The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Administrator.
A member of the city staff appointed by the city administrator, designated to administer and enforce this chapter.
Average grade.
The grade of the finished ground level at the midpoint of each exterior surface of a sign, or a structure, if the sign is attached to the structure.
Billboard.
Any sign that is freestanding or attached to or part of a building and is an off-premises sign.
City.
The City of West Lake Hills, Travis County, Texas, and its area of extraterritorial jurisdiction as defined by V.T.C.A., Local Government Code chapter 42.
Commercial sign.
A sign which directs the attention of the general public to a place of business that sells goods or services, or other contains commercial or business activity.
Commission or zoning and planning commission.
The zoning and planning commission (ZAPCO) of the city.
Compensable cost.
Those costs for which the owner of a nonconforming sign required to be relocated, reconstructed or removed by this chapter is entitled to be compensated pursuant to V.T.C.A., Local Government Code chapter 216, which costs, if required to be paid by the statute, shall be calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in the statute.
Erect.
To build, construct, alter, reconstruct, pour, lay, move upon, attach, hang, place, suspend or affix, and also includes the painting of wall signs, murals or super graphics, or any physical operation on the premises which is required for the construction of a sign, including excavation, site clearance, landfill, and the like.
Freestanding sign.
Any sign which is not attached to or on the walls, face, or exterior of a building.
Government sign.
A government sign is a sign that is constructed, placed, or maintained by the federal, state, or local government or a sign that is required to be constructed, placed, or maintained by a property owner as mandated by the federal, state, or local government either directly or to enforce a property owner’s rights.
Handheld sign.
Any sign held by a person.
Indirect lighting.
A light source from a shielded and hooded fixture mounted to the top of the sign, pointed towards the ground and that is diffused to provide an even illumination without glare. This type of lighting must conform with the lighting requirements in article 24.03.
Landscaping.
To change the natural features by adding trees, bushes, flowers, etc.
Manual on Uniform Traffic-Control Devices (MUTCD).
The state publication for streets and highways.
Notice.
Actual notice or written notice sent by registered or certified mail.
Office complex.
Two or more offices and/or office establishments, sharing customer parking area, regardless of whether said offices or office establishments occupy separate structures or are under separate ownership, or on separate tracts or lots of land.
Official sign.
Any sign erected by or at the direction of any governmental body.
Off-premises sign.
Any sign other than an on-premises sign.
On-premises sign.
A commercial sign which advertises only goods, services, facilities, events, or attractions available on the premises where located, or identifies the owner or occupant or directs traffic on the premises.
Premises.
A lot or tract within the city, and contiguous lands in the same ownership, which is not divided by any public highway, street or alley, or right-of-way therefor.
Projecting or hanging sign.
Any sign attached to a building and extending in whole or in part more than nine inches beyond the building line. Allowable size does not include supporting structure.
Reflective surface.
Any material or device which has the effect of intensifying reflected light, such as scotch light, day glow, glass beads and luminous paint.
Restoration.
The routine maintenance and painting of existing, approved signs that do not change the approved design and color in any way.
Shopping center.
Two or more retail stores and/or service establishments, or one retail store and one service establishment, sharing customer parking area, regardless of whether such stores and/or establishments occupy separate structures or are under separate ownership or on separate lots on tracts of land.
Sign.
A name, identification, image, light device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster, billboard, description, display, or illustration which is affixed to, painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, picture, window (attached inside or outside), or piece of land, and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, facility, service, event, attraction, person, institution, organization or business which is visible from any street, right-of-way, sidewalk, alley, park or other public property. Displays of merchandise customarily sold at the site without illumination or lettering which are placed behind a store window are not signs or parts of signs.
Surface area of a sign.
The total surface including frame and mounting. The actual area of the sign shall be calculated using trigonometric methods when the sign is not a simple rectangle. The allowed area of the sign as stated in the ordinance equals one side of a freestanding back-to-back sign, provided the freestanding sign’s sides are back-to-back or angled with no greater separation between sides at its widest point than four feet and provided that both sides have the identical sign. Frame and mounting shall not exceed 30 percent of the total surface area of sign.
Temporary sign.
A banner, pennant, poster, or advertising display constructed of papers, cloth, canvas, plastic sheet, cardboard, wallboard, plywood, or other like materials that appears to be intended or is determined by the director of building and development services to be displayed for a limited period of time.
Traffic-control sign.
A permitted sign for the purpose of identifying parking areas and directing the flow of traffic on private property.
Uniform sign agreement.
An agreement approved by the city and property owner(s) containing specific regulations for the project’s or property’s signs to establish uniform signage.
Wall sign.
