[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the City of Hagerstown 4-23-2024 by Ord. No. O-24-05.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 204,
Signs, adopted as 1-12-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1.
This chapter shall hereinafter be known and cited as the "Billboard
Ordinance."
A.
There is a significant relationship between the manner in which off-premises
advertising signs and billboards are displayed and the public safety
and the value and economic stability of adjoining properties. The
reasonable display of off-premises advertising signs and billboards
is necessary as a public service and necessary in order to conduct
competitive commerce and industry.
B.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum standards for
off-premises advertising signs and billboards within the City of Hagerstown
to further traffic safety by minimizing distractions and obstructions,
to encourage the effective use of signs as a means of communication,
to maintain and enhance the aesthetic environment and the City's
ability to attract sources of economic development and growth, to
minimize the possible adverse effects of off-premises advertising
signs and billboards on nearby public and private properly and to
enable the fair and consistent enforcement of this chapter.
Unless otherwise expressly stated or the context clearly indicates
a different intention, the following terms shall, for the purpose
of this chapter, have the meanings indicated in this section:
An outdoor off-premises board displaying advertisements.
Planning and Code Administration Department.
A sign which automatically changes message or copy electronically
to create static images of a certain fixed duration. For purposes
of this chapter a digital sign shall not include full-motion video
or scrolling, rolling or dissolving images, or signs maintained by
the City of Hagerstown within the public right-of-way for a public
purpose or benefit.
The surface of any sign or billboard upon, against, or through
which the message is displayed or illustrated on said sign or billboard.
Any structure not permanently affixed or attached to a building
or other permanent improvement.
Signs erected and maintained by the City, county, state or
federal government for designation or direction to community facilities,
to provide information on traffic control and public safety and to
provide public service announcements. Such signs serve a public purpose
and as such are exempt from this code.
The INST Zoning District as defined in Chapter 140.
Any piece or parcel of land or a portion of a subdivision
that is recorded in the land records of Washington County, Maryland.
The CC-MU and N-MU Zoning Districts as defined in Chapter 140.
Any sign, billboard or other structure or vehicle which advertises
an event, product, service, business or entertainment media which
is not available or located on the premises. An off-premises advertising
billboard includes any sign, billboard or other structure which displays
multiple messages and includes at least one message which advertises
anything which is not available or located on the premises.
Any sign, billboard or other structure or vehicle which advertises
an event, product, service, business or entertainment media which
is available or located on the premises.
Any off-premises advertising sign not permanently affixed
to the ground or a building or not designed to be permanently attached
to the ground or a building.
Any single parcel or lot of real property in the City, including
the land and all improvements or structures, upon which a sign is
located.
The RMOD, RMED, RH, and RO Zoning Districts as defined in Chapter 140.
Any off-premises advertising sign located on or attached
to the roof of a building, garage, shed or other structure, including
a porch roof, lower level roof or a roof on any level of such structure.
Any structure, display or device that is arranged, intended,
designed or used as an off-premises advertisement, announcement, identifier,
description, or direction to attract the public's attention.
Replace or rebuild existing off-premises advertising sign
that changes the structural design of the original off-premises advertising
sign, height, number of sign faces, type of sign face, etc.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect and thereafter
maintain within any residential, mixed-use, or institutional zoning
district of the City any billboard or other off-premises advertising
sign which is visible from other properties in those districts or
from a public right-of-way.
A.
No off-premises advertising sign which was not in existence prior
to March 15, 1999, shall be permitted within the City limits of the
City of Hagerstown, unless said sign is in compliance with the provisions
of this chapter. Any off-premises advertising sign existing outside
of the City limits immediately prior to annexation, which is subsequently
annexed into the City limits, shall be considered to have existed
prior to March 15, 1999.
B.
No increase in size or height, number of sign faces, change to digital,
internally illuminated sign face, or relocation of an existing off-premises
advertising sign shall be permitted after March 15, 1999, unless the
property and off-premises advertising sign is in compliance with this
chapter.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, corporation, or
other entity to own, construct or maintain an off-premises advertising
sign within the City limits of the City of Hagerstown without first
obtaining a building permit for such off-premises advertising sign
and remitting the required permit fee. A building permit is required
for each off-premises advertising sign, regardless of size or type.
No building permit shall be issued unless the off-premises advertising
sign is in compliance with the standards, restrictions and requirements
of this chapter. This permit requirement shall not be applicable to
any off-premises advertising sign in existence prior to March 15,
1999, except upon replacement thereof or the substantial reconstruction,
repair, or modification thereof.
