The Town Council of Bethany Beach has determined that sign regulations are necessary because:
A. 
Sign regulations are intended to protect and enhance the character of the community and its various neighborhoods and districts against visual blight. A proliferation of signs can seriously detract from the pleasure of observing the natural scenic beauty of Bethany Beach.
B. 
It is necessary to regulate the size, type and location of signs to encourage the effective use of signs as a means of communication and to provide equality and equity among those who wish to use signs.
C. 
Signs have an important design component and must be architecturally compatible with affected structures and the character of the surrounding area in order to maintain the overall quality of a neighborhood, commercial or commercial lodging district.
[Amended 1-16-2015 by Ord. No. 509]
D. 
It is necessary for public safety that official traffic regulation devices be easily visible and free from nearby visual obstructions and distractions, such as attention-getting signs, an excessive number of signs, or signs in any way resembling official signs.
E. 
It is the intent of this chapter to regulate the time, place and manner under which signs are permitted and not the content of signage. Although examples of content may be provided in these regulations for clarity, content will not be used as a basis for determining whether or not a proposed sign is permitted.
This chapter shall apply to all property and land within the jurisdiction of the Town of Bethany Beach. It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation that owns, occupies, or controls property in the Town of Bethany Beach to construct, maintain, display or alter, or cause to be constructed, maintained, displayed or altered, a sign within the Town except in conformance of this chapter.
[Added 4-20-2012 by Ord. No. 476]
The Town of Bethany Beach is exempt from all provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 4-20-2012 by Ord. No. 476; 1-16-2015 by Ord. No. 509; 7-19-2024 by Ord. No. 568]
As used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the indicated meanings:
ATTENTION-GETTING SIGN OR DEVICE
Any sign or device with moving parts, flashing lights, and/or neon colors, or signs incorporating pennants, streamers, large helium balloons or any similar visual device used for the purpose of drawing attention.
BANNER SIGN
A flexible sign of lightweight fabric or similar material typically supported at two or more points and hung on a building or otherwise suspended down or across its face, or across a public right-of-way.
BUILDING FACE
The building face means the whole of a building visible from a public street or private property, excluding sloped roof surfaces.
COMMERCIAL/COMMERCIAL LODGING DISTRICTS
"Commercial districts" refers to all nonresidential districts, that the property is zoned commercial or commercial lodging.
DIRECTORY SIGN
A sign that identifies the names and locations of tenants in a multitenant building or in a development made up of a group of buildings.
FREESTANDING IDENTITY SIGN
Included in this sign designation are freestanding post signs, monument signs, electronic message centers, and shopping center identification signs.
FRONTAGE
The width of a lot or parcel abutting a public street.
HEIGHT
The height of a sign is the vertical distance from average grade (ground level) immediately below the sign to the top of the sign, including the support structure and any projecting design elements.
ILLEGAL SIGN
An illegal sign is a sign which does not meet the requirements of this code and which has not received legal, nonconforming status.
MAJOR STREET FRONTAGE
Major street frontage is frontage on any arterial road shown in the Town's Official Zoning Map.
MARQUEE
A building element that is part of a permanent entryway or entry canopy and traditionally associated with theaters. A marquee sometimes includes a projecting vertical sign, which may extend above the cornice line of a building. The design and allowable sign area for a marquee are determined by the Nonresidential Design Review Committee during the review of the proposed building and/or marquee.
NONCOMMERCIAL SPEECH SIGNS
Any sign containing a political, philosophical, religious or other message not used for commercial purposes and not made in furtherance or promotion of a commercial product, service or enterprise.
NONCONFORMING
A nonconforming sign is a sign which was erected legally, but which does not comply with subsequently enacted sign regulations.
NONRESIDENTIAL DESIGN REVIEW
Refers to the nonresidential design review process authorized by the Town Municipal Code (Ordinance No. 413, added 8-7-2006).[1]
NONRESIDENTIAL DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE
The committee with the jurisdiction to perform nonresidential design review under Chapter 425, Article XXI of the Bethany Beach Town Code. When these sign regulations refer specifically to the Nonresidential Design Review Committee, review by the Committee is required.
