(A) Historical signs. Certain signs within the city which have been designated and a historical sign by action of the City Council shall be so designated and protected in accordance with this section.
(1) Designation. Based on a survey of potential historic signs produced by the city and any public nomination of a sign for historical status, the City Council shall designate the sign or signs which it deems historically significant as a historical sign. A sign may qualify as a historical sign if it:
(a) Is or has been associated with a business enterprise or public activity which has made significant contribution to the growth and development of Cleburne or Johnson County;
(b) Is an example of distinctive design;
(c) Is the work of a noted artist;
(d) Is associated with the contributions of a culturally significant personality; or
(e) Is not dilapidated or deteriorated to a point where it constitutes a public hazard.
(2) Property owner support. In addition, the designation of any sign as a historical sign must have the property owner’s support for such designation and the property owner’s commitment for continued maintenance.
(3) Continued non-conformance and exemption. A sign which has been designated as a historical sign is exempt from the standards of this chapter except those that regulate maintenance. Any maintenance of the sign or preservation work on the sign which may negate the sign’s right to remain in place as a non-conforming sign (§ 156.22) will not trigger a requirement to meet the standards of this chapter in the case of an historical sign. In addition, any work on the sign for the purpose of restoration or preservation which may exceed 50% of the cost of replacement shall not trigger a requirement to meet the standards of this chapter.
(4) Demolition. Any demolition permit sought which would lead to or require the demolition of a sign designated as an historical sign shall be delayed for 90 days from the date of application for a demolition permit so that alternate locations for, or other dispositions of, the sign may be arranged. If a workable alternate is not brought forth within the 90 day demolition delay period, the sign may be demolished. If however, an alternate location is agreed upon by the Cleburne City Council, the demolition permit delay shall continue for a reasonable period of time to allow implementation of the alternate. In no case shall the total demolition delay exceed 120 days.
(B) Sexually-oriented business signs.
(1) Notwithstanding the city’s building code, general provisions, or any other city ordinance, code, or regulation to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any enterprise or any other person to erect, construct, or maintain any sign for the enterprise other than one primary sign and one secondary sign, as provided in this section.
(2) Primary signs shall have no more than two display surfaces. Each such display surface shall:
(a) Not contain any flashing lights;
(b) Be a flat plane, rectangular in shape;
(c) Not exceed 75 square feet in area; and
(d) Not exceed ten feet in height or ten feet in length.
(3) Primary signs shall contain no photographs, silhouettes, drawings or pictorial representations of any manner, and may contain only:
(a) The name of the enterprise; and/or
(b) One or more of the following phrases:
1. "Adult bookstore;”
2. "Adult movie theater;"
3. "Adult encounter parlor;"
4. "Adult cabaret;"
5. "Adult lounge;"
6. "Adult novelties;"
7. "Adult entertainment;" or
8. "Adult modeling studio."
(c) Primary signs for adult movie theaters may contain the additional phrase, "Movie titles posted on premises."
(4) Each letter forming a word on a primary sign shall be of a solid color, and each such letter shall be the same print type, size and color. The background behind such lettering on the display surface of a primary sign shall be of a uniform and solid color.
(5) Secondary signs shall have only one display surface. Such display surface shall:
(a) Be a flat plane, rectangular in shape;
(b) Not exceed 20 square feet in area;
(c) Not exceed five feet in height and four feet in width; and
(d) Be affixed or attached to any wall or door of the enterprise.
(6) The provisions of divisions (B)(3)(b) and (B)(4) of this section shall also apply to secondary signs.
(7) Any sign located on the premises of a commercial multi-unit center containing an enterprise that displays the name, or any portion of the name of the enterprise, any name under which any enterprise was formerly operated on the premises, or that contains any of the terms set forth in division (B)(3)(b) of this section, or any other terminology that is commonly used to identify, or is associated with the presence of a sexually oriented business, shall comply with all restrictions of this section. The intent of this section is to prevent the use of signage identifying the commercial multi-tenant center itself from being used as a subterfuge to evade the restrictions on sexually oriented business signs set forth in this section.
