(a) Purpose of section. It is the declared purpose of this division that, in time, all privately owned signs shall either conform to the provisions of this division or be removed. By the passage of this ordinance and its amendments, no presently illegal sign shall be deemed to have been legalized unless such sign complies with all current standards under the terms of this ordinance and all other ordinances of the city of Dallas. Any sign which does not conform to all provisions of this ordinance shall be a nonconforming sign if it legally existed as a conforming or nonconforming sign under prior ordinances; or an illegal sign if it did not exist as a conforming or nonconforming sign, as the case may be. It is further the intent and declared purpose of this ordinance that this division, and not the provisions of Article IV, shall exclusively govern how non-conforming signs in this district are treated. It is further the intent and declared purpose of this ordinance that no offense committed, and no liability, penalty or forfeiture, either civil or criminal, incurred prior to the time this ordinance was adopted shall be discharged or affected by such passage, but prosecutions and suits for such offenses, liabilities, penalties or forfeitures may be instituted, and causes presently pending may proceed.
(b) Removal and maintenance of certain non-conforming signs.
(1) A sign erected without a permit, either prior to or after the adoption of this division, is an illegal sign if a permit was required for its erection according to the law in effect at the time the sign was erected. It shall be unlawful to maintain any illegal sign. It is a defense to prosecution under this subsection if the sign has been made to comply with the provisions of this division so that a permit may be issued.
(2) No person may repair a nonconforming sign if the cost of repair is more than 60 percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location, unless that sign is brought into conformity with this chapter. No person may alter or repair a nonconforming sign where the effect of such repair shall be to enlarge or increase the structure of the nonconforming sign. For purposes of this section, mono-pole, metal, and wood are each an example of a “type” of sign and the term “repair” does not include maintenance or changes of words or other content on the face of a sign.
(c) Board of Adjustment authority.
(1) The board of adjustment may, in specific cases, take the following actions and authorize the following special exceptions with respect to the provisions of this division.
(2) The board of adjustment may waive any filing fee for an appeal under this division when the board finds that payment of the fee would result in substantial financial hardship to the applicant. The applicant may either pay the fee and request reimbursement as part of his appeal or request that the matter be placed on the board’s miscellaneous docket for predetermination. If the matter is placed on the miscellaneous docket, the applicant may not file his appeal until the merits of the request for waiver have been determined by the board.
(3) The board of adjustment may hear and decide appeals that allege error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the building inspection division in the enforcement of this division.
(4) The board of adjustment may require a nonconforming sign to be brought into immediate conformity with all current standards of all ordinances of the city, or to be removed when, from the evidence presented, the board finds the sign to be hazardous to the public or to have been abandoned by its owners.
(5) Where a permit was required for a sign’s erection according to the law in effect at the time the sign was erected and where the building inspection division finds no record of a permit being issued, the board of adjustment may authorize the issuance of a replacement permit when, from the evidence presented, the board finds either that a permit was issued or that arrangements were made with a sign company to obtain the permit.
(d) Determination of non-commercial message.
(1) Findings. The city council finds that it may be necessary in the enforcement of this division to determine whether the message displayed upon a sign is a commercial message or a noncommercial message.
(2) Hearing. If a person receives a notice of violation or is cited for maintaining an illegal sign, and the person notifies the city attorney in writing within 10 days of receiving the notice or citation that he believes the sign displays a noncommercial message and is, therefore, not in violation of this division, the city attorney shall postpone prosecution of the case and shall have the matter placed on the agenda of the board of adjustment for appeal under Section 51A-7.1730(c)(3) of this section. The board shall give the person maintaining the sign 10 days written notice of a public hearing on the matter. After hearing the evidence, the board shall decide whether the message displayed on the sign is commercial or noncommercial. No fee may be charged for this appeal.
(3) Judicial Review. If the board decides that the message is commercial and that the sign is illegal, the person maintaining the sign may within 10 days of the board’s decision file a notice of nonacceptance of the decision with the city attorney. Within three days after receiving notice of nonacceptance, the city attorney shall initiate suit in the district court for determination that the sign is commercial and for an injunction to prohibit display of the sign in violation of this article. The city shall bear the burden of showing that the sign is commercial. In computing the three-day time period, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded. (Ord. Nos. 24348; 25918)