(A) Maintenance provisions. All signs, supports, braces, poles, wires and other appurtenances of signs or sign structures shall be kept in good repair, maintained in safe condition, and shall conform to the following standards:
(1) A sign shall be in a state of disrepair when more than 20% of its total surface area is covered with disfigured, cracked, ripped or peeling paint or poster paper, or any combination of these conditions. Any sign in a state of disrepair shall be considered in violation of this chapter;
(2) No sign shall be allowed to stand with bent or broken sign facing, broken supports, loose appendages, or struts that cause the sign to stand more than 15 degrees from the perpendicular;
(3) No sign or sign structure shall be allowed to have weeds, vines, or other vegetation growing on it and obscuring it from the street or highway from which it is intended to be viewed;
(4) No illuminated sign shall be allowed to stand with only partial illumination operational;
(5) If illuminated, signs shall be illuminated only by the following means:
(a) By steady stationary light of reasonable intensity, shielded and directed solely at the sign;
(b) External light sources to illuminate signs shall be shielded from all adjacent residential buildings and streets and shall not be of such brightness so as to cause glare hazardous to pedestrians or vehicle drivers or so as to create a nuisance; or
(c) Electrical requirements pertaining to signs shall be as prescribed in local codes; and
(6) Any sign which violates the maintenance provisions listed above shall be in violation of this chapter and shall be repaired or removed as required by the applicable sections of this chapter.
(B) Unlawful cutting of trees or shrubs. No person may, for the purpose of increasing or enhancing the visibility of any sign, damage, trim, destroy or remove any trees, shrubs or other vegetation located within a public right-of-way of any road or highway, except as required by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
(Ord. passed 3-1-10) Penalty, see § 10.99