(C) Portable signs. Portable signs are permitted in all areas of Cleburne, in accordance with the standards for portable signs as indicated in § 156.40. If no standard is indicated for a particular district, then the gross area of the sign message component shall not exceed 20 square feet. All portable signs shall also be subject to the following regulations:
(1) Registered portable sign. After the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to continue to display or maintain on any premises within the corporate limits of the city any portable sign that existed on or before the effective date of this chapter that is not registered with the Cleburne Building Official within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter. All new portable signs placed within the corporate limits of the city on or after the effective date of this chapter are required to be permitted and are subject to the following time limitations:
(a) Non-residential. Fifteen-day maximum: four permits per calendar year; and
(b) Residential. Seven-day maximum: two permits per calendar year.
(2) Time limitations for non-registered signs. Portable signs which are not registered by the owner of the sign within 90 days of the effective date of this chapter, whether leased or owned by an individual or business, may be removed by the city at the expense of the owner or lessee.
(3) Lawful non-conformity. Any portable sign lawfully existing on any premises prior to the effective date of this chapter, in accordance with the provision of any prior ordinance, shall be allowed to remain on those premises as a non-conforming portable sign, if properly registered with the Building Official within 90 days of the effective date of this chapter and continuously maintained in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Such non-conforming signs are subject to any time limits applicable at the time the sign was permitted or authorized.
(4) Maintenance of non-conforming signs. A non-conforming portable sign which is properly registered in accordance this chapter, shall not be moved to another premises so as to be visible from any public street. If removed from any premises for any reason, the non-conforming sign shall be placed on the same premises so as to be visible from the public street.
(5) Anchoring. All lawful non-conforming portable signs shall at all times be securely anchored so as to prevent overturning or unsafe movement, the sufficiency of such anchoring to be determined by the Building Official.
(6) Location of portable signs. For the purpose of portable signs, no portable sign shall be located within the following areas:
(a) A horizontal triangular area measuring 25 feet by 25 feet along the right-of-way for all street-to-street intersections;
(b) A horizontal triangular area measuring seven feet by 60 feet along the right-of-way for all driveway-to-street intersections; and
(c) Off-premise.
(7) Separation of portable signs. No portable sign shall be located within 25 feet of another portable sign.
(D) Temporary post and panel signs. Temporary post and panel signs are permitted in accordance with the requirements for the sign districts § 156.40. Temporary post and panel signs shall also be subject to the following regulations:
(1) Noncommercial signs during elections. In addition to other signs permitted by this section, temporary post and panel signs bearing any noncommercial message may be erected on private real property with the permission of the property owner during an election period. Under this provision, private real property does not include real property subject to an easement or other encumbrance that allows a municipality to use the property for a public purpose.
(a) For the purposes of this section, an election period begins 62 days before the date of an election and ends ten days after the date of an election. In the case of a run-off election, an election season ends ten days after the date of the run-off election.
(b) Signs permitted under this subsection shall not exceed 36 square feet in area, shall not exceed eight feet in height, shall not be illuminated, nor have any moving elements.
(c) Signs permitted under this subsection shall not be located in the city rights-of-way or in roadway medians, nor be placed on city-owned property such as city parks, fire stations, police stations, libraries, City Hall or other city-owned buildings; provided, however, such signs may be placed on public property designated as an official polling place on a designated election day, with such signs being located outside the specified distance from the polling place entrance as permitted by state election laws. An election day is any day or days that are scheduled for city residents to vote in an election at a selected polling place in the city. Such day or days may include, but not be limited to, uniform local, state and federal election dates, early voting day(s), absentee voting days, general election days, special election days, run-off election days, and other voting days established and defined by federal, state, or local laws.
(d) Consistent with the message substitution policy, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, if a sign is authorized to be placed or erected under this section, a temporary post and panel sign with any other noncommercial message is allowed to be erected in its place provided it otherwise complies with the provisions of this section.
(2) Temporary post and panel signs on property for sale or rent. Additional signs may be erected either within or outside the sign districts on property that is listed for sale or lease not to exceed an additional 20 square feet per premises.
(E) Wall-mounted or monument signs in residential subdivisions. Wall or monument mounted residential development signs are permitted in accordance with the requirements in § 156.40. Wall or monument mounted residential development signs shall also be subject to the following regulations:
(1) Maximum size when located in an area that is not a sign district. The maximum area of such signs when located in areas that are not a sign district is 50 square feet for development entry signs and 30 square feet for signs within the development.
