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(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), the regulations of Section 51A-7.303 apply in this district.
(b) For retail and personal service uses within the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B, the measurements of luminance are taken from any premise or public right-of-way other than an alley outside the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B, respectively.
(c) Illuminated signs in this district must comply with Section 51A-6.104 of the Dallas Development Code, as amended. (Ord. Nos. 24606; 24925; 27795; 29227)
SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR SIGNS WITHIN THE GENERAL CBD, MAIN STREET, CONVENTION CENTER, RETAIL, DISCOVERY, AND CHASE TOWER SUBDISTRICTS.
(a) Signs over the right-of-way.
(1) Signs may be located within the public right-of-way subject to the franchise requirements of Chapter XIV of the City Charter, Article VI of Chapter 43 of the Dallas City Code, as amended, Chapter 45 of the Dallas Building Code, and the requirements of all other applicable laws, codes, ordinances, rules, and regulations.
(2) The director shall review the location of any sign located in or overhanging the public right-of-way to ensure that the sign will not pose a traffic hazard or visibility obstruction.
(3) No portion of a sign may be located less than two feet from the back of a street curb.
(b) Signs in general.
(1) Except as provided in Division 51A-7.900 of Article VII, all applications for certificates of appropriateness for detached signs in this district must be reviewed by the special sign district advisory committee using the permit procedures set forth in Division 51A-7.500. The director procedure in Division 51A-7.500 is not available for detached signs in this district. All applications for certificates of appropriateness for other types of signs in this district must be in accordance with Division 51A-7.500 of Article VII.
(2) Unless otherwise provided, all signs in this district must be premise signs.
(3) All wind devices except for flags and banners are prohibited in this district unless allowed under a special events permit issued under Chapter 42A of the Dallas City Code, as amended. (Ord. Nos. 24606; 24925; 25047; 28073)
(a) One videoboard sign may be attached to a building adjacent to the Main Street Subdistrict.
(b) The videoboard sign may display any message.
(c) A certificate of appropriateness is required for approval of the specific size and location of the videoboard sign.
(d) The videoboard sign may not be placed on a landmark structure. (Ord. 24925)
(a) Content. Non-premise district activity videoboard signs must display district activity messages a minimum of three minutes of every operational hour and must display either district activity messages or premise messages for an additional minimum of nine minutes of every operational hour.
(b) Location and number.
(1) A maximum of 15 non-premise district activity videoboard signs are permitted and may only be erected on buildings with frontage on streets within Retail Subdistrict A and Retail Subdistrict B bounded by Jackson Street, Lamar Street, Pacific Avenue, and Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
(2) A maximum of one non-premise district activity videoboard sign is permitted per block face.
(3) Non-premise district activity videoboard signs may not be placed on Pacific Avenue between Akard Street and Ervay Street.
(4) Non-premise district activity videoboard signs may not be placed on building facades facing Main Street Garden or Belo Garden.
(c) Size. Non-premise district activity videoboard signs must have a minimum of 100 square feet in effective area and may have a maximum 150 square feet in effective area.
(d) SUP required.
(1) Non-premise district activity videoboard signs are only permitted by SUP.
(2) All applications for non-premise district activity videoboard signs must include a report from a traffic engineer stating that the placement of the sign will not interfere with the effectiveness of traffic control devices within 300 ft of the sign.
(3) If there is a conflict between Subsection 51A-4.206(1) and this section, this section controls.
(4) Original applications and renewal applications for non-premise district activity videoboard signs must include an affidavit stating that the building meets the occupancy requirements in Subsection (g).
(5) Within 10 days after expiration or revocation of the SUP the non-premise district activity videoboard sign must be removed.
(e) Installation. Non-premise district activity videoboard signs must be securely attached.
(f) Projecting signs. Projecting non-premise district activity videoboard signs:
(1) must have a vertical orientation with height exceeding the width at a minimum 16:9 height-to-width ratio;
(2) may project a maximum of 12 feet into the right-of-way:
(A) subject to the licensing requirements of Chapter XIV of the City Charter, Article VI of Chapter 43 of the Dallas City Code, the Dallas Building Code, and all other applicable laws, codes, ordinances, rules, and regulations;
(B) subject to review by the traffic engineer to ensure that the sign will not pose a traffic hazard or visibility obstruction; and
(C) provided that no projecting sign may project closer than two feet to a vertical plane extending through the back of a street curb;
(3) must have a minimum clearance of 15 feet above the sidewalk and a maximum clearance of 35 feet above the sidewalk; and
(4) must have videoboard displays on both sides of the sign.
(g) Building occupancy requirements. Non-premise district activity videoboard signs are only permitted on buildings with retail and personal service uses, lodging uses, or office uses occupying at least 75 percent of the leasable ground floor area and an overall building occupancy of at least 50 percent. Non-premise district activity videoboard signs are not allowed on a lot containing a commercial surface parking lot use. The director shall notify City Council of any building that falls below the occupancy requirements and fails to reestablish the occupancy requirement within 120 days. The director may waive the occupancy requirements of this subsection for up to one year if the director determines that the building or multi-building complex is currently being redeveloped. The director may revoke this waiver if redevelopment stops or is inactive for 90 days or more. (Ord. Nos. 27481; 28347; 28424; 28553; 28822; 29227)
(a) Display.
(1) All videoboard signs:
(A) must contain a default mechanism that freezes the image in one position in case of a malfunction;
(B) must automatically adjust the sign brightness based on natural ambient light conditions in compliance with the following formula:
(i) the ambient light level measured in luxes, divided by 256 and then rounded down to the nearest whole number, equals the dimming level; then
(ii) the dimming level, multiplied by .0039 equals the brightness level; then
(iii) the brightness level, multiplied by the maximum brightness of the specific sign measured in nits, equals the allowed sign brightness, measured in nits. For example:
32768 = ambient light in luxes
÷ 256
128 = dimming level
x .0039
.4992 = brightness level
x 9000 = (maximum brightness of the example sign)
4492.8 = allowed brightness in nits;
(C) must be turned off between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday; and
(D) may not display light of such intensity or brilliance to cause glare, impair the vision of an ordinary driver, or constitute a nuisance.
(2) Non-premise district activity videoboard signs:
(A) must have a full color display able to display a minimum of 281 trillion color shades; and
(B) must be able to display a high quality image with a minimum resolution equivalent to the following table:
Non-Premise District Activity Videoboard Sign
Resolution Chart
| |
Size of LED Panel | Maximum Pixel Size
|
100 s/f to 125 s/f | 16 mm |
Greater than 126 s/f | 19 mm |
(b) Light intensity. Before the issuance of a videoboard sign permit, the applicant shall provide written certification from the sign manufacturer that:
(1) the light intensity has been factory programmed to comply with the maximum brightness and dimming standards in the table in Subparagraph (a)(1)(B); and
(2) the light intensity is protected from end-user manipulation by password-protected software, or other method satisfactory to the building official.
(c) Change of message. Except as provided in this section, 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.
(d) Streaming information. If a special events permit has been issued for district activities, streaming video and audio is permitted, except that ticker tape streaming is permitted at all times when the videoboard sign is operating. Ticker tape streaming must be located within the bottom 10 percent of the effective area.
(e) Malfunction. Videoboard sign operators must respond to a malfunction or safety issue within one hour after notification. (Ord. Nos. 27481; 27572)
(a) Attached signs in general.
(1) Attached signs must be securely attached.
(2) Attached signs overhanging the public way are permitted, except that no sign may project closer than two feet to the vertical plane extending through the back of a street curb.
(3) The total effective area for all signs on a facade, excluding media wall signs in the Discovery Subdistrict and gateway signs in the Chase Tower Subdistrict, may not exceed:
(A) 30 percent of the area in the lower level sign area;
(B) 20 percent of the area in the middle level sign area; and
(C) 30 percent of the area in the upper level sign area.
Projecting attached signs are not included in these effective area calculations. See additional restrictions on sign area in the provisions for specific sign types.
(4) Except as provided in this paragraph, attached signs may not project more than four feet above the roof line. Attached signs in the Convention Center Subdistrict may not project more than nine feet above the roof line.
(5) Attached premise signs may be videoboard signs, provided that the message content concerns businesses on the premise which are open for business for a minimum of 50 weeks per year with employees present a minimum of 30 hours per week. For operational and maintenance requirements, see Section 51A-7.910.
(b) Arcade signs.
(1) An arcade sign must be located at least 15 feet from any other arcade sign.
(2) No arcade sign may exceed six square feet in effective area.
(3) No arcade sign may be lower than 10 feet above grade.
(c) Awning signs.
(1) Awning signs in the general CBD, convention center, and Chase Tower subdistricts.
(A) No awning sign may:
(i) project more than two inches from the surface of the awning; or
(ii) be lower than 10 feet above grade.
(B) The total effective area for any one awning sign may not exceed six square feet.
(C) The total effective area for all awning signs combined on each street frontage may not exceed 150 square feet.
(2) Awning Signs in the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B.
(A) No awning sign may:
(i) project more than two inches from the surface of the awning; or
(ii) be lower than 10 feet above grade.
(B) The total effective area for each awning sign may not exceed eight square feet.
(C) The total effective area for all awning signs combined on each premise may not exceed 180 square feet on each street frontage.
(d) Canopy signs.
(1) Canopy signs in the general CBD, convention center, and Chase Tower subdistricts.
(A) No canopy sign may:
(i) exceed 50 percent of the length of the canopy facade to which it is attached;
(ii) project horizontally more than two inches from the surface of the canopy; or
(iii) be lower than 10 feet above grade.
(B) The total effective area for all canopy signs combined on each street frontage may not exceed 150 square feet.
(C) No canopy sign may project vertically above the surface of the canopy if a lower level flat attached sign is maintained at that occupancy on the same facade.
(D) No canopy sign may project vertically above the surface of the canopy more than 15 percent of the overall length of the sign.
(E) A canopy sign may only be located over a pedestrian entrance to a premise.
(2) Canopy Signs in the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B.
(A) No canopy sign may:
(i) exceed 60 percent of the length of the canopy facade to which it is attached;
(ii) project horizontally more than 12 inches from the surface of the canopy; or
(iii) be lower than 10 feet above grade.
(B) The total effective area for all canopy signs combined on each street frontage may not exceed 180 square feet.
(C) No canopy sign may project vertically above the surface of the canopy if a lower level flat attached sign is maintained at that occupancy on the same facade.
(D) No canopy sign may project vertically above the surface of the canopy more than 20 percent of the overall length of the sign.
(E) Canopy signs may only be located over a pedestrian entrance to a premise.
(e) Flat attached signs.
(1) Lower level flat attached signs.
(A) Except as provided in this paragraph, the maximum number of lower level flat attached signs permitted on a facade is the sum obtained by counting all of the street entrances and first floor occupants with windows on that facade with no street entrances.
(B) In the general CBD, convention center, and Chase Tower subdistricts, the maximum effective area for a lower level flat attached sign is:
(i) 30 square feet if the sign is within 15 feet of the right-of-way; and
(ii) 50 square feet if the sign is more than 15 feet from the right-of-way.
(C) Except as provided in this paragraph, in the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B, the maximum effective area for a lower level flat attached sign is:
(i) 40 square feet if the sign is within 15 feet of the right-of-way; or
(ii) 60 square feet if the sign is more than 15 feet from the right-of-way.
(D) In Retail Subdistrict B, if retaining wall signs are erected pursuant to Section 51A-7.912, a maximum of one flat attached sign is permitted per building entry with a maximum effective area of 10 square feet per sign. The provisions of Subparagraph (C) apply in the absence of retaining wall signs.
(2) Middle level flat attached signs.
(A) Each middle level flat attached sign may have a maximum of eight words that contain any character of a height equal to or exceeding four inches.
(B) Middle level flat attached signs must be wholly or partially located within the middle level sign area.
(C) Except as provided in this subparagraph, the maximum effective area for a middle level flat attached sign is 500 square feet. In the Whitacre Tower Subdistrict the maximum effective area for a middle level flat attached sign is 784 square feet.
(D) Middle level flat attached signs may only display the names or symbols or a combination thereof representing tenants occupying one or more full floors or 20,000 square feet or more of leasable building area, whichever is greater.
(E) Middle level flat attached signs are only permitted on buildings with 10 or more stories.
(F) One middle level flat attached sign is permitted for every 100 feet of building height or portion thereof, up to a maximum of three signs, per facade.
(G) Middle level flat attached signs must have a vertical separation of 75 feet from any other flat attached sign on the same facade in the lower, middle, or upper level sign area.
(3) Upper level flat attached signs.
(A) Each upper level flat attached sign may have a maximum of eight words that contain any character of a height equal to or exceeding four inches.
(B) Upper level flat attached signs must be wholly located within the upper level sign area.
(f) Marquee signs.
(1) No marquee sign may:
(A) exceed 225 square feet for buildings with an entertainment facility housing 150 seats or less; or
(B) exceed 375 square feet for buildings with an entertainment facility housing more than 150 seats.
(2) No marquee sign may be longer than two-thirds of the length of the frontage of the building to which the marquee is attached.
(3) The message area on any marquee sign may not exceed 60 percent of the effective area of the sign.
(4) Marquee signs must have a height dimension of not less than two feet.
(5) No premise may have more than one marquee sign per street frontage.
(6) Only an entertainment facility may have a marquee sign.
(g) Projecting attached signs.
(1) Lower projecting attached signs.
(A) No premise may have more than one lower projecting attached sign per pedestrian entrance.
(B) No lower projecting attached sign may exceed 15 square feet in effective area in the general CBD, convention center, and Chase Tower subdistricts, or 30 square feet in effective area in the Main Street Subdistrict, Retail Subdistrict A, and Retail Subdistrict B.
(C) No lower projecting attached sign may be lower than 10 feet above grade, or project vertically above the roof of a building, or 25 feet above grade, whichever is lower.
(D) No lower projecting attached sign may project more than five feet into the public right-of-way.
(2) Upper projecting attached signs.
(A) No premise may have more than one upper projecting attached sign.
(B) No upper projecting attached sign may project more than five feet into the public right-of-way.
(C) An upper projecting attached sign:
(i) may be located outside the upper level sign area; and
(ii) may not be lower than 12 feet above grade.
(D) The lowest point of an upper projecting attached sign must be located within 36 feet above grade.
(E) No upper projecting attached sign may exceed 180 square feet in effective area.
(3) The board of adjustment may authorize a special exception to the effective area, height, or location restrictions for a projecting attached sign if the board finds, after a public hearing, that the special exception will not be contrary to the public interest, adversely affect neighboring properties, or create a traffic hazard and that the special exception will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this division. In no event may a special exception granted under this paragraph authorize a sign to exceed 300 square feet in effective area or 45 feet in height.
(4) All projecting attached videoboard signs must have videoboard displays on both sides of the sign.
(h) Media wall signs.
(1) One media wall sign is permitted in the Discovery Subdistrict only.
(2) A media wall sign may be located no lower than 15 feet from grade and may be located no higher than 125 feet from grade.
(3) Non-premise messages are permitted only when streaming live or pre-recorded media content that is not simply an advertisement or commercial.
(4) For purposes of a media wall sign, PREMISE means the property within the Discovery Subdistrict and the property within the Media Center Plaza abutting the Discovery Subdistrict.
(5) For purposes of a media wall sign, PREMISE SIGN means any sign that contains content that relates to the premise and referring exclusively to the following:
(A) the name, trade name, or logo of the owner or occupant of the premises, or the identification of the premise;
(B) accommodations, services, or activities offered or conducted on the premise;
(C) products or media content sold, other than incidentally, on the premise, the intent of which is not to promote third-party advertising but to allow the products and media content of the premise, but does not include monetization from third-party advertising;
(D) the sale, lease, or construction of the premise;
(E) products or media content owned by the owner or its affiliates, or by the occupant of the premise;
(F) public service or sponsorship announcements; and
(G) the streaming of live or pre-recorded content.
(6) Media wall signs may be a maximum 9,300 square feet in effective area. For a media wall sign that wraps around the side of a building, a maximum of 6,650 square feet in effective area is permitted on the north/Jackson Street side of the building, and a maximum of 2,650 square feet in effective area is permitted on the west/Akard Street side of the building.
(7) A media wall sign:
(A) must contain a default mechanism that freezes the image in one position in case of a malfunction.
(B) must automatically adjust the sign brightness based on natural ambient light conditions in compliance with the following formula:
(i) the ambient light level measured in luxes, divided by 256 and then rounded down to the nearest whole number, equals the dimming level; then
(ii) the dimming level, multiplied by .0039 equals the brightness level; then
(iii) the brightness level, multiplied by the maximum brightness of the specific sign measured in nits, equals the allowed sign brightness, measured in nits. For example:
32,768 (ambient light in luxes) ÷ 256 = 128 (dimming level)
128 (dimming level) x .0039 = 0.4992 (brightness level)
0.4992 (brightness level) x 9,000 (maximum brightness of the example sign) = 4492.8 (allowed brightness in nits);
(C) between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, and between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday,
(i) must display at no more than 300 nits or five percent of the total brightness of the sign capabilities, whichever is less; and
(ii) may utilize no more than 50 percent of the sign's total diodes and display no text;
(D) may not display light of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare, impair the vision of an ordinary driver, or constitute a nuisance;
(E) must have a color display able to display a minimum of 281 trillion color shades; and
(F) must be able to display a high-quality image with a minimum pixel pitch of six mm.
(8) Before the issuance of a media wall sign permit, the applicant shall provide written certification from the sign manufacturer or vendor that:
(A) the light intensity has been programmed to comply with the maximum brightness and dimming formula in Section 51A-7.911(h)(7)(B); and
(B) the light intensity is protected from end-user manipulation by password-protected software, or other method satisfactory to the building official.
(9) Media wall sign operators must respond to a malfunction or safety issue within one hour after
notification.
(i) Gateway signs.
(1) Two gateway signs are permitted in the Chase Tower Subdistrict only.
(2) Minimum setback is five feet from any public right-of-way.
(3) The combined maximum total effective area for both gateway signs is 65 square feet.
(a) Unless otherwise provided, all detached premise signs must be monument signs or landscape signs.
(b) No detached premise sign may be located within five feet of a public right-of-way, except for monument signs or landscape signs, which may be located at the building line.
(c) Except as provided in this section, detached premise signs located within 15 feet of a public right-of-way may not exceed 20 square feet in effective area, or five feet in height.
(d) Except as provided in this section, detached premise signs with a setback of 15 feet or greater from a public right-of-way may not exceed 50 square feet in effective area, or 15 feet in height.
(e) A detached premise sign may contain only the name, logo, and address of the premise building and its occupants.
(f) Section 51A-7.304(c) of the Dallas Development Code, as amended, does not apply to monument signs or landscape signs in this district.
(g) A premise having more than 450 feet of frontage along a street may have no more than one additional detached premise sign for each additional 100 feet of frontage or fraction thereof. For purposes of the subsection, “street” means a right-of-way that provides primary access to adjacent property.
