(a) Purpose. It is the intent of this subdistrict to:
(1) create an aesthetically pleasing environment that promotes an atmosphere of vitality appropriate for a place where thousands of citizens gather for living, working, commuting, entertainment, and celebration;
(2) encourage the use of innovative, colorful, and entertaining signs, and signs that bring a distinctive character and attract people to downtown;
(3) identify and promote Akard Station as a vibrant centerpiece of ingress and egress in the heart of the Central Business District;
(4) encourage signs with a style, orientation, and location that take into consideration the high number of pedestrians and commuters expected within this district;
(5) communicate clear directions to and through the subdistrict; and
(6) promote the economic success of businesses within the subdistrict.
(b) In general. Except as provided in this section, signs must comply with the Downtown Special Provision Sign District in Division 51A-7.900. If there is a conflict between the text of this section and this division, the text of this section controls.
(c) Definitions. In this section:
(1) BUILDING IDENTIFICATION SIGN means a sign identifying a building within the subdistrict.
(2) FACADE-INTEGRATED SIGN means a sign that is part of a skin system for a portion of a building facade, has no fenestration, projects no more than 12 inches from the building facade, and the sign hardware is visually concealed from public rights-of-way.
(3) MIDDLE-LEVEL SIGN AREA means that portion of a building facade that is between the lower-level sign area and the upper-level sign area not to exceed 100 feet above grade.
(4) UPPER-LEVEL SIGN AREA means that portion of a building facade 36 feet or less from the top of a building.
(d) Special provisions for all signs.
(1) The maximum effective area of all signs combined is 10 percent of the total area of all building facades within this subdistrict.
(2) Permits for all signs in the Akard Station Subdistrict are subject to the director procedure in Section 51A-7.505(4).
(3) Except as otherwise limited by maximum effective areas allowed in this subdistrict, there is no maximum size or number of individual signs.
(e) Non-premise signs.
(1) Non-premise signs are only allowed on a building constructed before 1970 that contains at least 1,000,000 square feet of floor area.
(2) Non-premise signs may only be located in the middle-level sign area.
(3) Maximum total effective area of non-premise signs is 19,100 square feet. Minimum effective area of a single non-premise sign is 3,000 square feet. A message that wraps a building corner is considered one sign.
(4) Not more than 50 percent of all non-premise signage may be digital.
(5) The portion of a non-premise facade-integrated sign not devoted to building identification must be one large visual display with a minimum of 80 percent non-textual graphic content (no more than 20 percent text).
(6) A maximum of six signs may display non-premise messages at one time.
(7) No more than two non-premise signs may be displayed on a facade at one time.
(8) The same non-premise sign message may not be displayed for a period longer than 12 consecutive months.
(f) Digital signs.
(1) Digital signs must be facade-integrated signs and may only be located in the middle-level sign area.
(2) Digital signs must comply with the operational requirements for attached videoboard signs in Section 51A-7.910.
(g) HBA signs. No sign may be a Highway Beautification Act (HBA) sign as defined in Section 51A-7.102.
(h) Lower-level sign area.
(1) The total effective area for all signs in the lower-level sign area is 7,500 square feet.
(2) Premise signs located behind a window with at least 75 percent non-textual graphic content are not included in the calculation of effective area of signage within the lower-level sign area.
(3) Signs may be attached to a window or glass door and may exceed 15 percent of the area of that window or glass door or be located within the upper two-thirds of that window or glass door if the building official determines that the proposed signs do not eliminate visibility into or out of the premise. A sign authorized by this paragraph:
(A) must be made of translucent vinyl or a similar material with at least a 65/35 perforation pattern (a maximum of 65 percent of the area is closed, a minimum of 35 percent of the area is open); and
(B) may only have images; any text or characters on the sign are limited to 15 percent of the window area and are only permitted in the lower one-third of the window.
(4) Facade-integrated signs are not allowed in the lower-level sign area.
(i) Middle-level sign area.
(1) The total effective area for all signs in the middle-level sign area is 30,000 square feet.
(2) Middle-level signs must be facade-integrated signs. Facade-integrated signs may be digital signs or static signs with a light source that is not directly visible.
(3) To effectively balance the desire for significant signage and vibrancy within this subdistrict, a minimum of 1,400 square feet of effective area must display promotional messages in the Central Business District. An additional minimum of 1,500 square feet of effective area must display:
(A) promotional messages in the Central Business District, or
(B) images of artwork, historically significant buildings, or events within the city.
(4) A minimum of 1,800 square feet of the effective area of facade-integrated signs must be a building identification signage. Building identification signage may be included within or as a portion of any other sign.
(5) Digital signs are prohibited on a building facade facing Akard Street.
(6) Each new non-premise sign permit application for signs in the middle-level sign area must be submitted with a form provided by the department of development services detailing compliance with this section.
(j) Upper-level sign area.
(1) The total effective area for all signs in the upper-level sign area is 6,500 square feet.
(2) Facade-integrated signs are not allowed in the upper-level sign area.
(k) Signage study.
(1) Property owner or operator shall submit a signage study evaluating the types and ratio of signs in this subdistrict. The signage study must be in writing, must be submitted to the director between 60 and 90 days before December 31, 2021, and must include:
(A) a summary of all middle-level sign permit applications, including the forms submitted detailing compliance with this section; and
(B) the total number of notices of violation and citations issued by the City of Dallas for violating this section since May 27, 2015.
(2) Within 30 days after submission of the signage study, the director shall forward to the city council. If no signage study is submitted by the deadline, the director shall notify city council.