(2) Maximum height when located in an area that is not a sign district. The maximum height of such signs when located in areas that are not a sign district is six feet for wall mounted and ten feet for monument mounted signs for development entry signs and five feet for signs within a development.
(3) Encroachment into the public right-of-way. Development entry signs may be located on medians and or encroach upon the public right-of-way if such placement is approved by the Cleburne City Council at the time a project development plan is approved.
(F) Signs in the public right-of-way. In certain circumstances, a sign may be located within the public right-of-way provided that the sign owner (if not the city) is granted a license agreement to locate such a sign, in accordance with these requirements:
(1) Authorized by City Council. The Cleburne City Council may, by duly executed license agreement, grant the exclusive right to design and maintain a sign within the public right-of-way, provided that it does not constitute a traffic safety hazard.
(2) Permitted sign types. Signs in the public right-of-way typically include kiosks, way-finding, or marquee signs and canopy signs within the downtown targeted development area, regional nodes, or the central corridor sign districts.
(3) Sign location map. Prior to erecting any sign within the public right-of-way, the licensee shall submit a sign location map to the Director of Planning. The sign location map shall contain the location, orientation, and number of individual signs as well as:
(a) The number of panels available for use in any kiosk;
(b) The number of destination identifications available in any way-finding sign.
(4) Advertisement of price information shall be prohibited on kiosk signs located in the public right-of-way.
(5) Signs located in the public right-of-way shall not:
(a) Interfere with the use of the sidewalk, walkways, bike and hiking trails;
(b) Obstruct the visibility of motorists, pedestrian, or traffic control signs; and
(c) Be installed in immediate vicinity of street intersections, if such sign is a ground mounted sign.
(6) Signs located in the public right-of-way that are less than 12 feet off the ground shall comply with the intersection visibility requirements of the city.
(7) In accordance with the specification contained in the license agreement, a percentage of a kiosk sign panel or way-finding identification panel shall be reserved for the city to use as directional signage for municipal or community facilities or for information about community events.
(8) The licensee shall be responsible for all construction, installation, maintenance, and repair of any sign for which a license is granted. Cost associated with such construction, installation, maintenance, and repair shall not be borne by the licensee and shall not be a cost to the city.
(9) The licensee for any kiosk or way-finding sign shall administer the kiosk or way-finding sign and shall fill the individual sign spaces in accordance with the following criteria:
(a) The spaces shall be filled according to request receive by the licensee on a first come first served basis;
(b) The number of kiosk or way-finding signs and spaces on each sign shall be set by the sign location map approved by the Director of Planning. The licensee may request the placement of additional kiosk or way-finding signs only if the number of unserved requests will sell an additional sign; and
(c) The licensee shall have no discretion to award or not award a space on the kiosk or way-finding sign based on the type of organization or business that requests placement of such signs.
(10) Procedures for approval of signs in the public right-of- way.
(a) All signs in public right-of-way shall have a right-of-way agreement or a license agreement between the sign owner and the City Council.
(b) The application for a right-of-way agreement or license agreement shall include the types, locations, size, area, height, number, materials, design and construction of all proposed signs.
(c) This data shall be a part of the agreement and will be attached to the agreement.
(d) The application will be submitted to the Building Official and will be reviewed by the Design Review Committee and then shall be placed on a Planning and Zoning Commission agenda.
(e) The City Manager will then place the item on the agenda for the first City Council meeting following the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
(f) The Building Official shall put a notice in the newspaper 15 days before the day of the meeting for both the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting and City Council meetings (this notice may be sent at one time). The Planning and Zoning Commission shall review the sign details and design and make a recommendation to the City Council.
(g) Council shall approve or disapprove the right-of-way agreement if the criteria for sign placement in the public right-of-way are met.
(h) The criteria for approval of the sign placement agreement are as follows:
1. The sign shall conform to the design standards for the streetscape setback envelope of the sign district in which the referenced property resides.
2. The sign shall be placed in right-of-way that is adjacent to and in the frontage of the business location or other establishment referenced in the sign.
3. There would be an unnecessary hardship if the business location or establishment were not allowed to place the sign in the right-of-way due to lack of visibility from the right-of-way due to the placement of other existing structures.
(Ord. 01-2016-07, passed 1-26-16)