A sign attached to, painted on, or erected against the wall of a building or structure with the exposed face of the sign in a plane parallel to the face of the wall and not projecting more than nine inches from the face of the wall at any point.
Zone.
A zoning district as shown on the official zoning map of the city.
(Ordinance 2020-014 adopted 10/14/20)
(a) 
Violation; notice.
If the administrator finds that any sign is maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter within the city limits or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction, the administrator shall give written notice of the violation to the owner or person entitled to possession of the sign or the owner of the property where the sign is located.
(b) 
Failure to comply; city abatement.
If the person fails to alter or remove the sign so as to comply with this chapter within ten days after the receipt of the notice, the administrator may cause the sign to be altered or removed at the expense of the owner or person entitled to possession of the property or sign, and shall, upon the determination of the expenses, certify them to the city.
(c) 
Lien.
The city shall notify the owner or person entitled to possession of the sign or property of the total costs incurred for the alteration or removal and destruction of the sign, and if that person fails within 30 days after the date of notification to pay the entire costs and expenses of the repair, alteration or removal, then the costs and expenses shall become a lien against the property.
(d) 
Costs.
The costs incurred under this section shall include the actual cost of repair or removal of the sign, plus 15 percent, and in addition thereto, shall include an amount equal to ten percent, representing penalty and interest for the cost of collection, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
(a) 
Any person convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $500.00. Each day of violation under this chapter shall be a separate violation.
(b) 
Additionally, the city administrator or the administrator’s designee shall have the authority, and the duty, to remove or cause to be removed and impounded any sign, poster, handbill, banner, streamer or other outdoor advertising erected, placed, altered, maintained, or neglected in violation of this chapter, if the same is located on, in, or above any public street, right-of-way or sidewalk area, or other public property.
(c) 
The cost of any such removal or impoundment shall be chargeable to the person or persons, jointly and severally, who were responsible for or who caused the erection or placement of the offending sign or advertising, and their sureties.
(d) 
Any item impounded by authority of this section shall be held for a period of 30 days and then disposed of in any manner designated by the city administrator. During the 30 days, the owner of such item upon proof of same may reclaim such item at the place of storage by paying to the city the actual cost of removal and impounding. This charge shall in any event be not less than $25.00.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed as relieving or limiting in any way the responsibility or liability of any person erecting or owning any sign from personal injury or property damage resulting from the placing of the sign, or resulting from the negligence or willful acts of such person, or such person’s agents, employees or workers, in the design, construction, maintenance, repair or removal of any sign erected in accordance with a permit issued under the provisions of this chapter. Nor shall it be construed as imposing upon the city or its officers, employees, or the zoning and planning commission, any responsibility or liability by reason of the approval of any signs, materials, or devices under the provisions of this chapter.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
All signs and structures supporting signs in the city and extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be properly maintained at all times to the satisfaction of the administrator. The administrator shall have the authority to order the painting, repair, or removal of a sign, sign structure, or accompanying landscaping which constitutes a hazard to safety, health or public welfare by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment. The administrator’s decision shall be subject to review by the city council in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Notification shall be by certified mail. If, within 15 days, the maintenance orders are not complied with, the administrator may order the sign removed at the owner’s expense under the provisions of this chapter. A permit is not required for simple routine maintenance, adjustments, replacement of light globes, etc. on existing conforming signs.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
It shall be unlawful for any person to do any of the following acts:
(1) 
Post, paint, or otherwise exhibit any commercial advertisement, poster, bill, or other notice or sign on any property not owned or controlled by the person, without the permission of the person owning or controlling such property.
(2) 
Tear down, remove, or otherwise interfere with any notice, sign, advertisement, bill or poster erected by another, unless the same was placed or maintained on the property of the person removing the same, without permission previously given.
(3) 
Paint, mark or write on, or post or otherwise affix, any handbill or sign to or upon any sidewalk, crosswalk, curb, curbstone, streetlamp post, hydrant, tree, shrub, tree stake or guard, railroad trestle, electric light or power or telephone or telegraph, wire pole or wire appurtenance thereof or upon any fixture of the fire alarm or police system or upon any lighting system, public bridge, or lifesaving equipment, street sign or traffic sign in the city or the extraterritorial jurisdiction. Any handbill or sign found posted, or otherwise affixed upon any public property contrary to the provisions of this section may be removed by the police department or other department or individual so designated by the city. The person responsible for any such illegal posting shall be liable for the cost incurred in the removal thereof. The city administrator is authorized to effect the collection of such cost.
