[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.