Tampa City Council directed the Tampa Downtown Partnership to proceed with a design-guidelines study for large-format digital signage across the Central Business District and asked staff and legal to provide an inventory of currently approved/active displays and the documents authorizing them.

Kenyatta Hairston Bridges, president and CEO of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, and Casey Bauer, the partnership's planning manager, described a three-phase approach (discovery, define, design) and said Gensler was selected as the consultant. Bauer noted early legal and regulatory constraints, including state limitations on signage near state roads (referencing Chapter 479 of the Florida Statutes) and spacing/format restrictions for off-premises advertising.

Legal counsel Susan Johnson Velez told council that design guidelines are only one piece: any ordinance or permit regime must account for First Amendment limits on content and for state statutory restrictions, and that staff cannot draft a final ordinance until standards (size, hours, spacing, operating rules) are defined.

Council voted to direct the Downtown Partnership to study the entire Central Business District area, to hold two public community-input meetings (Nov. 17 and a follow-up in December), and to return with a Feb. 26 workshop update that includes peer-city comparisons and a 1-page summary of other cities' approaches. Council also requested a written legal report listing existing active digital signs and copies of any authorizing documents; Councilman Carlson made the request and the council approved it.

Why it matters

Large-format and dynamic digital displays can change a downtown's character and the city's legal staff highlighted two practical constraints: (1) state statutes limiting certain types of outdoor advertising and (2) constitutional limits on content regulation. Council members repeatedly asked that the study proceed with visible community engagement and with examples of how comparable cities handled design, placement and operational controls.

Next steps

- Downtown Partnership public input sessions are scheduled (Nov. 17 and a December follow-up).
- Staff and the partnership will provide peer-city case studies and a Feb. 26 progress report to council.
- The city attorney's office will prepare a written inventory of currently authorized/active digital displays and the documents that authorized them.