[0:19] Good evening everybody. It is Tuesday, September 15th, 2026, 5:30. I'm going to

[0:24] go ahead and call this meeting to order and ask us ask the mayor to lead us in a

[0:28] prayer and pledge. >> You can hear me?

[0:32] Please bow with me. Lord, thank you once again for the wonderful city that we

[0:36] live in. Thank you for the citizens that make this a wonderful place and our

[0:41] staff that keeps it clean and neat and moving ahead. We thank you for the first

[0:44] responders. We ask that you watch over them and protect them as they do their

[0:49] job and protect us and watch over their families as they take care of the first

[0:53] responders. As tonight we honor cancer issues, which

[0:59] is a issue with many, many people in our community, but we have people that take

[1:05] care of the people that are hurting. And we ask that you watch over and lay your

[1:08] healing hands on everyone that you can. We ask that all we do in your name,

[1:12] Jesus Christ. Pledge allegiance to the flag

[1:18] of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God,

[1:25] indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat]

[1:29] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[1:33] » Kathy, could you call the role? here.

[1:37] » Here

[1:43] [clears throat] >> you wants to talk about anything that is

[1:46] not on the agenda today, please see clerk Haley. She'll give you a form to

[1:49] fill out and we'll get to you later in the meeting. Moving on to the mayor's

[1:53] report. Well, really the only community report

[1:58] that I have is with um garden week last week. Had 40 different events that were

[2:02] put together that TDC had organized and did a did a really good job and I got a

[2:06] lot of comments from it that that was pretty active and for being the first

[2:11] year it was uh pretty phenomenal for what they had to put together. So really

[2:16] if you think garden week what do you think? I got to go hold the garden. But

[2:20] there was so many different events that went on and had so many of our citizen

[2:26] merchants put together things that it really it was really a cool idea. So

[2:32] what a good day. The other thing I have is a proclamation and I'm going to go up

[2:36] here and I'd ask if I could have hope come up please.

[2:50] You can just fly over the top.

[3:22] and Christie. She's here since day one. >> We are going to do a proclamation for

[3:28] cancer and prevention of cancer. And we appreciate all that Diana done. She's

[3:34] developed the naughty girl events and and organization

[3:38] and on October 3rd we light the circle pink and have lot a big event on that

[3:43] day. So everybody's welcome to come to that but here's the proclamation for

[3:48] whereas breast cancer affects individuals of all ages, genders,

[3:51] backgrounds and walks of life impacting families, friends, caregivers and

[3:54] communities throughout our nation and our local community. And whereas early

[3:58] detection, education, and access to screening continue to save lives and

[4:02] improve outcomes for those diagnosed with breast cancer. And whereas

[4:06] survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, volunteers, and advocates

[4:10] play an important role in hope providing hope, support, and encouragement to

[4:14] those affected by breast cancer. And whereas Naughty Girl Loves, Inc., A

[4:19] Highlands County based nonprofit organization founded by a breast cancer

[4:23] survivor. Diane Albert is dedicated to promoting breast cancer

[4:28] awareness, education, and early detection through community outreach and

[4:32] advocacy. And whereas Naughty Girl Loves, Inc. will host the third annual

[4:37] Light the Circle Pink event on October 3rd, 2026 in historic downtown

[4:42] Seabbring, bringing together residents, businesses, healthcare organizations,

[4:46] survivors, and supporters to raise awareness and encourage proactive health

[4:49] screenings. And whereas the light the circle pink event embraces the

[4:53] organization's mission of racing to educate and save lives while fostering

[4:58] unity and hope and support throughout our community. Now therefore, I, John

[5:02] Chu, mayor of the city of Sebring, Florida, do hereby proclaim October 26

[5:06] as breast cancer awareness month, and further recognize October 3rd as light

[5:10] the circle pink day in the city of Sebring, and encourage all residents to

[5:14] support breast cancer awareness, promote early detection, honor survivors,

[5:19] remember those we have lost, and participate in activities that

[5:22] strengthen the health and well-being of the community. In witness thereof, I

[5:26] hear unto set my hand and cause with great seal the city of Sebring, Florida,

[5:31] this 15th day of se September in the year of our Lord 2026.

