Building official
shall mean the officer or other person with the City of Willow
Park charged with the administration and enforcement of the sign regulations.
Freestanding sign
means a sign supported solely by posts or structures other
than a building.
Off-premise sign
means a sign displaying advertising copy that pertains to
a business, person, organization, activity, event, place, service
or product not principally located or primarily manufactured or sold
on the premises on which the sign is located.
On-premise sign
means a sign identifying or advertising a business, person
or activity and installed on the same premises as such business, person
or activity.
Portable sign
means a sign designed to be mounted on a trailer, bench,
wheeled carrier or other nonmotorized mobile structure. A portable
sign may be an off-premise or on-premise sign.
Sign
means an outdoor structure, display, light device, figure,
painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster, billboard, flag or other
thing that is designed, intended or used to advertise, inform or attract
attention.
Wall sign
means signs attached against building fronts or exposed walls,
or parallel to the face of the building and atop a marquee and not
extending above or beyond such building.
Weekend directional sign.
A sign which is not installed in a permanent fashion and
is used to identify, direct, sell, promote or otherwise advertise
homes and real estate for sale, lease or rent. Such signs include
but are not limited to real estate signs installed by use of a stake,
tripod or other temporary means.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-700; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
(a) Permits.
No person shall erect, construct, relocate,
alter or repair a sign without first having obtained a permit, except
as otherwise provided in this section. This section does not apply
to government signs.
(b) No sign shall be, erected, created or constructed after the effective
date of this article without a permit issued by the city secretary
or his designate, except as provided herein.
(c) Every applicant before being granted a permit shall pay a one-time
permit fee in the amount established by city council and on file in
the offices of the city. All off-premise sign permits shall be renewed
annually at the same fees.
(d) Weekend directional sign.
(1) Permit requirement.
No person shall erect, place or
position or cause to be erected, placed or positioned in or on any
public property or right-of-way within the city, a weekend directional
sign without first having obtained an annual permit from the building
official or his designee.
(2) Permit duration.
Any permit authorized under this subsection
shall be valid for a period of one year from the granting thereof.
The permit shall not be granted until an annual fee in the amount
set by the city council has been collected from the applicant. The
permit authority is subject to all other applicable federal, state
or local statutes, rules or regulations.
(e) Portable signs.
(1) Existing businesses with portable signs in use at the date of enactment
of this article are not required to [obtain a] permit or to pay a
permit fee for six (6) months.
(2) Subsequent new businesses may use a portable sign for a period of
six (6) months from the date of certificate of occupancy or until
a permanent sign is installed, whichever comes first. The permit fee
shall be in the amount established by city council subject to a 30-day
extension with the city administration approval and a new permit fee.
(3) A temporary permit valid for fifteen (15) days may be obtained for
portable signs. The permit fee shall be in the amount established
by city council and on file in the offices of the city. Permits shall
be issued for no longer than thirty (30) days in a six (6) month period
for any business or location.
(f) No permit shall be required for the following signs:
(1) Signs advertising the sale or lease of real property on which they
are located.
(2) An on-premise sign in existence before the effective date of this
article.
(3) A sign that has as its purpose the protection of life and property.
(4) A sign or marker giving information about the location of underground
electric transmission lines, telegraph or telephone properties and
facilities, pipelines, public sewers or water lines or other public
utilities.
(5) A sign erected by an agency of the state or a political subdivision
of the state.
(6) A sign erected solely for and relating to a public election, but
only if:
(A) The sign is on private property;
(B) The sign is erected no sooner than the 30th day before the election
and is removed no later than the 7th day after the election;
(C) The area of the sign does not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet
per sign face;
(D) The sign does not exceed ten (10) feet in height;
(E) The sign is self-supporting.
(7) On-site directional signs not exceeding two (2) square feet, provided
such directional signs do not contain advertising and are not used
as such.
(8) One unlighted or indirectly lighted sign with names and/or street
numbers so long as the area of such sign does not exceed one (1) square
foot for each dwelling unit.
(9) Bulletin boards not over sixteen (16) square feet in area for public,
charitable or religious institutions when the same are located on
the premises of such institutions.
(10) One (1) temporary construction sign denoting the architect, engineer,
financial institution or contractor when placed upon the site under
construction and not exceeding sixteen (16) square feet in area.
