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(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), nothing in this article shall be construed to regulate the display of a government sign.
(b) Safe school zone signs must satisfy the following requirements.
(1) Safe school zone signs must be erected within 600 feet of a school.
(2) Safe school zone signs may not exceed five square feet in effective area.
(3) No less than 80 percent of the effective area of a safe school zone sign must be devoted to a governmental message.
(4) No more than 20 percent of the effective area of a safe school zone sign may be devoted to the identification of a sponsor. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 20927; 22061; 22392)
The building official shall not issue a permit for construction, erection, placement, or maintenance of a sign until a site is established in one of the following ways:
(a) A lot is part of a plat which is approved by the commission and filed in the plat records of the appropriate county. All platted lots must have frontage, through fee simple ownership, on a dedicated street.
(b) A lot was separately owned prior to September 11, 1929 or prior to annexation or consolidation, and the lot has frontage, through fee simple ownership, on a dedicated street.
(c) A lot is part of an industrial subdivision in which only streets, easements, and blocks are delineated. The industrial subdivision must be approved by the commission and filed in the plat records of the appropriate county. No specific lot delineation is required, but yard, lot and space requirements will be determined by property lines or lease lines.
(d) Tracts that are governed by a detached sign unity agreement in accordance with Section 51A-7.213. (Ord. Nos. 19455, 21797)
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, any sign that may display a commercial message may also display a noncommercial message, either in place of or in addition to the commercial message, so long as the sign complies with other requirements of this article or other ordinances that do not pertain to the content of the message displayed.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, or other ordinance, any sign that may display one type of noncommercial message may also display any other type of noncommercial message, so long as the sign complies with other requirements of this article or other ordinances that do not pertain to the content of the message displayed.
(c) Nothing in this article shall be construed to regulate a sign that contains primarily a political message for which a permit is not required under Section 51A-7.602. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 25921)
(a) Sign and sign supports must be maintained in a state of good repair and neat appearance at all times.
(b) Revocation of permit.
(1) The building official shall revoke, in writing, the sign permit for a sign if it has for a period of one year:
(A) displayed obsolete advertising matter;
(B) been without advertising matter; or
(C) been damaged in excess of 50 percent of the cost of replacement of the sign.
(2) The owner of the sign is liable to the city for a civil penalty in the amount of $200 a day for each calendar day that the sign is maintained without a permit. The building official shall give written notice to the property owner of the amount owed to the city in civil penalties, and shall notify the city attorney of any unpaid civil penalty. The city attorney shall collect unpaid civil penalties in a suit on the city’s behalf.
(3) The civil penalty provided for in Paragraph (2) is in addition to any other enforcement remedy the city may have under city ordinances and state law. (Ord. Nos. 20359; 24232)
(a) Except as provided in Paragraph (b), no sign may be attached to the following structures located on a building:
(1) Elevator penthouse or bulkhead.
(2) Mechanical equipment room.
(3) Cooling tower.
(4) Tank designed to hold liquid.
(5) Ornamental cupola or dome.
(6) Skylight.
(7) Clerestory.
(8) Visual screens which surround roof mounted mechanical equipment.
(9) Chimney and vent stacks.
(10) Amateur communications tower.
(11) Parapet wall over four feet.
(12) Storage facility.
(b) A sign may be attached to a structure located on a building if the sign refers exclusively to:
(1) the identification of the premise; or
(2) a tenant that occupies in excess of 50 percent of the floor area of the premise. (Ord. 20343)
(a) Definitions. In this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) CONSTRUCTION means major activity involving on-site excavation, fabrication, erection, alteration, repair, or demolition that materially alters or restricts access to a premise.
(2) DIRECTOR means the director of transportation of the city or the director's designated representative, including but not limited to the city's traffic engineer.
(3) ERECT means erect or maintain.
(4) OPERATOR means a person who causes a use or business to function or puts or keeps a use or business in operation. A person need not have an ownership interest in a use or business to be an “operator” of the use or business for purposes of this section.
(5) OWNER includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant, tenant by the entirety, or lessee.
(6) SIGN means a sign authorized to be erected or maintained under this section.
(7) STREET means a street more than 85 feet in width, including frontage roads, if applicable. “Frontage Road” means a frontage, access, or service road for a freeway or tollway.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the city in order to lessen the congestion in the streets; to improve communications efficiency by allowing businesses to identify themselves and by helping customers to locate these businesses; to promote the safety of persons and property by reducing the confusion created by street construction; and to preserve landscape quality by imposing uniform standards. This section is not intended to apply to temporary minor repairs to streets.
(c) Authority to erect. In addition to any other signs permitted under this chapter, up to two detached premise signs may be erected on a premise if:
(1) the premise contains at least one main use other than a single family or duplex use;
(2) the premise has frontage along that portion of a street under construction as defined in Subsection (a); and
(3) the director has given written notice in accordance with Subsection (d).