[5:42] Um well actually I want this is the debut

[5:47] of hope. [laughter] Uh she will be a part of the naughty

[5:50] girl team. Naughty girl is actually an educator. She's a visual representation.

[5:56] You have to look it up. K N O T T Y girl, but if you see the visual

[6:00] representation, it will teach you about early detection and what to find. We

[6:05] promote mammograms. We promote t, you know, knowing your body. Um, we also we

[6:11] men, one in a thousand men are being diagnosed. Uh, one in eight women

[6:15] younger and younger women typically do not get mammograms until they're 40. So,

[6:20] there's a lot of young women in this room right now. And I am speaking to you

[6:25] because I was 40 years old when I felt something. And so I'm 40% of the women

[6:30] out there that have saved my own life. Um I will say that was 24 years ago and

[6:35] the mamogram did not see or detect it. So if I didn't feel it, I I wouldn't be

[6:41] here today. And so with um that's why she's called the naughty girl. And

[6:46] again, she's a visual representation of what a knock can feel like in sea life.

[6:51] And so we also are a nonprofit that we feel like we want to inspire and give

[6:58] you hope. And I recently have lost my brother this last year to cancer. And it

[7:05] was something that I was grieving kind of struggling with. And I said, you

[7:09] know, we all hope that there's a cure for all cancers. You know, maybe there

[7:13] could be some kind of vaccine. I don't understand. And so anyway, I decided

[7:19] that from that I was going to design a mascot and I was going to call her Hope

[7:25] and her name was going to be Butterfly and she's going to be a part of

[7:29] everything that we do and she is right now I just smile because I know that

[7:34] sometimes I'm around people and they're not smiling and I know when she walks in

[7:38] a room she will bring hope and you will smile and that's helping through my

[7:43] grieving um because there's all kinds of cancer. But I just thank you. I know you

[7:48] all came to several of you tonight to be with me and support me. I thank you all.

[7:53] I think we've been uh like maybe eight, nine years. Christie, uh the banners uh

[7:58] the city council always approved for that. And in the last three years, we

[8:01] came with the idea, Christy and I, can we just like uh light it up even more

[8:06] with an event? And so, um, you've always supported us and and we thank you, um,

[8:13] for all my big ideas and my passion. I really thank you. Thank you, Dr.

[8:19] [laughter]

[8:23] She's graphic artist and uh, she's also a Sebring High School art teacher. But

[8:30] 14 years ago, she came to my office. I told her what I wanted and she came back

[8:35] within a couple weeks. She put it in front of me and I said, "That's exactly

[8:39] what I want." So, she's been with me since day one for 14 years and I thank

[8:43] you.

[8:49] » That's it. I think that's it. Okay. >> Wait, wait. We're gonna get pictures.

[9:04] » Are you smiling? [laughter] All right.

[9:10] » Perfect. Thank you. Always smiling. >> Yeah. [laughter]

[9:15] » Yeah. So, we'll see you all October 3rd downtown Sebring like the circle pink.

[9:20] We have a lot of things planned. Uh from the strut around the circle uh car and

[9:24] truck show, we have a parade. I mean, there's just a lot of things. You'll

[9:28] have to go check it out. Like the circlepink.com. Thank you.

[9:47] All I have. >> Thank you.

[9:50] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We're moving on to the council members concerns, comments,

[9:53] and leaison reports. Start with Councilman Stewart.

[9:56] » No report.

[10:00] I got nothing. All right. All right, moving on to the consent agenda. Do we

[10:04] have a motion or do we have any discussion on the consent agenda?

[10:09] » Motion we approve the consent agenda as presented.

[10:12] » Second. >> Motion second. Uh, anybody from the

[10:15] public who wants to speak about anything on the consent agenda? Comments here?

[10:20] Kathy, >> yes.