(11) Memorial signs or tablets, names of buildings and date of erection,
when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or
other noncombustible materials.
(12) Flags, emblems and insignia of any governmental body, [and] decorative
displays for holidays or public demonstrations which do not contain
advertising and are not used as such and which do not exceed thirty-five
(35) feet in height and one hundred (100) square feet in area.
(13) Temporary signs advertising occasional noncommercial sales (including
garage sales, patio and porch sales) shall be limited to three (3)
signs not to exceed two (2) square feet each. Signs shall be removed
within two (2) days following such sale.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-701; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)
Application for permits shall contain or have attached thereto
the following information:
(1) Name, address and telephone number of the person or company which
will own the sign.
(2) Location of building, structure or lot to which or upon which the
sign or other advertising structure is to be attached or erected.
(3) Two (2) sets of reproducible plans shall be submitted showing the
sign location in relation to nearby buildings or structures, signs,
property lines, driveways, public streets, fences and sidewalks.
(4) Two (2) sets of reproducible plans and specifications showing method
of construction and attachment to the building or ground. Size, type,
height, construction materials and such other information as the building
official may require.
(5) Name, address and telephone number of person, firm, corporation or
association erecting the sign.
(6) If an off-premises sign, the written consent of the owner of the
building, structure or land to which or on which the sign is to be
erected.
(7) Zoning classification of the property.
(8) Such other information as the building official shall require to
show compliance with this and all other ordinances of the city.
(9) Weekend directional sign.
(A) The application for a permit shall include a drawing of the proposed
sign(s).
(B) Applicant should provide the name, address, [and] telephone number
of the property owner of the affected property.
(C) The application shall contain the name, address and telephone number
of the person that the applicant acknowledges is responsible for placement,
retrieval and maintenance of the sign identified in the permit.
(D) The application shall contain an acknowledgement by the applicant
that they received, read and understand the provisions relating the
weekend directional sign including that such signs [are] subject to
seizure and confiscation and imposition of a seizure fee in the amount
established by city council and on file in the offices of the city
for each sign seized for violations of terms of the permits or conditions
of sign display.
(E) An approximate maximum number of weekend directional signs that will
be displayed up to the permitted limit of 20.
(F) Any other information the building official may require for compliance
with this article or enforcement thereof.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-702; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)
The area of any sign shall be deemed to be the sum of the area
of each sign face, including cutouts unless so designated in other
sections herein.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; Ordinance 244-88 adopted 10/11/88; 1993 Code,
ch. 12, ex. B, sec. 12-703; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
No off-premise sign shall be located within one thousand (1,000)
feet of another off-premise sign on the same side of the street or
highway.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-704; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
(a) No freestanding sign shall exceed thirty (30) feet above ground level
and shall not be lower than ten (10) feet above ground level.
(b) Wall signs shall not exceed four (4) feet above roof line.
(c) Any sign over a walkway must have a minimum of eight (8) feet clearance
over the walkway.
(d) A freestanding on-premises sign may extend to a height of thirty-five
(35) feet above ground level or above grade directly opposite of the
sign of a limited access freeway, whichever is higher if and only
if the premises property is zoned “C” or is contiguous
to a limited access freeway or separated therefrom only by a service
road.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; Ordinance 246-89 adopted 1/10/89; 1993 Code,
ch. 12, ex. B, sec. 12-705; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
(a) The maximum area of on-premise wall signs associated with property
zoned “C” or contiguous to a limited access freeway or
separated therefrom only by a service road shall be no greater than
two hundred sixty (260) square feet per sign face.
(b) The maximum area for a freestanding on-premise sign associated with
property zoned “C” commercial shall be no greater than
forty (40) square feet per sign face with the limit of one (1) freestanding
sign per business.
(c) An additional freestanding, nationally franchised logo type sign,
will be permitted with the limit of one (1) per business subject to
the area restrictions on freestanding signs.
(d) When a shopping strip directory sign is selected, each individual
business in the shopping strip shall forfeit their right to individual
freestanding signs and the maximum area for the directory sign shall
be the sum of forty (4) [sic] square feet for each business located
in the shopping strip.
(e) The maximum of any off-premise sign shall be ninety-six (96) square
feet per sign face.
(f) The maximum area of any portable sign shall be forty (40) square
feet per sign face (80 square feet maximum).