OFF-SITE SIGNS
Any sign, including a billboard placed for the purpose of advertising products or services that are not produced, stored, or sold on the property upon which the sign is located.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS SIGN
A banner or flag sign of lightweight fabric or similar material displaying the word "OPEN." The banner or flag also may display the business name, business logo and/or a description of the business. Any such banner or flag must be limited in size to 27 inches by 40 inches, or 7.5 square feet, that is either hung on a building or suspended as a flag, that does not impede pedestrian traffic or line of sight, to be used only during business hours. The banner or flag must be attached to the storefront in which the business is located.
PREMISES
A lot or series of lots under common ownership and/or developed together as a single development site, regardless of how many uses occupy the site.
PUBLIC ENTRANCE
The public entrance is one or more places of entry to a premises that is accessible to the general public.
RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT
A residential district is any property found in an R-1, R-1A, R-1B or R-2 zone, regardless of how the property is actually used.
ROOF SIGN
A roof sign is any sign where any part of the sign is on or over any portion of any roof, eave or parapet of a building or structure.
SIGN
A. 
A device, fixture, placard, structure, or painting that uses any color, form, graphic, illumination, symbol, or writing to advertise, announce the purpose of, or identify the purpose of a person or entity, or to communicate information of any kind to the public.
B. 
For purposes of this Sign Code, a "sign" includes any object, which is intended to attract the attention of passersby to a business, service, or product, whether or not such object contains any text. This may include but is not limited to bright colors, wall signs, freestanding structures, art work, freestanding or monument signs, flags, whirl-a-gigs, pennants, streamers, banners, all of which are subject to the regulations set forth within the sign code.
C. 
For purposes of this sign code, a building or portion of a building which departs from standard design in an attempt to attract attention to the premises by reason of color scheme, building shape, or unusual architectural features, or part of a building or facade not required structurally or for maintenance, and which is intended to direct attention to products, goods, services, events, entertainment, or an establishment, shall be considered a sign and subject to all pertinent regulations.
SIGN AREA or AREA OF A SIGN
The area of a sign is the number of square feet of the smallest rectangle within which an individual sign face can be enclosed.
SIGN FACE
The sign face is the visible portion of the sign, including all characters, symbols and structural or nonstructural background (e.g., cabinet frame or painted border), but not including the base of a pole sign, monument sign or freestanding sign.
SPECIAL EVENT
An event of temporary and limited duration, including, by way of example and not limitation, yard sales, sidewalk and boardwalk sales, special promotions, and public events.
STOREFRONT
A storefront is a distinct architectural feature that is immediately accessible from a public sidewalk and consisting of window displays and entry doors to one or more uses.
TEMPORARY SIGN
A temporary sign is a sign that is temporary in nature and displayed in conjunction with a specific event, as opposed to a "sign" which, under this chapter, may be displayed on a permanent or indefinite basis.
TENANT'S BUILDING FACE
The tenant's building face is that portion of the building face enclosing the area of the building occupied by the tenant. In multitenant buildings with interior tenant spaces, each tenant's building face shall be the proportionate share of the building face enclosing the area occupied by all tenants.
TRAFFIC DIRECTIONAL SIGNS
Information signs that give direction, usually guiding drivers to destinations, facilities, services, parking, etc.
WINDBLOWN DISPLAY
Any banner (not otherwise included in the definition of "banner sign"), flag, pennant, spinner, streamer, moored blimp or gas balloon, whether or not conveying a message through the use of words, letters and/or symbols. In the case of a string of pennants, flags, etc., each string shall be treated as one windblown display, and the total area of all such pennants or flags on the string shall not exceed 2,160 square inches.
WINDOW DISPLAY
A window display is an arrangement of merchandise, including graphics and text that is displayed in a building window. Provided the display is located more than 12 inches back from the inside of the window, the display is not considered a sign.
V SIGN
A V sign is a sign consisting of two essentially equal sign faces positioned at an angle of less than 180°.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 425, Zoning: Art. XI, C-1 Central Commercial District; Art. XII, C-2 Neighborhood Commercial District; Art. XXI, Nonresidential Design Review Committee; and Appendix 3, Table of Dimensional Requirements.