(4) 
Place or cause to be placed anywhere in the city or in the extraterritorial jurisdiction any poster, placard, handbill, or advertising material on any vehicle, or in any location, in such a manner that the same may reasonably be expected to be blown about by the wind. It shall be presumed that the person’s name that appears on such poster, placard, handbill, or advertising material has knowledge of the location and manner that such item was placed. It shall be further presumed that if a large number of such items are found scattered about and being blown about by the wind that the items were placed in such a manner that they might reasonably be expected to be blown about by the wind.
(5) 
Erect, maintain, or paint any sign, or other message or outdoor advertising upon a tree, rock, or other natural feature.
(6) 
Erect within the city limits, or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city, any sign or outdoor advertising without having prior thereto obtained from the city a permit therefor, except as specifically exempted by the provisions of this chapter.
(7) 
Remove, alter, change, or obscure, without authorization of the city administrator, any official tag or identification which was placed on any outdoor advertising or sign material.
(8) 
Violate any provision contained in this chapter within the corporate limits of the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
The only signs permitted in the city are those which meet the requirements of this chapter, and amendments thereto, and which have received the necessary approval.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following signs:
(1) 
Memorial signs or tablets, when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other metal up to six square feet as part of a building;
(2) 
Official governmental notices and notices posted by governmental officers in the performance of their duties, governmental signs to control traffic or for other regulatory purposes such as neighborhood crime watch areas, or to identify streets, or to warn of danger;
(3) 
Temporary or permanent signs erected by public utility companies or construction companies on property where dangerous or hazardous conditions are present including, but not limited to, excavation, or the presence of underground cables, gas lines and similar devices;
(4) 
Commercial signs displayed on trucks, buses, trailers or other vehicles which are being operated in the normal course of a business, indicating the name of the owner, business and location (e.g., moving vans, delivery trucks, rental trucks and trailers and the like); provided, that the primary purpose of the vehicles is not for display of signs, and provided that they are parked in areas appropriate to their use as vehicles normally used in the course of business and are in operable condition, carry a current and valid license plate and state inspection tag; and
(5) 
Any sign required to be erected by a property owner through a mandate of the federal, state, or political subdivision or a department or agency of the federal, state, or political subdivision; or
(6) 
On a lot zoned residential, one permanent sign for each dwelling on a lot, not to exceed two square feet per lot, that is less than six feet from average grade in height, located on the lot between the right-of-way and the building setback lines as provided in chapter 38 and that meets the design criteria in section 32.01.013 with indirect or no lighting.
(7) 
Flags are authorized to be placed on any property without a permit, including two flags with noncommercial messages and one flagpole per premises shall be allowed on each property. Each flag must be a maximum of fifteen (15) square feet in area. The flagpole must be a maximum of (25) feet in height or no higher than the highest point of the principal building’s roof, whichever is lower. Flagpoles must meet the minimum yard setback requirements for a principal building.
(8) 
Changing a commercial message to a noncommercial message on any legal sign surface does not require a permit. Any legal sign surface on which a commercial message is displayed may have a noncommercial message in its place.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
No sign shall be erected, relocated or maintained so as to prevent free ingress to or egress from any door, window or fire escape. No sign of any kind shall be attached to a standpipe or fire escape.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
No sign or sign structure shall:
(1) 
Obstruct free and clear vision at any street intersection.
(2) 
Interfere with, obstruct the view of, or cause confusion with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device because of its position, shape or color.
(3) 
Use illumination resembling an emergency signal.
(4) 
Be the cause of a recurring traffic slow down, whether because of its positioning, visual impact, or a combination of these or other factors.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
(a) 
A person may not place a sign on the right-of-way of a street or highway within the city or extraterritorial jurisdiction unless explicitly authorized by this chapter.
(b) 
Signs placed in violation of this chapter are hereby declared a public nuisance, and may be removed and disposed of by the city without notice and without compensation to the sign owner.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
Any sign authorized by the city to be placed in the right-of-way, if any, may not inhibit access to or interfere with a utilities or drainage easement.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
(a) 
Harmonious with city scale.
Sign location, configuration, design, materials, and colors should be harmonious with the Hill Country setting and the rural scale of the city.
(b) 
Materials.
Sign materials shall be predominantly natural, such as native stone, rough cedar, pine or other types of wood. Other materials may be substituted when in the opinion of the zoning and planning commission they meet the design criteria of the city.
(c) 
Architectural harmony.
The sign and its supporting structure shall be in architectural harmony with the surrounding structures.
(d) 
Colors.
Black and earth tones shall be favored, and bright colors shall be used only as accent colors. The colors in an earth tone scheme are muted and flat in an emulation of the natural colors found in dirt, moss, trees, and rocks. Many earth tones originate from clay earth pigments such as umber, ochre, and sienna.