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; Ordinance 246-89 adopted 1/10/89; Ordinance
323-92 adopted 5/19/92; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec. 12-706; Ordinance
470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
(a) If a use has street frontage on a corner, street frontage for the
purpose of calculation of sign area shall be either:
(1) In the case of a sign erected on a building, the frontage of the
building on the street which the sign faces.
(2) In the case of a freestanding sign more than three hundred (300)
feet from an intersection of any public street, the frontage of the
street closest to the sign, or if equidistant from two (2) or more
streets, the longest such frontage.
(3) In the case of a freestanding sign less than three hundred (300)
feet from an intersection, the frontage to be used in calculation
shall be the street upon which the largest business building on such
property faces.
(b) If a use has street frontage on more than one street but not on a
corner, such business shall be entitled to signs by formula on each
street.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-707; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
Off-premise signs shall be allowed in the following zoning districts,
but only within one hundred (100) feet of major thoroughfares, designated
on the Willow Park thoroughfare plan. Such districts where off-premise
signs are allowed are commercial and industrial. No off-premise sign
may be located closer than two hundred fifty (250) feet from any residence
or residentially zoned area.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-708; Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01)
All signs shall be designed, constructed and anchored to withstand
a wind pressure of not less than thirty (30) pounds per square foot
per sign face.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-709)
No sign shall be erected, relocated, or maintained so as to
prevent free ingress or egress from any door, window or fire escape.
No sign of any kind shall be attached to a standpipe or fire escape.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-710)
No sign shall be erected or maintained in such a manner as to
obstruct free and clear vision; or at any location where by reason
of position, shape, color, degree, manner or intensity of illumination
it may interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Pursuant to
the foregoing, no sign shall be erected or maintained in such manner
as to be likely to interfere with, obstruct the view of, or be confused
with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device. No sign shall
make use of words, phrases, symbols or characters or employ any lamp
of light in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse
traffic.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-711)
(a) No person shall attach any sign, paper, other material, or paint,
stencil or write any name, number (except house numbers), or otherwise
mark on any sidewalk, curb, gutter, street, utility pole, trees, public
building, fence or structure unless authorized by this article.
(b) No sign shall be illuminated to an intensity greater than two hundred
(200) footlamberts. The restrictions of luminance shall be determined
from any other premises or from any public right-of-way other than
an alley. Lights shall be shielded to prevent the source of lighting
from being directly visible from residential property.
(c) No portion of any sign shall be erected upon or over public property.
(d) Signs and advertising devices which move, flash, rotate, blink, change
color, or are animated are prohibited; provided, however, this section
shall not be deemed to prohibit devices showing time, temperature
and informative messages.
(e) Signs and advertising devices which produce noises discernible from
more than fifty (50) yards away are prohibited.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-712)
All signs shall comply with all other city codes, including
the electrical and building codes.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-713)
All signs, together with all supports, braces, guys and anchors
shall be kept in good repair by the owner of the sign or the person
in charge of the premises. Failure to keep a sign in good repair shall
be deemed cause for removal if the owner of the sign or person in
charge thereof fails to make such repairs within thirty (30) days
of notice from the building official of deficiencies.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-714)
If the building official shall find that any sign is unsafe
and is a menace to the public, he shall give notice to the permittee
thereof in the same manner as is provided in the building code for
notice of unsafe buildings. If the permittee fails to remove or repair
the structure within the time provided in such notice, such sign may
be removed by the building official at the expense of the permittee.
The building official shall refuse to reissue a permit to any permittee
or owner who refuses to pay costs so assessed. The building official
may cause any sign which is an immediate peril to persons or property
to be removed summarily and without notice.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-715)
(a) When any sign, or a substantial part of it, is blown down or otherwise
destroyed or taken down or removed for any purpose other than maintenance
operations or for changing the letters, symbols or other matter on
the sign, it may not be re-erected, reconstructed or rebuilt except
in full conformance with the provisions and requirements of this article.
(b) For purposes of subsection
(a) of this section, a sign or substantial part of it is considered to have been destroyed only if the cost of repairing the sign is more than fifty (50) percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-716)
Not later than the 120th day after the effective date of this
article, each owner of an off-premise sign erected before the effective
date of this article that is visible from the main-traveled way of
a street or road shall either remove the sign or register the sign
with the city building official. The owner must pay a fee in the amount
established by city council and on file in the offices of the city,
for such sign that is registered. This registration is valid for one
(1) year, but is renewable for the same fee.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-717; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)
This article shall apply to the city’s extraterritorial
jurisdiction.
