Loading...
No sign shall be erected or displayed in any residential district or planned development-housing except as allowed below:
(1) Development identification signs containing the name and/or logo of a subdivision, multifamily development, mobile home park, or planned development, provided such signs are limited to one freestanding sign at each principal point of access to the development, as follows:
a. Reserved.
b. Monument sign: 60 square feet or two signs mounted on wooden, brick or stone entry walls, 30 square feet per display surface, and a maximum height of six feet above finished grade.
c. Ground sign: 60 square feet or two signs mounted on wooden, brick or stone entry walls, 30 square feet per display surface, and a maximum height of six feet above finished grade.
(2) Home occupation signs identifying a home occupation, provided such signs are not illuminated and are limited to one wall sign per zoning lot and a maximum display surface area of four square feet. The setback shall be at least 20 feet.
(3) A place of worship bulletin board or sign not exceeding 48 square feet for the purpose of displaying the name of the institution and other related information. Such signs shall be set back at least 20 feet from the street right-of-way or easement line, at a maximum height of six feet for ground and monument signs and the roofline for wall signs.
(4) Nonresidential signs identifying nonresidential uses permitted as a principal or special use in residential districts or as an accessory use in planned development-housing developments, provided such signs are limited to one freestanding or wall sign per zoning lot and 16 square feet in area per display, at a maximum height of six feet for ground and monument signs and the roofline for wall signs.
(5) Lighting of signs in residential districts and in planned development-housing developments is permitted if illumination levels are low, all fixtures are concealed, and spillover of light is minimal.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 11.9; Amend. of 9-5-2006; Amend. of 9-4-2007)
(a) Signs; erection and display; exceptions. No sign shall be erected or displayed in the office and institutional, general business, community business, industrial-1 or industrial-2 district, interstate highway interchange district, and shopping centers, except as provided below for the type of sign and zoning district in which it is located.
(b) Specific sign regulations, on-premises signs.
(1) Wall/fascia sign. Wall signs include awnings and canopies.
a. Size. No more than 25 percent of the area of any wall may be devoted to signs, up to a maximum of 200 square feet.
b. Number. More than one wall sign may be erected, provided the total surface area regulation is not exceeded.
c. Height. No sign shall extend above the parapet wall, eave line, or above the roofline of buildings without parapet walls.
d. Projection/clearance. No sign may project more than 12 inches from the building wall.
e. Illumination. Wall signs may be illuminated, provided such signs shall be lighted from behind to silhouette letters and figures, or those utilizing floodlighting or other non-internally illuminated light sources shall be contained within a concealed fixture and angled so as to prevent a direct view of the light source from a public street or adjacent property.
f. Location. Wall signs shall not cover up or interrupt major architectural features.
(2) Freestanding signs. Pole, monument, and ground signs are permitted as set forth in this section.
a. Size. The maximum surface area of a freestanding sign shall be:
1. Pole sign, 40 square feet.
2. Monument sign, 60 square feet.
3. Ground sign, 60 square feet.
b. Number. One freestanding sign shall be allowed on any lot, subject to the regulations in this section, provided a pole sign shall only be allowed on a lot which contains 100 feet or more of frontage on the street to which such sign is oriented. If a unified sign plan is approved by the planning department, two freestanding signs may be allowed on a lot or development having a minimum frontage of 300 feet on each of two adjacent streets or more than 600 linear feet of frontage on a single street, but only one may be a pole sign. When more than one freestanding sign is to be constructed, the total amount of freestanding sign area shall not exceed 0.25 square feet per linear foot frontage on the adjacent street or greatest length.
c. Setback. No portion of any freestanding sign may extend over any property line or into any public right-of-way, or be located within 15 feet of any interior side lot line. Further, no sign may be constructed within 20 feet of a right-of-way of a street.
d. Height. No pole sign nor any part of a pole sign, including base or apron, supporting structures, and trim may exceed 15 feet in height. Further, no monument sign or ground sign may exceed six feet in height.
e. Illumination. All freestanding signs may be illuminated either internally or externally. All external light sources shall be contained within a concealed fixture or box and angled so as to prevent a direct view of the light source from a street and/or adjacent property.
f. Landscaping. Shrubs, flowers or ground covers, or any combination thereof, shall be planted around the entire base of any freestanding sign. The minimum planting area shall be equal to one-half of the sign area.
(3) Window sign. Window signs shall comply with the following:
a. Size. Within any given pane of glass, window signs shall cover no more than 25 percent of the glass area.
b. Number. More than one window sign may be placed on, in front of, or behind any given pane of glass.
c. Projection/clearance. No window sign may project more than one inch from any given pane of glass.
d. Illumination. Window signs may be illuminated, provided such signs shall be neon, lighted internally or from behind to silhouette letters and figures, or externally-illuminated from within a concealed fixture and angled so as to prevent a direct view of the light source from a public street or adjacent property. Window signs shall not use LED lighting, have changeable copy, or flash or other use motion.
