Dallas's city council passed an ordinance restricting the percentage of window space a storefront can use for advertisements. Council members say the signs are creating or adding to blight.
"The corner convenience store might not be the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to cleaning up neighborhood blight.
But in poorer parts of Dallas, such shops are frequently plastered front to back with mini-billboards advertising everything from cigarettes to Frito pie.
'These signs just trash up the community. When you pass a neighborhood retail shop on the north side, it's not as big a problem as it is here,' said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway as he passed sign-covered store after sign-covered store in his southern sector district.
It drew little notice, but last week, the City Council enacted restrictions that target those signs, hoping to clean up the way convenience stores and other mom-and-pop shops look in neighborhoods around the city.
The ordinance limits how much of a building's facade and windows can be covered with signs.
Specifically, windows and glass doors, many of which are completely covered today, must be 80 percent clear so patrons can see in and out of the store. And outside walls and facades that have served as little more than street-level billboards must have no more than 25 percent of their surface covered with signs."
FULL STORY: Dallas law aims to bring signs down from storefronts

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie