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(a) The West End Historic Sign District is hereby recognized as that area of the city within the boundaries described in the Exhibit A attached to Ordinance No. 30139, passed by the Dallas City Council on June 22, 2016.
(b) The Purse Building subdistrict is hereby created within the West End Historic Sign District. The boundaries of the Purse Building subdistrict are described in Exhibit B attached to Ordinance No. 30139, passed by the Dallas City Council on June 22, 2016.
(c) The Antioch Church subdistrict is hereby created within the West End Historic Sign District. The boundaries of the Antioch Church subdistrict are described in Exhibit C attached to Ordinance No. 30663, passed by the Dallas City Council on September 27, 2017.
The purpose of this division is to regulate the construction of new signage and alterations made to existing signage with a view towards preserving the historic nature of this district. The general objectives of this division include those listed in Section 51A-7.101 as well as aesthetic considerations to insure that new signage is of appropriate historical design and does not visually obscure significant architectural features of a building or the district in general. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21404; 22112; 26027)
In this division:
(1) BANNER means a sign attached to or applied on a strip of cloth and temporarily attached to a building or structure. Canopy signs and political flags are not banners.
(2) CANOPY SIGN means a sign attached to, applied on, or supported by a canopy or awning.
(3) FLAT ATTACHED SIGN means an attached sign projecting four or less inches from a building.
(4) GENERIC GRAPHICS means any pattern of shapes, colors, or symbols that does not commercially advertise.
(5) LOWER LEVEL SIGN means a sign partially or wholly situated below the top of the first floor windows or, if there are no first floor windows, below a point 12 feet above grade.
(6) MARQUEE means a permanent canopy projecting over the main entrance of a building. A marquee is considered to be part of the building.
(7) MARQUEE SIGN means a sign attached to, applied on, or supported by a marquee.
(8) NIGHT means the time period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise.
(9) PAINTED APPLIED SIGN means a sign painted directly on to the exterior facade of a building, not including doors and windows.
(10) PROJECTING ATTACHED SIGN means an attached sign, other than a roof sign, projecting 18 or more inches from a building.
(11) PROMOTIONAL MESSAGE means a message that identifies or promotes a cultural activity or event that benefits the city. Benefit to the city is established by:
(A) use of city property in accordance with a contract, license, or permit;
(B) the receipt of city monies for the activity or event; or
(C) resolution of the city council that recognizes the activity or event as benefitting the city.
(12) ROOF SIGN means a sign that is attached by sign supports to the roof of a building.
(13) SIGN HARDWARE means the structural support system for a sign, including the fastening devices that secure a sign to a building facade or pole.
(14) THIS DISTRICT means the West End Historic Sign District.
(15) TYPE A FACADE means a facade with a total window area comprising between 30 and 50 percent (inclusive) of the total facade area.
(16) TYPE B FACADE means a facade with a total window area comprising less than 30 or more than 50 percent of the total facade area.
(17) UPPER LEVEL SIGN means a sign wholly situated above the top of the first floor windows or, if there are no first floor windows, above a point 12 feet above grade.
(18) WELCOME MESSAGE means a message that identifies and greets heads of state, foreign dignitaries, groups using city property in accordance with a contract, license, or permit, or government organizations.
(19) WINDOW ART DISPLAY means an exhibit or arrangement placed within a storefront window of a building and designed to be viewed from a street.
(20) WINDOW SIGN means a sign painted on or affixed to a window. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21404; 22112; 26027)
(a) Pursuant to the authority of Section 51A-7.503 of this article, the rules relating to the erection of all signs in the West End Historic Sign District are as follows:
(1) No illuminated sign may contain flashing or moving elements or change its brightness, except as otherwise provided in this division.
(2) Except for a marquee sign or a sign constructed of fiberglass, no sign may be illuminated by fluorescent or back lighting. The use of indirect lighting is allowed.
(3) The use of neon and single incandescent bulbs is allowed.
(4) Except for a marquee sign, the use of plastic on the exterior of a sign is prohibited. For purposes of this provision, fiberglass is not considered to be plastic.
(5) The use of a fluorescent color on a sign is prohibited.
(6) No sign or part of a sign may move or rotate, with the exception of a wind device, the motion of which is not restricted.
(7) Except as provided in Sections 51A-7.1008 and 51A-7.1009, all signs must be premise signs or convey a noncommercial message.
(8) No sign may cover or obscure any portion of a major decorative cornice of a building.
