Wichita may tone down the LED signs

People who own bright LED signs, like the one at a car dealership and car wash on North Rock Road, may soon have to dim them -- at least at night.

In a City Council workshop today, Council members voiced support for an ordinance that would require new LED signs to have dimming controls and require existing signs to reduce their brightness. Sign owners who can't control the intensity of their signs would have to come into the City Hall and talk to the Office of Central Inspection about modifying their signs or getting an exception to the rule. This decision is far from over, though. In workshops, the Council just gives city staffers some direction on what kind of ordinance they'd like to see.

John Lay, with George Lay Signs Inc., said requiring dimming controls won't be a big deal since most new signs have them. He said most of the signs that people are complaining about also have dimming controls.