The Building Official is the primary City official responsible
for enforcing the provisions of this article. However, the City Manager,
in his or her discretion, may delegate the authority of enforcing
the provisions of this article to any official or employee of the
City.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7040 adopted 2/19/19)
(A)
Permit
Required.
No person may erect, construct, alter, rebuild, enlarge, extend, convert, replace, or relocate, a sign, or cause or suffer the same to be done without first obtaining a sign permit for each sign (except for certain exempt signs as provided in Section 4.67 and as otherwise provided below). A sign permit applies to only one applicant and one physical location.
(B)
Responsible
Official.
The Building Official, or his or her designee,
is the responsible official for issuance of a sign permit.
(C)
Creation
of a Site.
The Building Official may not issue a permit
for construction, erection, or placement of any type of permanent
sign until a site is established for the sign by an approved site
permit, building permit, or certificate of occupancy (whichever comes
first for a particular project).
(D)
Application.
To obtain a sign permit, the applicant must file an official
application in writing and include plans and all information required
by the Building Inspection Department.
(E)
Fees
and Refunding of Fees.
(1)
Sign
Permit Fee.
The fee for a sign permit is provided in Chapter 30, Article XVI of the City Code.
Where work is started or commenced without first obtaining a required sign permit, the sign permit fee shall be doubled. The Board of Adjustment may waive or reduce any amount over the standard sign permit fee, as provided for in Chapter 30, Article XVI of the City Code, upon a reasonable determination that the sign was (a) designed and constructed in conformance with this article and all other City codes and ordinances, and (b) a reduction or waiver would be equitable after taking into account the facts and circumstances of the case. The payment of any fee does not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of this article or any other City codes or ordinances.
(F)
Issuance
of Sign Permit.
A sign permit shall be issued by the
Building Official provided that the plans and specifications meet
with all the requirement of this article, all other applicable codes
of the City, and the appropriate fee has been paid.
(G)
Expiration
of Sign Permit.
A sign permit issued under the provisions
of this article expires if the work authorized by the permit is not
completed within 90 calendar days following the sign permit issuance
date. Upon expiration of, and before work may recommence, the applicant
must apply for and obtain a new sign permit.
(H)
Suspension
or Revocation of Sign Permit.
The Building Official may
suspend or revoke any sign permit issued under the provisions of this
article upon a determination that the permit was issued in error or
on the basis of incorrect or false information, or whenever the permit
was issued in violation of any of the provisions of this article or
any other ordinance of the City or any state or federal law. The suspension
or revocation is effective immediately upon written notice being personally
delivered or mailed to the person to whom the sign permit was issued
at the address provided by the applicant in the respective sign permit
application, to the owner or benefactor of the sign, or to the owner
of the premises upon which the sign is located. Any sign installed
under a revoked sign permit must be removed by the permit holder,
sign owner, or property owner within fifteen calendar days following
the mailing of the written notice of the revocation.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7040 adopted 2/19/19)
(A)
All signs that require a permit are subject to a pre-inspection and a final inspection (see subsection (B) below), and any additional inspections as reasonably determined necessary by the Building Official.
(B)
Pre-Inspection.
The Building Official, upon receipt of an application for a
sign permit, may conduct a pre-inspection. The following requirements
must be met by the applicant for the issuance of a sign permit: (i)
the work described in an application for a sign permit complies with
the provisions of this article, state, and federal law; (ii) the plans,
specifications, and other information filed in the application comply
with the provisions of this article, state, and federal law; and (iii)
the related sign permit fees have been paid in full.
(C)
Final
Inspection.
The sign permit holder must, within 3 working
days of completion of the sign installation, request a final inspection.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7040 adopted 2/19/19)
The following types of signs or activities must comply with
all sign requirements of this article, but are not required to have
a sign permit:
(A)
Maintenance.