[10:23] » Yes. >> Stewart,

[10:24] » yes. >> Yes. Uh, there is no old business. So,

[10:27] moving on to new business with 10A with a public hearing. Uh, so versa.

[10:37] » Yep. And this is a public hearing, so I'm going to go ahead and open this up

[10:42] and I'll read the title of the proposed ordinance. It is an ordinance of the

[10:46] city of Sebring, Florida, amending the city of Sebring land development code by

[10:50] amending chapter 17 sign section 17-10.2 two, non-residential zone district to

[10:56] address signage for locations with multiple businesses, providing for

[10:59] severability, providing for conflict, and providing for an effective date.

[11:03] Thank you, Bob. >> Good evening. For the record, Marissa

[11:06] Barby with the Central Florida Regional Planning Council. Next slide. Um,

[11:10] tonight we are here for first reading for a city initiated amendment to the

[11:16] sign code um to address non-residential signage. Next slide. So, there's

[11:23] different types of signage as we all know. Um, one of the categories for

[11:28] non-residential is strip malls. And strip malls like what you see here is a

[11:31] bunch of stores all put together and so there's signage requirements for what

[11:36] they can do including they get, you know, all those businesses get one sign

[11:40] on the front, you know, freestanding sign. Next slide. Then you get a

[11:45] shopping center which is a bigger type of use where again you get the one big

[11:49] sign on the front and then all the people are in the back. Next slide. What

[11:53] we are not uh clearly addressing in our code at this time is the type of uses

[11:59] where my business is in the back, you know, like Publix is in the back or the

[12:04] big stores in the back and then we have out parcels up front because our code um

[12:10] typically measures the signage you can have based on how much frontage you have

[12:13] along that road. So under this scenario, next slide.

[12:19] Oh, it's coming up anyway. So what you're finding, sorry, go back one more.

[12:22] I'm sorry. So, right now our signs, what you are allowed, you can have a

[12:26] freestanding sign. So, that's either a pole sign, you can have monument sign,

[12:30] those are the signs that are by the side of the front, by the road type signs

[12:33] next side, or you can have um signs that are actually on your building. So, it's

[12:38] affixed to your wall. Right now, our code says you get one

[12:45] freestanding sign for each road frontage for your building. Um, if you are a

[12:51] single business and you are at an intersection, you can have one for each

[12:56] road frontage. Then it says if you are multiple businesses sharing a single

[13:00] building, you get one permanent freestanding sign for all the building

[13:05] or facility per road frontage not to exceed two uh freestanding signs. and

[13:12] that they cannot be larger than one square foot of area for each lineal

[13:17] front of the premises measured upon the street with no sign of exceed 300 square

[13:21] ft. So there's kind of that example of that. So this again becomes our issue.

[13:26] These big businesses here, if you've got these out parcels on the front, how do

[13:30] you measure against that frontage for signage for those businesses?

[13:36] So we have some proposed text amendments. First, we would be adding

[13:39] some definitions. We would be adding a definition for big box retailer which is

[13:44] a singleuse building or connected series of buildings typically with floor area

[13:49] of 75,000 square ft or more and often comprised of distinct areas devoted to

[13:55] special functions or types of merchandise. Uh these stores are often

[14:00] part of national or regional chains and generally include large surface parking

[14:04] areas and a warehouse style layout. Examples include home improvement

[14:09] stores, warehouse clubs, department stores, and general merchandise

[14:12] retailers. We're adding a definition for um def uh development complex, which is

[14:18] includes two or more separate primary commercial uses or buildings on a single

[14:23] lot or on two or more contiguous lots, including out parcels served by a common

[14:29] road or driveway, shared parking, and or shared storm water facilities. and then

[14:33] a definition for master site plan which is a formal city approved document that

[14:37] sets the rules and design standards for all signage on specific property

[14:41] multi-tenant building or development.

[14:46] So under um section 174-1 it tells you all the things you have to come in with

[14:52] when you apply for a signed permit. We want to add consistency with the

[14:57] approved master sign plan as applicable because there would be times when you

[15:01] would have a master site plan. So, we want to make sure we're being consistent

[15:03] with it.

