cap for the maximum amount of total square footage of signage a business in the corridor overlay is allowed. The current cap is 100 to 300 total square feet of signage based on various criteria.

Legislation, Board of Control items

In other legislative matters, council will hear the first reading of an ordinance involving annexation as well as a resolution involving the leasing of land at Grimes Field.

The ordinance calls for the city to provide a statement of services to 638 Childrens Home Road, approve an annexation agreement with Urbana Township and authorize the director of administration to sign the agreement on behalf of the city.

The resolution for ground leasing at the city-owned airport seeks council’s approval to allow the director of administration to enter into an agreement with Krohn Aviation LLC on two ground leases that would result in the construction of a corporate hangar and a T-hangar at Grimes Field.

As for Board of Control items, administration will seek council approval of two purchase orders totaling $20,750.

The first item is a purchase order to LEA Aid Acquisition Company in the amount of $8,000 for investigative equipment for the Urbana Police Division.

Council’s authorization will also be sought to allow the director of finance to enter into a contract with Kennedy, Cottrell, Richards LLC for the annual compilation of the city’s finance statements for fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018.