(a) Purpose. In order to regulate the provision of sign standards and sign restrictions within the planning and regulation jurisdiction of the City of Asheville, it shall be unlawful to erect or maintain any sign or sign structure without first obtaining a sign permit.
(b) Pre-application procedure. There is no pre-application procedure for sign permits.
(c) Application submittal.
(1) Filing of application.
a. An application for a sign permit may be filed by the owner of the property or sign or by an agent specifically authorized by the owner to file such application. The application for a sign permit shall be filed with the City of Asheville Planning and Development Department, Code Enforcement Division, on a form provided by the Division.
b. Sign contractor's license. No person shall engage in the business of erecting or maintaining signs in the City of Asheville unless said person has been issued a sign contractor's license which has not expired at the time said work is done. This requirement shall be interpreted to exclude those persons who construct and erect a principal use identification sign when that sign is used at that person's place of business, provided all construction and installation is properly permitted and inspected for compliance with the applicable building codes of the City of Asheville and other sections of this article.
c. Outdoor advertising license. No person shall erect or maintain off-premises advertising structures in the City of Asheville unless said person has been issued an outdoor advertising license which has not expired at the time said work is done. In order to obtain an outdoor advertising license, the licensee must be a licensed sign contractor, as described in subsection a. above, and must submit annually upon renewal of this license a listing of all sign structures leased, owned, or maintained by this licensee. Such list shall give the specific location of each sign by reference to ward, sheet, and tax lot number as indicated on the Buncombe County tax maps and by reference to the name of the property owner.
(2) Fees. A permit fee as established by the City of Asheville Fees and Charges Manual is requested and shall be submitted with the application. Work performed without a permit shall be subject to a late fee. When any permit has been revoked under the terms of this chapter, the permit fees shall not be refunded. If a sign permit is denied, however, the permit fee will be refunded.
(3) Information required. Each application for a sign permit shall be accompanied by complete information as required by Appendix B (Checklists for Applications) and shall include, without being limited to, a site plan and elevation drawings of the proposed sign, a drawing of the building façade indicating the proposed location of the sign, height, dimensions and square footage of the proposed sign and any other data as the sign administrator may determine to be necessary for review of the application.
(d) Staff review. Provided the application is complete, the sign administrator shall review the application and determine whether it is complete within ten working days of its submittal. Provided the application is complete, failure by the sign administrator to act within this time shall result in the refund of application fees. The refund of the application fee due to the expiration of the ten working days shall not cause the review of the application to cease. Staff shall continue with the review of the application. If the application is incomplete, the sign administrator shall notify the applicant of any deficiencies. No further steps shall be taken to process the application until the applicant corrects the deficiencies. The sign administrator shall issue a permit only upon finding that the proposed sign or sign structure satisfies the requirements of section 7-13.
(e) Public notification. No public notification is required for sign permit requests.
(f) Formal review. No formal review of sign permit requests is required.
(g) Variances. Requests for variances from the requirements for signs set forth in this chapter shall be heard by the board of adjustment under the procedures established by section 7-6-1.
(h) Appeals. Appeals of the decisions of the sign administrator shall be heard by the board of adjustment under the procedures established by section 7-6-2.
(i) Permit validity. Upon issuance of a sign permit, the applicant will have one year to commence work on the approved signage, after which the permit shall automatically become null and void. The sign administrator may grant a single 30-day extension of time within which operations must be started or resumed. All requests for such extensions and approval thereof shall be in writing.
(j) Violations. Violations of the conditions of a sign permit shall be considered a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the enforcement and penalty provisions set forth in article XVIII of this chapter.
(Ord. No. 2369, § 1, 5-27-97; Ord. No. 3043, § 1(h), 7-22-03; Ord. No. 3642, § 1b, 9-9-08)