(a) Unless a valid permit has been obtained from the Department of Buildings, it shall be unlawful for any person:
(1) to own, maintain, erect, install, alter, repair or enlarge any sign, City digital sign, or associated sign structure covered by the provisions of this article;
(2) to commence to erect, install, alter, repair or enlarge any sign, City digital sign, or associated sign structure covered by the provisions of this article;
(3) to cause any sign, City digital sign, or associated sign structure covered by the provisions of this article to be erected, installed, altered, repaired or enlarged;
(4) to change a sign from a static image display sign to a dynamic image display sign (or vice versa); or
(5) to change from an on-premise sign to an off-premise sign (or vice versa).
(b) (1) It shall be the duty of every owner of any real property on which a sign is located to ensure that each sign maintained on the owner's property has a valid permit under this section and, if applicable, under Section 13-20-555, and is otherwise in compliance with this Article. It shall be a violation of this section for the owner of any real property to have or to permit to remain on such property any sign which does not have a valid or required permit(s).
(2) It shall be the duty of every lessee of any real property on which a sign is located to ensure that each sign erected or maintained by such lessee on the leased property has a valid permit under this section and, if applicable, under Section 13-20-555, and is otherwise in compliance with this Article. It shall be a violation of this section for the lessee of any real property to have or to permit to remain on such property any sign which does not have a valid or required permit(s).
(3) It shall be the duty of every person or entity who offers advertisement space on any sign to ensure that such sign has a valid permit under this section and, if applicable, under Section 13-20-555, and is otherwise in compliance with this Article. It shall be a violation of this section for any person or entity to offer advertisement space on any sign which does not have a valid or required permit(s).
(4) It shall be the duty of every person or entity who advertises on a sign to ensure that each sign on which they advertise has a valid permit under this section and, if applicable, under Section 13-20-555, and is otherwise in compliance with this Article. It shall be a violation of this section for any person or entity to advertise on any sign which does not have a valid or required permit(s).
(5) It shall be the duty of every general contractor and electrical contractor who works on a sign to ensure that each sign on which they work has a valid permit under this section and, if applicable, under Section 13-20-555, and is otherwise in compliance with this Article. It shall be a violation of this section for any general contractor or electrical contractor to work on any sign which does not have a valid or required permit(s).
(c) The owner of the real property, lessee of the real property, person or entity who offers advertisement space, person or entity who advertises, the general contractor and the electrical contractor shall be jointly and severally liable for any violation of this section.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a sign permit is not required to erect, maintain, install, alter, repair or enlarge (i) a fast-track on-premise ground level interior window sign as defined in Section 4-4-100 of this Code, or (ii) an on-premise sign that is:
(1) constructed wholly from paper, fabric, vinyl, or similar materials and attached to a window for no more than 60 days; or
(2) painted directly onto the window or made of plastic film or similar material and fully adhered to the window by means of adhesive or static cling for any duration
provided that the total area of all such signs in a single window does not exceed 25% of the glazing area of that window. Lettering that is painted directly onto the glass of a window and less than 2 inches in height will not be counted in the calculation of the 25% if it is an on- premises sign. For purposes of this subsection, a glazed panel in a door shall be treated as a window. The signs authorized by this subsection (d) shall not be counted in the calculation of the total sign area restrictions imposed by section 17-12-1003.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a sign permit is not required to erect, maintain, install, alter, repair or enlarge an art mural that contains no commercial message, as defined in Section 17-17-0236, in the mural itself. If the mural meets the definition of the term "graffiti" in Section 7-28-065(c), it may be registered pursuant to Section 7-28-065. Any art mural that contains a commercial message, as defined in Section 17-17-0236, in the mural itself shall be subject to the provisions of this Code regarding sign permits, provided however that the artist or a partner entity may acknowledge the name of sponsors or partners of the art mural in a single, written, acknowledgement panel, not to exceed two square feet in area, adjoining the bottom edge of the art mural. Such acknowledgement panel shall not be classified as a commercial message, and is therefore exempt from zoning regulation as provided in Section 17-12-0504 of the Code. This subsection does not allow more than one acknowledgment panel in a single art mural or in adjacent art murals located on the same lot. Furthermore, any commercial message, as defined in Section 17-17-0236, that is physically outside of the mural shall be subject to the provisions of this Code regarding sign permits.
(f) Signage contained in a signage matrix approved by the City Council within a planned development in which the primary use is a sports stadium or an exhibition or convention center does not require a separate sign permit but shall be subject to the general building permit requirements of Chapter 14A-4, as applicable.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a sign permit is not required to erect, maintain, install, alter, repair or enlarge a sign that is inside a building and is legible only from the lot on which it is located and is not legible from the public way or adjoining lot.
(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, a sign permit is not required to erect, maintain, install, alter, repair or enlarge any official sign, public notice sign or warning sign required by law or order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(i) Signage which is exempt from zoning regulation pursuant to Section 17-12-0500 and is located on property owned by the City or another governmental entity does not require a separate sign permit but shall be subject to the general building permit requirements of Chapter 14A-4, as applicable.
(j) As used in this section, "sign permit" shall mean any type of approval required under Article XIII of Chapter 13-20.
(Added Coun. J. 11-3-99, p. 13842, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-5-03, p. 104990, § 18; Amend Coun. J. 11-13-07, p. 14999, Art. II, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-13-07, p. 15814, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. III, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-17-08, p. 51294, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 1-13-10, p. 83228, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 4-24-12, p. 25060, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 12-12-12, p. 44485, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 2-13-13, p. 47133, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 4-30-14, p. 80382, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 55278, Art. IV, § 16; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61755, Art. I, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 10-31-18, p. 87776, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 1-23-19, p. 94952, Art. I, § 9; Amend Coun. J. 1-23-19, p. 94977, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-26-19, p. 11390, Art. IX, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 6-25-21, p. 32180, Art. IV, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1992, § 1)