[15:06] Here under freestanding signs, you can see we reumbered

[15:11] because what was number three now moves down. Next slide. This was number three

[15:17] and it's now becoming number eight and we're calling it multi- businesses

[15:20] single building or facility. We're not changing the language here. This is

[15:24] what's in your code today. Um, and it says you get your one permanent

[15:28] freestanding sign for the building or facility per road frontage, not to

[15:32] exceed the total of freestanding signs. So again, this is that strip shopping

[15:37] mall we're talking about. It's one building with all the different things

[15:40] and you get your one freestanding sign at the road for it. What we are adding

[15:45] is development complex. So we have that definition again. So it's it's the

[15:52] complex we have shared parking. We have shared storm water. You can have out

[15:56] parcels in it where one big development complex. Typically the developer comes

[16:01] in with the plan that staff reviews and goes through and it identifies here's

[16:05] the out parcels, here's how all the parking and the storm water and all that

[16:08] would go. Um, we then say the development complex would be entitled to

[16:14] a development complex sign, uh, one per street frontage at the maximum size

[16:19] permitted for freestanding signs, which is 300 square ft of area. No single

[16:24] tenant freestanding sign shall be permitted within a development that has

[16:27] a development complex sign except for out parcels. So, similar to what we have

[16:31] in the one above, we get one for the development complex. If my store is in

[16:36] there, I don't get mine up front as well. Um then it it would

[16:43] and I apologize there was language that was supposed to come off of this that I

[16:46] didn't clip the right slide for. Development complex signs typically

[16:49] identify the complex and identified by name and or logo only each primary

[16:53] commercial use in the complex. There's supposed to be a period there that

[16:56] however was supposed to come off. So I apologize I didn't take that off the

[17:00] slide here. Um and then uh the development complex sign shall be

[17:06] located on property contained as part of the complex. Next slide. So this is an

[17:11] example of what we're talking about. This is an example. You can see it's the

[17:14] development complex. We've got our big big primary buildings. You've got some

[17:19] out parcel or buildings on the front and where the red star is is where you know

[17:24] on that entrance out you would put your development complex side. Next slide.

[17:28] Um, again, this is kind of that example of what that is. So, you can see you

[17:33] have your out parcels, the buildings in the back. They have shared parking.

[17:36] They're sharing their storm water functions. Next slide. And here's what

[17:41] that would look like. This is um the signage for the development complex

[17:46] there that says Premuk Lakes Mall lists the, you know, anchor stores at that

[17:50] mall. It's in that road frontage, which is development complex property. In this

[17:55] example, the Olive Garden, which is the out parcel, also has their little side

[17:58] there. Um, next slide.

[18:03] So, then we have a language added in for out parcels and out parcels within a

[18:07] development complex may have monu monument signage as long as the building

[18:13] does not share a common wall with another building or structure on an

[18:16] adjacent parcel. The monument sign is at least 50 linear feet from any

[18:21] development complex sign or any other monument sign. Monument signage is

[18:25] intended to be directed at ground level view and provide enhanced wayfinding.

[18:30] Monument signs shall not exceed 5t in height, measured from the crown or the

[18:34] closest roadway frontage or average adjacent grade, whichever is higher, and

[18:37] 12 ft in length. Monument signs may be doubleaced. Minimum set back is 5T from

[18:43] the right away. And the base of the footer of the monument sign does not

[18:47] count towards the sign area as long as it does not have content or exceed 3

[18:50] feet in height from the average adjacent grade. Um, next slide.

[18:56] Then we have the language in for the master sign plan. And the master sign

[19:00] plan is supposed to be developed at time of site plan or subdivision plan to

[19:05] identify where the signage would happen, what type of signage is out there. Um,

[19:09] if the develop developer wants to have signed standards on there, that would be

[19:15] included in that. Well, that would be adopted in whatever plans they have with

[19:18] whomever is buying the property from them. But at a minimum, we would have

[19:21] them show the boundaries of the parcels, the parking lot layout and drive aisles,

[19:25] entrance and exits, and the current and proposed signage.