(c) Interstate interchange highway district (IHI) freestanding sign. In place of a freestanding sign, as allowed in subsection (b)(2), one freestanding sign may be erected and displayed on a zoning lot within the interstate highway interchange district (IHI) in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) The maximum area per display surface for freestanding signs shall be 100 square feet per sign face.
(2) Any such freestanding sign shall have no more than two sign faces upon which sign information can be placed;
(3) The maximum height of a pole sign shall be 50 feet, 16 feet for a monument sign, and 12 feet for a ground sign;
(4) Ground signs may be illuminated, provided such illumination shall be limited to internal illumination, lighted from behind to silhouette letters and figures.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 11.10; Ord. of 11-13-2000, § 11.10.1; Amend. of 9-5-2006; Amend. of 9-4-2007)
No sign intended to be read from outside a planned development-mixed use, or from any public streets within the development, shall be permitted within such development except as provided below:
(1) Development identification signs containing the name and trademark of a planned development, provided such signs are limited to one ground sign at each principal point of access to the development, as follows:
a. Reserved.
b. Monument sign: 60 square feet or two signs mounted on wooden, brick or stone entry walls, 30 square feet per display surface, and a maximum height of six feet above finished grade.
c. Ground sign: 60 square feet or two signs mounted on wooden, brick or stone entry walls, 30 square feet per display surface, and a maximum height of six feet above finished grade.
(2) Office building identification signs containing only the name of a building or building complex and the nature of the establishments therein, provided such signs are limited to one wall sign per building with a display area not exceeding one square foot per linear foot of the building, up to a maximum area of 20 square feet.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 11.11; Amend. of 9-5-2006; Amend. of 9-4-2007)
(a) The owners or developers of two or more contiguous lots or any multitenant use of a commercial property, including, but not limited to, shopping centers, convenience centers, or office complexes, shall submit a unified sign plan for approval as part of their site plan application, or at a later date. No sign permit application will be accepted for such property or use until a unified sign plan is approved by the planning department.
(b) An application for a unified sign plan shall be filed with the planning department. The applicant shall indicate the standards of consistency for all signs on the subject property with regard to:
(1) Colors.
(2) Letter/graphics style. Note: Federal and state registered trademarks may be employed in addition to the specified letter style and colors, but may not exceed 12 square feet in copy area.
(3) Location of each sign.
(4) Materials to be used in construction.
(5) Maximum dimensions and proportions.
(6) Other standards imposed by the applicant.
A copy of the approved unified sign plan, including any amendments, must be kept on file in the planning department.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of the applicant and/or property owner to enforce the terms of the approved unified sign plan.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, §§ 11.12, 11.12.1, 11.12.2)
If any new or amended unified sign plan is filed for a property on which existing signs are located, the amended plan shall include a schedule for bringing into conformance, within three years, all signs not conforming to the proposed amended plan or to the requirements of this article in effect on the date of submission.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 11.12.3)
(a) Where permitted. Outdoor advertising signs are permitted only along U.S. 70 (except the Clayton bypass section of U.S. 70 from the Wake County line to the U.S. 70/U.S. 70 business split at Cole Road) and Interstate 95 in the county's planning jurisdiction, provided that:
(1) The outdoor advertising sign shall be located in a general business, industrial-1 or industrial-2 zoning district. Note: this provision does not include special use districts or on property that is encumbered by a special use permit;
(2) No outdoor advertising sign shall be so located along, or visible from, Interstate 40 or the Clayton bypass section of U.S. 70 from the Wake County line to the U.S. 70/U.S. 70 business split at Cole Road; and
(3) The applicant for such signs obtains a permit from the state department of transportation district engineer for an outdoor advertising sign, in accordance with the provisions of the Outdoor Advertising Act of 1967.
(b) Standards. All outdoor advertising signs replaced or substantially replaced or repaired to more than 50 percent of the sign's current assessed value shall meet the following provisions:
(1) The maximum area for any one sign with a monopole type design and construction shall be 500 square feet of display area, or 300 square feet of display area if of a nonmonopole type design, with a maximum height of 20 feet and maximum length of 50 feet, inclusive of any border and trim but excluding the base or apron, supports and other structural members. If an advertising message appears on the base or apron, it will not be excluded from the maximum dimensions. Not more than one face or advertising message is allowed on each side of the display.
(2) The display area shall be measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle, circle, or combination thereof which will encompass the entire sign.
(3) The maximum size limitations shall apply to each side of a sign structure; signs may be placed back-to-back, side-by-side, or in V-type construction with not more than one display to each facing, and such sign structure shall be considered as one sign.