(h) The following additional regulations apply in Retail Subdistrict B.
(1) Campus identification sign.
(A) One campus identification sign is permitted if the building site contains a single building with a floor area of 1.5 million square feet or greater.
(B) This sign must be located within 15 feet of the right-of-way.
(C) Maximum height is four feet, six inches.
(D) Maximum effective area is 77 square feet.
(E) The message area cannot exceed 70 percent of the effective area.
(F) Push-through acrylic lettering is required. No other lettering is permitted.
(2) Additional monument signs.
(A) Three additional monument signs are permitted if the building site contains a single building with a floor area of 1.5 million square feet or greater.
(B) Maximum height is four feet, six inches.
(C) Maximum effective area of each sign is 45 square feet.
(D) The message area cannot exceed 60 percent of the effective area.
(E) These signs may be located along any street, provided there are no more than five detached premise signs oriented toward any street.
(F) The 200-foot spacing provision in Section 51A-7.304, “Detached Signs,” for detached signs on the same premise does not apply to additional monument signs permitted by this paragraph.
(3) Retaining wall signs.
(A) A maximum of four retaining wall signs are permitted.
(B) Maximum effective area of each sign is 40 square feet.
(4) Pedestrian-oriented concession signs.
(A) A maximum of three pedestrian-oriented concessions signs are permitted.
(B) These signs may contain campus and associated identification.
(C) Minimum setback is 15 feet.
(D) Maximum height is eight feet, eight inches.
(E) Maximum effective area of each sign is 30 square feet.
(F) There is no message area restrictions for these signs.
(G) Push-through acrylic lettering is required. No other lettering is permitted.
(5) Illumination.
(A) Except as provided in this paragraph, internal sources of illumination may only be used if the internal source is an integral part of the sign’s design, such as the use of light emitting diodes (LED) or small individual incandescent lamps.
(B) Except as provided in this paragraph, detached premise signs must not have a plastic translucent cover.
(C) Retaining wall signs and pedestrian-oriented concession signs may be externally lit, or internally lit with a translucent or transparent cover, without limitation to the type of lighting or cover materials.
(i) The following additional regulations apply in the Chase Tower Subdistrict.
(i) The following additional regulations apply in the Chase Tower Subdistrict.
(1) The following two detached premise signs are permitted only along the Pearl Street frontage: one monument sign and one landscape sign.
(2) The landscape sign may not exceed 50 square feet in effective area or 15 feet in height.
(3) The minimum setback for the monument sign is 10 feet from the public right-of-way. The monument sign may not exceed 80 square feet in effective area or 12 feet in height. (Ord.
Nos. 20167; 21404; 22425; 24606; 24925; 29227
; 31374)
(a) The director shall review all construction barricade signs for consistency with the construction fence requirements of the Dallas Central Business District Streetscape plan. Upon approval of the signs by the director, a sign permit for the signs may be issued. This review is a condition precedent for any permit issued for a construction barricade. No additional sign permits for the barricade may be issued after the barricade permit is issued.
(b) A construction barricade sign may not project more than two inches from the surface of the construction barricade.
(c) A construction barricade sign may neither be lighted nor contain any moving parts.
(d) A construction barricade sign must be removed when the construction barricade is removed.
(e) A minimum of ten percent of the effective area of a construction barricade sign must display city park names, city activities, district activities, or the names of the owner, occupant, or district sponsor of the construction site.
(f) A construction barricade sign may not exceed eight feet in height.
(g) A construction barricade may be fully decorated or graphically designed if:
(1) no decoration or graphic horizontally projects more than two inches from the surface of the barricade; or
(2) no decoration or graphic vertically projects more than four feet above the top of the barricade.
(h) A construction barricade sign may contain one non-premise message per street frontage. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 20167; 21404; 24606; 24925; 25047; 28073; 28347; 28553)
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