(a) In general. Certain nonconforming detached non-premise signs may be modified to use digital display technology subject to the restrictions in this section.
(b) Application. The owner of the sign must submit a digital display sign permit application for a face modification. After the building official approves the digital display sign permit, the owner must apply for a demolition permit to remove sign face area in accordance with Subsection (d). The owner must complete demolition of sign face according to the applicable ratio in Subsection (d) before the sign face is modified.
(c) Compliance required.
(1) Except as provided in this section, digital display signs must fully comply with the size, height, spacing, setback, and other restrictions in this article for detached non-premise signs.
(2) Digital display sign support structures must be built to comply with the building code.
(3) Digital display signs must comply with Title 43 Texas Administrative Code Section 21.163, “Electronic Signs,” as amended.
(4) Both existing and new digital signs must comply with all lighting and safety standards mandated by federal, state, or local rules or statutes, including standards adopted or amended after the date of passage of these requirements. Lighting and safety standards include brightness; message duration; and proximity of the sign to other digital displays, ramps, and interchanges.
(d) Sign face exchange ratio.
(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2), for every one square foot of sign face modified to use digital display technology, three square feet of detached non-premise sign face area must be removed from within the city.
(A) To receive credit for the area of a conventional face removed, the conventional sign face removed must result in elimination of a sign structure (if a face is removed from a structure, the entire structure must be removed).
(B) At least one structure removed must be within a five mile radius of the conventional face being converted.
(C) No credit is given for the area of the conventional face removed to convert to a digital display.
(D) Removal of sign face area must be completed before modification of sign area to use digital display technology.
(2) A company holding a valid state advertising license and that maintains 61 or fewer registered expressway non-premise signs on January 1, 2011 shall be allowed one sign face modification without complying with Paragraph (1). The new digital sign face may be no larger than the preexisting conventional sign face. Any subsequent modifications must comply with Paragraph (1).
(e) Location and number.
(1) A maximum of 50 non-premise locations with digital displays are permitted in the city. The director shall time stamp all applications upon receipt. The director shall review applications in order of submittal. If the director determines that an application is incomplete or does not meet the requirements of this section, the director shall reject the application and then review the next application. If the initial number of applications exceeds the number of permits available, the director shall provide for a lottery to distribute the permits.
(2) Digital display signs may only be expressway signs.
(3) For support structures with only one digital display sign, signs must be located a minimum of 1,500 feet from any other digital display sign oriented to the same traffic direction along the main travel lanes of the expressway, measured linearly. For support structures with two digital display signs, signs must be located a minimum of 2,000 feet from any other digital display sign along the same expressway, measured linearly.
(4) Digital display signs may not be located within 300 feet of any lot located in a residential district, measured radially.
(5) Digital display signs may not be located within 2,000 feet of the Trinity River, measured from the center line of the Trinity River. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “Trinity River” means the portion of the river south of the confluence of the Elm and West Forks as depicted on the most recent version of the flood insurance rate maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(6) Digital display signs may not be located within 500 feet of a lot in a historic district.
(7) Digital display signs may not be located within 500 feet of an escarpment zone.
(f) Digital display sign support structures.
(1) Digital display sign support structures may not exceed an overall height of 50 feet or 42.5 feet above the nearest point on the nearest travel surface of the nearest expressway, whichever is higher, except that no digital display sign may be higher than the conventional sign it replaced.
(2) On support structures with two sign faces:
(A) If existing faces are pivoted at an angle of 10 degrees or greater from each other and toward the main travel lanes of an expressway, one or both sign faces may be converted to digital display.
(B) If existing faces are pivoted at an angle of less than 10 degrees, only one face may be converted to a digital display. The other sign face must be removed.
(3) Sign support structures and faces being converted to accommodate digital displays may not be modified to change the angle of a sign face.
(4) Electrical service to sign support structures with digital displays must be underground between the property line and the sign.
(g) Display.
(1) All digital displays signs must automatically adjust the sign brightness so that the brightness level of the sign is no more than 0.3 footcandles over ambient light conditions at a distance of 250 feet from the sign. A digital display sign must be equipped with both a dimmer control and a photocell that automatically adjusts the display’s intensity according to natural ambient light conditions.
(2) A digital display may not increase the light level on a lot in a residential district over ambient conditions without the digital display, measured in footcandles at the point closest to the sign that is five feet inside the residential lot and five feet above the ground.
(3) Before the issuance of a digital display sign permit, the applicant shall provide written certification from the sign manufacturer that:
(A) the light intensity has been factory programmed to comply with the maximum brightness and dimming standards in this subsection; and
(B) the light intensity is protected from end-user manipulation by password-protected software or other method satisfactory to the building official.
(h) Change of message. Changes of message must comply with the following:
(1) Each message must be displayed for a minimum of eight seconds.
(2) Changes of message must be accomplished within two seconds.
(3) Changes of message must occur simultaneously on the entire sign face.
(4) No flashing, dimming, or brightening of message is permitted except to accommodate changes of message.
(i) Malfunction. Digital display sign operators must respond to a malfunction or safety issue within one hour after notification and must remedy that malfunction or safety issue within 12 hours after notification. In case of sign malfunction, the digital display must freeze until the malfunction is remedied.
(j) Display of emergency information. The city may exercise its police powers to protect public health, safety, and welfare by requiring emergency information to be displayed on digital display signs. Upon notification, the sign operators shall display: Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, information regarding terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other emergency situations in appropriate sign rotations. Emergency information messages must remain in rotation according to the issuing agency’s protocols.
(k) Sunset. The director shall issue no permits after August 31, 2015, unless that date is extended by ordinance before that date. The city plan commission and city council shall review this section before August 31, 2015. (Ord. Nos. 28238; 29393; 29557)