[19:30] Next slide. Um, then our section goes into wall and fascia sign. So, this is

[19:36] what's put on the building itself. This is what's in there for your single-use

[19:40] buildings. And it has the language saying you get one um on businesses that

[19:47] front on a public street and walls that are visible from a street. Um and they

[19:54] can't exceed more than one square foot of area for each lineal foot front foot

[19:58] of the premises measured upon the street with the total not to exceed 300 square

[20:03] feet of area. Next slide. We are adding right now your code has

[20:10] shopping centers and multi-use buildings and we want to add big box retail to

[20:14] that. So we have a statement added in here to say if the establishment above

[20:20] two or more streets the city administrator or their designate shall

[20:23] determine which road the building faces. Um and that well my next slide has that

[20:28] picture. So in here we're adding big box retail and we are this is the provision

[20:34] has the amount that they're allowed. They're allowed if they have more than

[20:37] two acres on a site, they're allowed one and a half square foot of sign area for

[20:41] each lineal front foot of the building frontage that faces the street that

[20:45] serves the shopping center. That's what's in your code today. Um, what

[20:50] we're adding is to say you can put your signage on the front side or rear of the

[20:54] building, but individual sign shall not exceed the 300 square ft. And the reason

[21:00] for that is, [snorts]

[21:03] sorry, let me finish this and you I'll show that on the next slide. Anyway, so

[21:07] and then again, if you're in a development complex, you would have this

[21:10] all of this approved as your master site plan. Um, consistent with that section

[21:14] we just saw. This next section said if you were more than 40,000 square feet or

[21:21] a multiuse building with more than five users.

[21:25] We took that piece out. It's kind of confusing with the language that's above

[21:28] it. So, this now says, "Wall signage for anchor stores or uses with more than

[21:32] 40,000 square feet in shopping centers or multi-use buildings with more than

[21:37] five units users or big box retail having more than two acres

[21:43] with access to an arterial collector can be increased by 200 square feet when the

[21:48] building is set back 200 feet from the public right away. And the reason for

[21:52] these changes is right now your code says if you're as

[21:58] you know more than five users if you're a big box retail you can be

[22:04] um might be my next slide. Go to the next slide.

[22:08] Well Target's a good example. So Target you go up they have the big Target sign.

[22:12] They have CVS in there. CVS gets their own side. Next slide. This is an

[22:17] example. Ace Hardware. So Ace Hardware wants to advertise. They do lumber. They

[22:21] do hardware, they do paint, they do plumbing, they have these different

[22:25] services. And that's what we're seeing with a lot of our bigger box retail. You

[22:29] get in a store, you know, such as as Target even or bigger stores, and they

[22:35] have a vision center, and they may have a tire center, and they may have these

[22:38] different things. So, they want to be able to advertise their different uses

[22:41] even though they're technically not different businesses. So, that's why we

[22:44] have that language written that way so that there's that opportunity to do

[22:48] that. And we're saying you get ba and the signage is based on the size of your

[22:52] building. And the reason that's important

[22:56] um there sometimes you'll see examples where if it's just based on the sign,

[23:01] you'll get a teeny tiny little business with a sign that's as big as it is and

[23:05] then the Lowe's for example will have the same size sign and it looks it it

[23:09] look swallowed up on the frontage of that huge building. So having it based

[23:12] on the size of the building allows for um signage that fits the building. And

[23:20] then that provision which you is in your code today is if I'm 200 ft back from

[23:25] the road, I get to have a little extra sign because we're recognizing we're

[23:28] further step back from the road. Next slide. So that's my example here. This

[23:33] is again it's the target. So where are we figuring out what frontage are we

[23:37] doing? So this is where the applicant would sit down with the city manager or

[23:41] designate to decide are we measuring it from the red star, the gold star or the

[23:46] blue star. And that's and that's where and that's similar for when we're doing

[23:51] you know setbacks on property. Sometimes that's how that works. You go okay well

[23:54] you're you know which which one's our frontage and what are we doing? And that

[23:58] allows you know this technically has a road

[24:02] here 14th Avenue. 14th Avenue is a tiny little road. it's not the primary road

[24:06] you're advertising to. So if it's the service to the target would be the 14th

[24:11] Avenue, they obviously want to be serviced off of the bigger road and

[24:14] that's what they would want to be measured off of and that's that's what

[24:18] they would work with the city staff on doing that and ensuring that the signage

[24:23] is compatible with the type of road furniture they're on and the size.

