(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.