The third time was the charm as the Columbia City Council voted unanimously last night to approve amendments to city codes that regulate the size and location of downtown signs and awnings.

The controversial measure the Special Business District crafted was tabled two weeks ago to give city council members more time to digest last-minute changes. It also was tabled Feb. 5 to allow supporters and opponents more time to hammer out a compromise and for city staff to clarify the wording.

Local attorney Phebe La Mar, who represented dozens of downtown merchants and property owners opposed to earlier versions of the proposed amendments, told members of the city council last night that her clients supported the latest set of rules and were "withdrawing opposition" to the measure.

Mayor Darwin Hindman, looking at a full slate of council business, breathed a sigh of relief.

"That last statement, of course, was music to the ears of members of the council," he said with a laugh.

After a brief discussion on two remaining changes to the proposal, which were accepted, the council voted unanimously to approve the new sign regulations.

The amended sign ordinance defines wall, awning, window and projecting signs and puts restrictions on them depending on sign type and location. Generally, street-level wall signs are restricted to 32 square feet, and upper- and lower-level signs are restricted to 18 square feet. There are special rules for buildings that are occupied by a single or multiple tenants and for leaseholds with at least 48 feet of sidewalk frontage. Existing signs are exempt under a grandfather clause.

The previous law allowed signs up to 64 square feet with few restrictions.

Supporters of tighter regulations said the rules would preserve the unique historic flavor of the business district and linked it with an overall effort to make downtown more stylish, trendy and attractive.

Downtown merchants and property owners generally ignored the process to revise the sign ordinance, launched by the SBD about a year ago, until the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a version in September.

After that, an effort spearheaded by commercial real estate agent Paul Land, attorney Craig Van Matre and retailer Arnie Fagan rallied opposition that eventually wrested compromises. Opponents said the early versions were too restrictive and created unfair competition with merchants outside the district. Particularly irksome were prohibitions on wall signs above street level and a restriction on letter height. Both of those restrictions were removed.

SBD Director Carrie Gartner said this morning that the effort to revise downtown sign regulations was a "big step" and produced an unexpected benefit of bringing more people to the discussion table about the downtown’s future.

"It’s not that it looks fine now, but what about 10 years from now when we have five- or six-story buildings?" she said. "We shifted the focus of what SBD does as an organization and what we talk about from smaller here-and-now issues to larger issues on how we set the stage for the future."

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