(d) Notice required to be given by the director. Whenever the director determines that construction of a street, as defined in this section, is imminent, the director shall serve a written notice for the purpose of authorizing the erection of signs in accordance with this section. The written notice may be hand-delivered, sent by mail, or published in the official newspaper of the city. In order to validly authorize a sign under this section, the notice must:
(1) contain a reference to or copy of this section;
(2) describe with specificity the portion of the street that is or will be under construction;
(3) contain estimated commencement and completion dates for the construction; and
(4) contain a statement that no sign may be erected or maintained on a premise:
(A) more than five days before the estimated construction commencement date stated in the notice; or
(B) more than five days after the estimated construction completion date stated in the notice.
(e) Time period when sign authorized. This section only authorizes signs to be placed on property adjacent to that portion of a street described in the notice given pursuant to Subsection (d) during the time period beginning five days before the estimated construction commencement date stated in the notice and ending five days after the estimated construction completion date stated in the notice. No sign may be erected or maintained on a premise:
(1) more than five days before the estimated construction commencement date stated in the notice; or
(2) more than five days after the estimated construction completion date stated in the notice.
The director may change the time period for erecting and maintaining signs under this section at any time by giving a new notice in accordance with Subsection (d).
(f) Physical requirements for sign. All signs must comply with the following paragraphs:
(1) No more than two signs may be erected on a premise. No more than one sign may be erected at any motor vehicle entrance to a premise.
(2) No setback is required for a sign; however, no sign may be located in a public right-of-way. If a sign is placed in a visibility triangle as defined in Section 51A-4.602(d), it shall be a defense to prosecution under that section that the sign does not constitute a traffic hazard.
(3) The sign must be visible from and oriented towards the street under construction and have an arrow that directs motorists to a motor vehicle entrance to the premise.
(4) The sign must be a square, with dimensions of four feet by four feet. It must have a 3- inch border of white reflective sheeting or paint and a reflective blue background. The text of the sign must consist of reflective white characters. (Note: It is intended that the requirements of this paragraph be strictly and precisely complied with.)
(5) No sign may exceed eight feet in height.
(6) No sign may be a portable sign unless the director determines that the sign does not constitute a safety hazard.
(g) Criminal responsibility. If a sign violates this section and is not otherwise authorized under the Dallas City Code, a person is criminally responsible for a sign unlawfully erected or maintained if the person:
(1) erects or maintains the sign;
(2) is an owner or operator of a use or business to which the sign refers; or
(3) owns part or all of the land on which the sign is located.
(h) City may remove signs. The City of Dallas may remove any sign without liability if the director determines that the sign constitutes a safety hazard, or if the sign does not comply with this section; however, the City shall not be liable for failure to remove a sign. (Ord. Nos. 20728; 20927; 25047; 28424; 30239; 30654)
(a) The building official may authorize the dissolution of common boundary lines between lots for the limited purpose of allowing those lots to be considered one premise for the erection of detached signs, provided that a written agreement is executed in accordance with this section on a form provided by the city.
(b) The agreement must:
(1) contain legal descriptions of the properties sharing the common boundary line(s);
(2) set forth adequate consideration between the parties;
(3) state that all parties agree that the properties sharing the common boundary line(s) may be collectively treated as one lot for the limited purpose of erecting detached signs;
(4) state that the dissolution of the common boundary line(s) described in the agreement is only for the limited purpose of allowing the erection of detached signs, and that actual lines of property ownership are not affected;
(5) state that it constitutes a covenant running with the land with respect to all properties sharing the common boundary line(s);
(6) state that all parties agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the city of Dallas from and against all claims or liabilities arising out of or in connection with the agreement;
(7) state that it shall be governed by the laws of the state of Texas;
(8) state that it may only be amended or terminated by a subsequent written instrument that is:
(A) signed by an owner of property sharing the common boundary line(s) or by a lienholder, other than a taxing entity, that has either an interest in a property sharing the common boundary line(s) or an improvement on such a property;
(B) approved by the building official;
(C) approved as to form by the city attorney; and
(D) filed and made a part of the deed records of the county or counties in which the properties are located;
(9) be approved by the building official and be approved as to form by the city attorney;
(10) be signed by all owners of the properties sharing the common boundary line(s);
(11) be signed by all lienholders, other than taxing entities, that have either an interest in the properties sharing the common boundary line(s) or an improvement on those properties; and
(12) be filed and made a part of the deed records of the county or counties in which the properties are located.
(c) The building official shall approve an agreement if all properties governed by the agreement fully comply with the regulations in this article.
(d) An agreement shall not be considered effective until a true and correct copy of the approved agreement is filed in the deed records in accordance with this section and two file-marked copies of the agreement are filed with the building official.
(e) An agreement may only be amended or terminated by a written instrument that is executed in accordance with this subsection on a form provided by the city. The instrument must be:
(1) signed by an owner of property sharing the common boundary line(s) or by a lienholder, other than a taxing entity, that has either an interest in a property sharing the common boundary line(s) or an improvement on such a property;
(2) approved by the building official;
(3) approved as to form by the city attorney; and
(4) filed and made a part of the deed records of the county or counties in which the properties are located.
The building official shall approve an instrument amending or terminating an agreement if all properties governed by the agreement fully comply with the regulations in this article. The amending or terminating instrument shall not be considered effective until it is filed in the deed records in accordance with this subsection and two file-marked copies are filed with the building official.
(f) No detached non-premise sign may be erected or maintained on a property that is described in an agreement executed in accordance with this section. (Ord. 21797)
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