[24:28] So then what we are adding right now your code allows for rear signs. We

[24:32] wanted to expand that to allow for signs on the side. Um, and right now it says

[24:38] you can have a sign on the rear wall which abuts either a street um, other

[24:44] than providing primary public access or an alley. So, we're adding out parcels

[24:49] or buildings with adjoining parking lots used in connection with such buildings

[24:52] shall be permitted to have rear or sidewall signs facing over such parking

[24:57] lots. And then the square footage requirements instead of just rear, it's

[25:02] rear inside. Next slide. So this is an example of um Melo

[25:09] Mushroom. It's actually in Lakeland and you drive on Lakeland Highlands and you

[25:13] can see this is this side. This side here with that sign. That's their

[25:17] entrance to the to the parking lot. Next slide. And then this is the view from

[25:21] the parking lot and they've got their signage there as well. So that's what

[25:25] this language is trying to do is to allow for development here or signage

[25:31] here that addresses the three faces that people are actually interacting with. So

[25:36] I didn't include a picture of it, but the backside here where their dumpster

[25:39] is, there's no sign on that side, but um next slide. This is another example. So

[25:45] this is inside the parking lot looking at the front. This is obviously the

[25:49] primary entrance is all that with the signage there. Next slide. And then this

[25:53] is you're driving down the main road seeing the back, but you can go, "Oh,

[25:57] look, there's the bike store. I'm gonna stop at, you know, bike store on my way

[26:00] home from work today." So, there allows for some signage facing that road on the

[26:03] back. Um, planning and zoning board did have a meeting on this on September 8th

[26:10] um and voted to recommend approval with changes. Those changes have been

[26:13] incorporated into your packet. They did also have two workshops on this disc on

[26:17] this language prior to their hearing. So, this language has been um vetted

[26:22] with them and your motions are here. I'm happy to stand for any questions or

[26:27] comments you may have.

[26:31] Thank you very much. Does anybody any from the public have any questions?

[26:39] I'm going to adjourn the public hearing. Moving on to council's questions,

[26:42] comments.

[26:46] » Fully educated on science. [laughter]

[26:50] and I have none either. So, uh, that being said, I'll entertain a motion.

[26:56] » Make a motion that we approve ordinance on first reading and schedule second and

[26:59] final reading for October 6th, 2026. >> Second.

[27:03] » Motion got second. Any final comments from the audience?

[27:08] Comments here? Kathy, >> yes.

[27:11] » Yes. >> Stewart,

[27:12] » yes. >> Yes.

[27:15] » Thank you very much. Presentation as always. All right. Uh, any business from

[27:20] the audience? I don't see any. Moving on to city attorney's business.

[27:25] » Nothing approved. Okay. City administrator.

[27:30] Good evening, council. Uh, the project report is attached. Uh, made a couple of

[27:37] changes to the project. One of them was with D.

[27:44] They do have recommended language that's formulated by district one and they

[27:48] reported that toast for their review.

[27:54] And then the other item was uh the social district. We're still

[28:00] investigating potential legislation.

[28:09] Thank you, Scott. Kathy, you're up.

[28:16] » So moved. >> Second.

[28:18] » Anybody has any questions about the bills?

[28:21] Happy call the role. >> Bishop,

[28:24] » yes. >> Yes.

[28:26] » Stewart. >> Yes.

[28:27] » Yes. That is it. We are judge.

Council Meeting 9/15/2026

Transcript