(e) 
Landscaping.
Landscaping is required and shall be designed to harmonize with the building and surrounding natural landforms and native plants, as reflected in specific requirements contained herein.
(f) 
Reflective surfaces.
Glare-producing surfaces on signs are not allowed.
(g) 
Lighting.
All lighting of signs shall be indirect lighting as defined herein and all floodlights shall be shielded. No sign shall be illuminated, in whole or in part, where the illumination is intermittent or varies in color or intensity from time to time. The use of searchlights is prohibited. Changeable electronic variable message signs (CEVMS), digital signs, and light emitting diode (LED) signs are prohibited.
(h) 
Moving parts.
No sign shall contain any moving parts.
(i) 
Commercial logo/logograms.
Graphic symbols, used to represent or identify a business entity or organizations, are permitted to be displayed on signs only under the following conditions:
(1) 
The design and materials comprising the logo shall be consistent with the guidelines in this section;
(2) 
Commercial logos shall be permitted only on sign categories set forth in section 32.03.001(b)(4), (6), (7), and (9); and
(3) 
Commercial logos shall be consistent with those generally utilized by applicant on business cards, stationery, and other similar uses.
(Ordinance 2020-014 adopted 10/14/20)
Any sign that requires a permit shall be designed and constructed to withstand wind pressures and receive dead loads as required in the International Building Code (IBC) as adopted by the city.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
(a) 
Determination.
A nonconforming sign shall be, on the effective date of the ordinance from which this section was derived, any sign which:
(1) 
Was erected prior to October 7, 1969 [sic] February 28, 2018;
(2) 
Was a nonconforming sign under the provisions of Ordinance 358, dated February 28, 2018, or becomes nonconforming due to amendments to the ordinance;
(3) 
Was erected while not under the jurisdiction of the local ordinances, laws or regulations applicable at the time of its erection and area was later annexed by the city; and
(4) 
Was in compliance prior to adoption of Ordinance 358, dated February 28, 2018, as amended, but due to the provisions of this chapter is determined to be nonconforming.
(b) 
Removal.
Nonconforming signs shall be terminated immediately upon the occurrence of the following event specified:
(1) 
A sign that, having been permitted to remain in place as a nonconforming use, is required to be removed because the sign, or a substantial part of it, is blown down or otherwise destroyed or dismantled for any purpose other than maintenance operations or for changing the letters, symbols or other matter on the sign; for purpose of this subsection, a sign or substantial part of it is considered to have been destroyed only if the cost of repairing the sign is more than 60 percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the type at the same location;
(2) 
A nonconforming sign that has been abandoned;
(3) 
A nonconforming sign that has been discontinued for a continuous period of 90 days; and
(4) 
A nonconforming sign that has become obsolete or substandard under any applicable ordinance of the city to the extent that the sign becomes a hazard or danger.
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)
Any sign not expressly authorized by this chapter, or specifically authorized from the provisions hereof, is prohibited. Examples of prohibited signs include, but are not limited to:
(1) 
Portable signs, except those used for temporary purposes as otherwise provided for in this chapter.
(2) 
Cloth, canvas, paper, soft plastic, balloons, flags, or similar advertising signs or devices except as provided for in this chapter.
(3) 
Molded plastic, plastic sheet or flex-face signs.
(4) 
Signs that have the appearance of traffic safety signs and lights, or municipal vehicle warnings, from a distance.
(5) 
Boxes stored in view of the street, etc. which have large product identification that serves as a sign.
(6) 
Signs or advertising materials that are worn, held, or attached to a person’s body advertising the sale of goods or services.
(7) 
Signs that contain moving parts. Apparent motion of the visual message, caused by, but not limited to the illusion of moving objects, moving letters, moving patterns or boards of light, expanding, contracting or rotating shapes, or similar effects such as “scrolling” or “running” messages are prohibited except as otherwise provided for in this chapter.
(8) 
Signage, advertising or messages of any type affixed to or painted upon natural features such as trees or rocks.
(9) 
New billboards (off-premises signs) with commercial advertising are prohibited.
(10) 
Signs that violate the city’s lighting or any other code requirements.
(11) 
Signs that are attached to any utility pole or wire, traffic sign, or city easement or are placed on city-owned property unless placed by permission of the city.
(12) 
Feather banners.
(13) 
Balloon signs.
(14) 
Inflatable signs.
(15) 
Roof signs (including signs that are otherwise permitted but are placed on the roof of a building)
(16) 
Changeable electronic variable message signs (CEVMS), digital signs, and light emitting diode (LED) signs
(Ordinance 2020-007 adopted 6/24/20)