(4) V-type and back-to-back signs will not be considered as one sign if located more than 15 feet apart at their furthest points and connected and physically contiguous.
(5) Signs may not be located in such a manner as to obscure or physically interfere with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, signal, or device, nor obstruct or physically interfere with the driver's view of approaching, merging, or intersecting traffic.
(6) Outdoor advertising signs shall be so located that:
a. No two signs shall be spaced less than 2,000 feet apart;
b. The minimum distance between signs shall be measured along the nearest edge of the pavement between points directly opposite the signs along each side of the highway and shall apply to sign structures located on both sides of the highway;
c. Such signs shall be within 800 feet of an existing valid and operating industrial or commercial business;
d. Such signs shall be no closer than 1,000 feet from any parcel of land containing a residential structure; and
e. Such signs shall be at least 50 feet off the public right-of-way and no more than 200 feet of the public right-of-way.
(7) The maximum height of an outdoor advertising sign shall not exceed 50 feet on locations adjoining U.S. 70 or I-95.
(8) Signs shall not be illuminated by any flashing, intermittent, or moving light or lights.
(9) Signs shall not contain any changing billboards, rotating slats or other means of creating a movable message display.
(10) Signs which are not effectively shielded so as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of the traveled ways of U.S. 70 or I-95 and which are of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare and to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or which otherwise interfere with any driver's operation of a motor vehicle are prohibited.
(11) No sign shall be so illuminated that it interferes with the effectiveness of, or obscures an official traffic sign, device, or signal.
(12) All such lighting shall be subject to any other provisions relating to lighting or signs presently applicable to all highways under the jurisdiction of the state.
(13) Illumination shall not be added to nonconforming signs.
(c) Permit required. No outdoor advertising sign of any type replaced or substantially replaced or repaired to more than 50 percent of the sign's current assessed value shall be constructed, erected, placed, or replaced until a permit has been issued by the planning director. Such permit will not be issued until a sign plan has been submitted showing the location, size, height and style of each sign, and the planning director has determined that the sign will comply with the provisions of this chapter. After the planning director has issued a sign permit, the applicant will be referred to the state department of transportation district engineer to obtain the proper state permits and emblems for outdoor advertising signs if so required.
(d) Transfer of permit. The transfer of ownership of a specific outdoor advertising sign for which a permit has been lawfully issued to the original owner shall not in any way affect the validity of the permit for that specific sign, provided that the planning director and the appropriate state department of transportation district engineer is given notice of the transfer of ownership within 30 days of the actual transfer.
(e) Revocation of permit. Any valid permit issued for a lawful outdoor advertising structure may be revoked by the planning director for any one of the following reasons:
(1) Mistake of material facts by the issuing authority for which had the correct facts been made known, the outdoor advertising permit in question would not have been issued.
(2) Issuance of a permit based on an error of law.
(3) Misrepresentation of material facts by the outdoor advertiser on the application for a permit for outdoor advertising.
(4) Failure to pay all applicable fees.
(5) Failure to construct an outdoor advertising structure and affix the permanent emblem within 180 days from the date of issuance of the outdoor advertising permit by the state department of transportation if so required.
(6) Any alteration of an outdoor advertising structure for which a permit has previously been issued which would cause that outdoor advertising structure to fail to comply with the provisions of the Outdoor Advertising Control Act and the rules and regulations promulgated by the state board of transportation pursuant thereto.
(7) Any alteration of a nonconforming sign shall be made in accordance with the provisions of section 14-504.
(8) Unlawful destruction of trees or shrubs or other growth located on the right-of-way in order to increase or enhance the visibility of an outdoor advertising structure.
(9) Unlawful violation of the control of access on interstate, freeway and other controlled-access facilities.
(10) Failure to maintain a sign such that it reaches a state of dilapidation, disrepair or disuse. Such determination shall be made by the county.
(11) Abandonment, discontinuance or destruction of a sign.
(12) Making repairs to a nonconforming sign that exceed 50 percent of the sign's current assessed value. Total repairs during any 12 consecutive months may not exceed 50 percent of the initial construction cost of the sign.
The planning director may consult with the appropriate state department of transportation district engineer concerning any of the reasons listed in this subsection for revocation of a permit.
(f) Repairs. The holder of the sign permit shall contact the state department of transportation district engineer prior to making any major repairs to discuss the scope of the proposed improvements. If the district engineer determines needed repairs to a nonconforming sign will exceed 50 percent of the sign's current assessed value, he may contact the right-of-way branch to consider purchase of the sign, contingent upon funding availability.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 11.13; Ord. of 11-13-2000, § 11.13.2; Amend. of 9-5-2006)
Secs. 14-515—14-550. - Reserved.