(Ordinance 234-87 adopted 4/14/87; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-718)
These signs are designed to be used along or in supplement with
a pole with a freestanding sign or a wall sign, where allowed, but
subject to height and location restrictions in all districts where
allowed. Said signs shall not exceed six (6) feet in height above
ground except where otherwise allowed, and shall be located at least
fifteen (15) feet behind the curb of any street, or the property line
of said lot. Such sign shall not be wider at the top than at the lowest
part of the sign, including supports. The lowest part of the sign
shall not be higher than two (2) feet above ground. Said sign shall
not be located within any visibility triangle and shall not obstruct
the view of driveways or parking areas. Said signs shall be limited
to identification of a building by name or owner, address, developer
or tenants. Churches, colleges, public buildings and institutional
educational uses shall be allowed to use such signs for the purposes
stated above as well as for marquise purposes announcing names, dates,
times and other information concerning the programs and services offered
on-site. The maximum area for each side of such sign may not exceed
eight (80) [sic] square feet.
(Ordinance 235-88 adopted 1/12/88; 1993 Code, ch. 12, ex. B, sec.
12-719)
(a) Permit required.
No sign regulated by this section may
be placed on public property or recorded utility easement, including
public rights-of-way, except those that have a validly issued permit
by the city. Any sign placed on public property or public right-of-way
not properly permitted shall be removed without notice.
(b) Nature of sign.
Only weekend directional signs, as defined
herein are permitted and authorized by this section.
(c) Size.
The sign shall not exceed six (6) square feet
in effective area. The entire visible surface of the sign exclusive
of support devices, shall be included in the area of calculations.
(d) Setback.
No sign that shall be placed closer than fifty
(50) feet from intersections, shall have a minimum three (3) foot
setback from the curb and shall not overhang the curb, sidewalks or
public walkways.
(e) Placement time.
Signs shall be erected, placed or installed
only after 6:00 p.m. Friday and shall be removed no later than 5:00
a.m. on the Monday following. All times herein are Central Standard
Time. Any sign in a public right-of-way other than during the times
permitted herein is subject [to] seizure and to confiscation.
(f) Sign spacing.
Signs are to be spaced at least one thousand
(1,000) feet apart unless there is an intervening directional decision
point such as directional change, intersection or required turn in
which case spacing may be reduced to a minimum of one hundred (100)
feet. Distances are to be measured in a line parallel with the street
involved regardless of which side of the streets the signs are erected.
A minimum spacing of twenty (25) [sic] feet from a sign erected by
a different permittee under this section shall also be maintained.
(g) Installation.
(1) Signs authorized by this section and permitted by the city shall
be supported by stake(s) that are set not more than one (1) foot into
the ground. The top of the sign shall not extend higher than four
(4) feet above the grade where erected.
(2) No sign will be allowed within street median or attached to tree,
fence or any public utility pole.
(h) Enforcement.
(1) The building official, or his designee, is hereby authorized and
directed to enforce all the provisions of this section. It shall be
unlawful for any person to interfere with such official in the discharge
of his duties. The official shall have the power to issue citations
for any violation of this section.
(2) The city may seize any sign(s) in violation of this section. Signs
held by the city for more than seven (7) days after seizure may be
destroyed or discarded by the city. The seizure fee in the amount
established by city council and on file in the offices of the city,
per sign may still be imposed and collected even if the sign(s) were
destroyed. Seizure of the sign and imposition of a fee therefor, is
in addition to any other remedy available to the city.
(3) Three violations of any provision of this section, or any other law
related to the placement, maintenance, display or use of the sign,
in a permit year shall be grounds for permit revocation. No permit
may be issued to any person for ninety (90) days subsequent to the
third conviction for same or similar signs.
(i) Maintenance.
Each sign together, with its support brace
or footing, shall be kept in repair and maintained in good condition.
The display surface of each sign shall be kept neatly painted or posted
at all times.
(j) Public safety.
Notwithstanding anything contained herein
to the contrary, the building official may cause any sign which is
dangerous to persons or property to be removed summarily and without
notice.
(Ordinance 470-01 adopted 9/18/01; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)