No sign permit is required for maintenance to a lawfully placed
sign. Maintenance includes all care and minor repair needed to maintain
a safe, attractive, and finished structure, frame pole, brackets,
or surface and that does not enlarge or materially alter any face
or display portion of the sign. Replacing a damaged or structurally
unsound frame pole with another frame pole on a legally conforming
sign of the same size and height is considered maintenance. Changing
the copy on a sign without changing the dimensions of the face or
the size of the copy is considered maintenance if the sign serves
the same establishment or entity after the change.
(B)
Temporary
Signs on Single-family Lots.
A sign permit is not required
for temporary or seasonal signs on residential lots, not including
multifamily tracts, lots, or properties.
(C)
Address
signs.
A sign permit is not required for address signs placed pursuant to Section 4.70(A)(3).
(D)
Traffic
or Movement Control Sign.
The following standards serve
an important public health and safety function, and are intended to
be used by the owners of private property that is open to the public
to reduce confusion and to limit the risk of accidents involving vehicular
and pedestrian traffic. Subject to the following provisions of Subsections
(1)–(5), no permit is required for a small, incidental, on-site
sign designated specifically for the purpose of directing or providing
safety guidance to vehicular or pedestrian traffic on private property.
Traffic-control signs on private property:
(1)
shall
not exceed a maximum height of 3 feet from the ground;
(2)
shall
not exceed a maximum surface area of 6 square feet;
(3)
are
permitted in all multifamily, single-family attached, mixed-use, and
nonresidential zoning districts, and are allowed for any nonresidential
use that is lawfully located in an agricultural, single-family, or
two-family zoning district;
(4)
shall
be placed or setback a minimum of 3 feet from any right-of-way line;
and
(5)
if
illuminated, a sign permit must be obtained through the Building Inspection
Department.
(E)
Sandwich
Board Sign.
A permit is not required for a sandwich board
sign. A sandwich board sign is a self-supporting A-shaped temporary
sign with two visible sides that is placed in front of a business,
generally on a sidewalk, to attract patrons into the establishment.
A sandwich board sign must comply with the following provisions:
(1)
The
maximum height shall be 4 feet.
(2)
The
maximum surface area of each side is 10 square feet and a maximum
of 30 inches wide.
(3)
A
sandwich board sign is allowed in all mixed-use zoning districts.
(4)
The
sign may not be placed or located a distance greater than 5 feet from
the building in which the advertised use is located, and must be placed
within close proximity of the main entrance of the business. Sandwich
board signs must be placed so that a minimum walkway width of 4 feet
is maintained, not including the area upon which the sandwich board
sign is located.
(5)
A
property or business may have only one sandwich board sign per street
frontage.
(6)
A
sandwich board sign may be displayed only during hours of operation.
(F)
Vehicle
Signs.
A permit is not required for a vehicle sign that
complies with the provisions of this article.
(G)
Window
Sign.
A window sign is a sign painted or affixed to the
exterior or interior surface of a window, or placed behind, or within
3 feet of, the window surface so as to be visible from the exterior.
Window signs must comply with the following provisions:
(1)
Window
signage on buildings used for commercial or retail purposes may occupy
or cover no more than 25 percent of the total window surface area
for each leased space within a multi-tenant building. Window signage,
in aggregate, may occupy or cover no more than 25 percent of the total
window surface area for each building facade that is visible from
a public street or alley (maximum 25 percent coverage for all window
surfaces combined).
(2)
Luminous gaseous tubing, LED lights, or other strip lighting attached directly to a window, window frame, door, doorframe, or within 3 feet of a window or door shall be considered a “window sign” when forming a border, when directing attention to a premises, or when forming letters, logos, symbols, or pictorial designs of any kind. Luminaries shall not blink, flash, rotate, scroll, change color, increase or decrease in intensity. In addition to these window sign limitations, electronic programmable window signs shall comply with Sections 4.78(O)(3), (7), and (8).
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7040 adopted 2/19/19)