D.
All building permit applications for off-premises advertising signs
shall be filed with the Department.
The following standards shall apply to all off-premises advertising
signs which are constructed after March 15, 1999, and to existing
off-premises advertising signs which are replaced entirely or are
substantially reconstructed, repaired or modified.
A.
Not more than one off-premises advertising sign shall be allowed
per lot and no new off-premises advertising sign shall be located
within 300 feet of any existing off-premises advertising sign, regardless
of the number of lots in between. This restriction shall not be applicable
to any off-premises advertising sign prior to March 15, 1999, when
said sign is repaired without substantial reconstruction.
B.
All freestanding off-premises advertising signs shall be set back
not less than 25 feet from the right-of-way line of all streets. All
freestanding off-premises advertising signs shall be setback at least
300 feet from an intersection of the Dual Highway and at least 100
feet from any other intersection. This setback line restriction shall
not be applicable to any off-premises advertising sign prior to March
15, 1999, when said sign is being repaired without substantial reconstruction.
C.
No off-premises advertising signs shall be located within 100 feet
of a City residential zoning district, and if internally illuminated
or digital, within 500 feet of a City residential zoning district.
This restriction shall not be applicable to any off-premises advertising
sign prior to March 15, 1999, when said sign is being repaired without
substantial reconstruction.
D.
No off-premises advertising sign face on a freestanding structure
shall exceed a total of 300 square feet per sign face in surface area
including trim, nor shall it contain more than one message per face,
except for complementary or joint messages.
E.
Freestanding off-premises advertising signs may have one, two, or
three faces. Two-faced signs shall have the two faces placed back-to-back.
Three-faces signs shall have the faces placed in a triangular configuration.
F.
No off-premises advertising sign face attached to a building shall
exceed one square foot per linear foot of the wall it's mounted
on with a maximum of 300 square feet permissible. No more than one
wall-mounted off-premises advertising sign is permissible per property.
Must be mounted flush to the wall.
G.
Digital off-premises advertising signs are permissible provided they
are equipped with auto dimming that adjust the brightness to the ambient
light at all times of the day and night, hold a stationary image for
at least eight seconds, do not have flashing, moving, or video images,
and have a maximum one- to two-second transition time between images.
H.
No freestanding off-premises advertising sign shall exceed 30 feet
in height measured from the grade to the highest point of the structure.
All off-premises advertising signs, structures, and faces shall
be kept in good repair and properly painted and maintained in a skillful
and reasonable manner. All exterior lighting and illumination will
be oriented toward the ground. Any plan to substantially reconstruct
an off-premises advertising sign or alter the number of type of sign
faces on an existing billboard shall only per permissible if in compliance
with this chapter.
A.
Regardless of whether any such sign was in existence prior to March
15, 1999, the following off-premises advertising signs are specifically
prohibited:
(1)
Portable signs.
(2)
Any signs which include strobing or revolving lights. This prohibition shall not apply to digital signs which are regulated as to image changing in § 204-6.
(3)
Rooftop signs.
(4)
Signs on or attached to stationary equipment such as semitruck trailers
where signing is the apparent principal use of the equipment on either
a temporary or permanent basis.
(5)
Any signs which mimic traffic signs or which obscure drivers'
view of other traffic.
(6)
Any signs visible from the interstate or a state or federal scenic
byway, unless otherwise approved by State Highway Administration (SHA)
or Federal Highway Administration (FHA)
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Department.
Enforcement actions shall be prosecuted against the owner of an off-premises
advertising the sign, the tenant of the property on which the off-premises
advertising sign is located, and/or the owner of the property on which
the off-premises advertising sign is located. Any person affected
by an action of the City for a violation of this chapter shall have
30 days from the date upon which notice is issued to file an appeal,
in writing, to the Board of Code Appeals.
B.
Any owner of a sign or landowner upon which a sign is located whose sign does not display the required permit as provided for in this chapter or who otherwise violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a municipal infraction. Pursuant to Article III, Chapter 1, of the City Code, each day the sign exists without a permit or in violation of this chapter shall be a separate offense.
C.
The fine for violation of this chapter shall be $100 for each initial
violation, and $200 for each day thereafter that the violation continues.
Any off-premises advertising sign utilized on a premises to advertise anything which is available or located on said premises for a period of two years shall lose the designation as an off-premises advertising sign. This sign would be designated as a nonconforming on-premises sign and be subject to the provisions of Chapter 140, Land Management Code.