(b) The following typestyles are suggested, but not required, for signs in this district: Americana Extra Bold, Aster Bold, Baskerville Bold, Bodoni Bold, Bookman Bold, Caslon No. 3, Cheltenham Bold, Copperplate Gothic 31, Craw Modern, Egyptian 505 Bold, Garamond Bold, Gothic 13, Goudy Extra Bold, Times Roman Bold. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 21404; 21626; 22112; 22392; 26027)
Pursuant to the authority of Section 51A-7.503 of this article, the rules relating to the erection of attached signs in the West End Historic Sign District are as follows:
(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) Attached signs projecting horizontally more than 18 inches from a vertical building surface are prohibited.
(4) Except for a painted applied sign or a marquee sign, no attached sign may exceed 30 square feet in effective area unless it is:
(A) attached to a building having more than six stories; and
(B) at least 36 feet above grade.
(5) An attached sign, other than a roof sign, must be mounted parallel to the facade and may not project more than six feet above the surface to which it is attached.
(b) Canopy signs.
(1) No canopy sign may:
(A) be lower than 10 feet above grade, except that a sign may be as low as eight feet above grade if it does not project more than one-half inch from the surface of the canopy; or
(B) project vertically above the surface of the canopy or awning.
(2) The total effective area permitted for all canopy signs combined on a premise is the product obtained by multiplying 20 square feet times the number of street entrances to the premise.
(c) Flat attached signs on Type A facades.
(1) The maximum number of lower level flat attached signs permitted on a Type A facade is the sum obtained by counting all of the street entrances and first floor windows on that facade.
(2) No lower level flat attached sign on a Type A facade may exceed six feet in effective area.
(3) The maximum permitted effective area for all upper level flat attached signs combined on each Type A facade is 30 square feet.
(4) No upper level flat attached sign on a Type A facade may contain more than eight words. All words must:
(A) consist of characters eight inches or more in height; and
(B) read horizontally from left to right.
(d) Flat attached signs on Type B facades.
(1) No premise may have more than three flat attached signs on each Type B facade.
(2) No flat attached sign on a Type B facade may contain more than eight words with characters four or more inches in height. Words consisting of characters less than four inches in height may be used without limit.
(e) Marquee signs.
(1) No marquee sign may exceed 90 square feet in effective area unless it is for a theater, in which case it may not exceed 400 square feet in effective area.
(2) Marquee signs must:
(A) be parallel to the surface to which they are attached; and
(B) have a minimum height dimension of two feet.
(3) Except for a marquee sign for a theater, all words on a marquee sign must consist of changeable individual characters.
(4) Marquee signs may have flashing lights.
(5) The following provisions apply to a marquee sign for a theater:
(A) No more than 10 percent of its effective area may contain fixed characters.
(B) No more than 75 percent of its effective area may contain changeable characters.
(C) It may contain an unlimited number of words consisting of changeable characters.
(f) Painted applied signs on Type A facades.
(1) No lower level painted applied signs on a Type A facade may contain words consisting of characters more than eight inches in height.
(2) No upper level painted applied sign on a Type A facade may contain more than eight words. All words must:
(A) consist of characters eight or more inches in height; and
(B) read horizontally from left to right.
(g) Painted applied signs on Type B facades.
(1) No painted applied sign on a Type B facade may contain more than eight words consisting of characters exceeding four inches in height. Words consisting of characters four or less inches in height may be used without limit.
(2) No more than 60 percent of a Type B facade may be covered by painted applied signs.
(h) Projecting attached signs.
(1) No premise may have more than one projecting attached sign per street entrance.
(2) No projecting attached sign may:
(A) exceed 20 square feet in effective area;
(B) be lower than 10 feet above grade; or
(C) project vertically above the second story or the roof of the building, whichever is lower.
(i) Window signs. No window sign may:
(1) contain words consisting of characters eight or more inches in height;
(2) have a painted background; or
(3) cover more than 25 percent of the window surface area.
(j) Roof signs.
(1) Only buildings having six or more stories may have roof signs.
(2) No more than one roof sign may be located above each facade.
(3) No roof sign may be erected on a roof:
(A) lower than the sixth story ceiling;
(B) that is not the main roof of a building; or
(C) of a penthouse.
(4) A roof sign and its sign supports may not be located within four feet of a parapet wall or the outer edge of a building.
(5) The sign supports for a roof sign must consist of open, exposed metal framing. The metal must be painted, coated, or of a material that will not rust or corrode.
(6) No roof sign may project above the roof more than one-fourth of the building height.
(7) The effective area of a roof sign may not exceed 800 square feet. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 20927; 21404; 21626; 22112; 26027)
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