(a) The Dallas Arts District Extension Area (Planned Development District No. 708) was established on March 9, 2005, to complement the adjacent Arts District (Planned Development District No. 145). This approximately 17.4-acre area in the northeast section of the central business district, generally bounded by Woodall Rodgers Freeway, North Central Expressway, Routh Street, and Ross Avenue, represents a concerted effort on the part of the city and arts organizations to consolidate major art institutions in one mixed-use area.
(b) The guideline for development in the Arts District Extension Area is an urban design plan known as the “Sasaki Plan.” This plan is based on district-wide design and land use concepts, which include the creation of a pedestrian-oriented environment and a distinctive visual image for the district. Flora Street is defined as the major pedestrian spine and focus of development in the district. As a wide, tree-lined environment, Flora Street connects three subdistricts (Museum Crossing, Concert Lights, and Fountain Plaza) and provides continuity in a development framework for public institutions and private owners.
(c) The sign regulations in this division have been developed with the following objectives in mind:
(1) To protect the character of Flora Street and the Arts District Extension Area from inappropriate signs in terms of number (clutter), size, style, color, and materials.
(2) To enhance the image and liveliness of the Arts District Extension Area by encouraging compatible signs that are colorful, decorative, entertaining, and artistic in style while being functional and informative in purpose.
(3) To promote the commercial success of each individual tenant in the Arts District Extension Area and, in turn, the commercial success of all the tenants in the district collectively.
(4) To create a sense of design uniformity between signs and the other streetscape elements of the Arts District Extension Area and the Arts District.
(5) To help make the Arts District Extension Area an attractive place for the public to frequent by providing ease of direction to specific cultural institutions.
(6) To create a means of identifying the various types or categories of retail establishments along Flora Street.
(7) To identify and promote cultural events and activities consistent with the purposes of the Arts District Extension Area.
(8) To recognize that sign hardware is a part of the overall visual design of a sign, and to ensure that investments in signs and other structures in the Arts District Extension Area are not devalued by inappropriate or poor quality sign hardware. (Ord. 25920)