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(A) Signs indicating a customary home occupation shall not exceed 16 square feet in total surface area, shall include the hours of operation, and shall not be illuminated.
(B) All signs, except those protected by glass or other transparent cover, shall be constructed of materials that will not rapidly deteriorate, fade, fall apart or in any way become a hazard to the public health, safety and general welfare. Where signs are placed over one another, the original sign shall be removed or adequately covered so that the original sign cannot be seen.
(C) In the G-B General Business District the area of a sign shall not exceed one square foot per linear foot of building frontage, not to excess 100 square feet.
(D) In the H-B Highway Business District and the I-H-C Industrial and Heavy Commercial District:
(1) The area of a free-standing detached sign shall not exceed 48 square feet.
(2) The area of an attached sign shall not exceed 20% of the wall to which the sign is attached.
(E) All signs shall comply with applicable requirements of the N.C. State Building Code, National Electrical Code, and other applicable federal, state or local codes.
(F) Every sign and its supports, frames, guys, anchors and electrical equipment shall be secured to withstand adverse weather conditions.
(G) All signs shall be kept free from defective or missing parts or peeling paint.
(H) The immediate premises around a sign shall be kept free from litter and debris and grass/weeds shall be regularly trimmed.
(I) Indirectly illuminated signs shall be lit by a shielded indirect white or amber light of reasonable intensity and directed solely at the sign face.
(J) No sign shall be greater than 50 feet in height, measured from the adjacent road grade to the uppermost point of the sign or sign standard, whichever is greater.
(K) All signs shall be setback ten feet from the right-of-way of any street or highway unless it is attached to or is a part of a building located within the setback.
(L) In the event that a right-of-way is not defined among the public records of Cherokee County, this prohibition shall apply to an area within 15 feet of the edge of the ware surface of any public thoroughfare.
(Ord. passed 4-1-2024)
(A) Electronic changeable message signs (ECMS) shall be permitted for freestanding on-premises business identification signs subject to the following limitations and requirements:
(1) The ECMS shall be part of a freestanding business identification sign or be allowed in lieu thereof, but in no case shall the square footage of the ECMS exceed 50% of the total allowed sign face area for any such freestanding sign.
(2) ECMS on freestanding signs shall be allowed in commercial zoning districts.
(3) ECMS shall not be permitted on sites where existing freestanding signs are nonconforming unless such signs are made conforming to this chapter. ECMS is not permitted on off-premises advertising signs.
(B) In the G-B General Business District, an ECMS is permitted for theaters, and other public event facilities (spectator sports facilities, civic and conference facilities), whether publicly or privately owned; and the ECMS may be attached to the building or may be freestanding if at a location permitting a freestanding sign.
(C) No ECMS message (copy and/or image) shall be allowed to flash, animate, scroll, or otherwise move, or transition from one message to another in a moving manner. Transition between messages shall be instantaneous. Each message shall be continuously displayed for a minimum of ten seconds before changing to another message.
(D) Each ECMS or other sign employing the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for display shall be equipped with a control system that automatically adjusts the light emission level to ambient light conditions so as to not cause glare or excessive brightness. In no case shall the light level of any such sign exceed 500 NITS (candelas per square meter) between the time of sunset and sunrise, and 5,000 NITS at other times (daytime). If ambient light levels, day or night, in the area of the sign are significantly lower and the sign still produces glare or is excessively bright at the levels listed above, the sign light levels will be further reduced to eliminate the glare or excessive brightness. Focused or directed light shall be aimed away from passing traffic and residential occupancies.
(E) Any EMCS within or opposite a Residential (R) District as described above shall be operated or lit only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
(Ord. passed 4-1-2024)
(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 subchapter;
(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.
(6) Any sign which violates the maintenance provisions listed above shall be in violation of this subchapter and shall be repaired or removed as required by the applicable sections of this subchapter.
(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 4-1-2024)
(A) Permits. All new signs, except as otherwise provided in § 153.066, shall require a sign permit prior to being located or erected on any property within the jurisdiction of this chapter. A sketch of the proposed sign to scale, along with a general sketch of the proposed placement of the sign in the parcel shall accompany the application for a permit. Sign permits shall be issued by the Zoning Administrator. If a sign permit is denied, the decision may be appealed to the Board of Adjustment as provided in this chapter, specifically as indicated in § 153.098.
(B) Permit fees. The Board of Commissioner may establish a fee schedule by resolution for all sign permits issued in accordance with this subchapter.
(C) Nonconforming signs.
(1) Signs that are erected and were in place prior to the adoption of this subchapter but which do not conform to the provisions of this subchapter are declared nonconforming signs. Signs that were erected and that are in place and which conformed to the provisions of this subchapter at the time erected, but which do not conform to an amendment of this subchapter enacted subsequent to the erection of the signs also are declared nonconforming signs. Any sign erected after the passage of this subchapter must meet all the criteria within this chapter.
(2) All nonconforming signs shall be maintained in accordance with § 153.071 but shall not be:
(a) Moved, changed, replaced, reestablished, or relocated except in conformance with the provisions of this subchapter, provided that copy may be changed on an existing sign;
(b) Expanded; or
(c) Modified in any way which increases the sign's degree of nonconformity.
(3) Existing off-premises nonconforming billboards cannot be modified to include digital or other electrically or electronically controlled signage.
(D) Enforcement. Violation of the provisions of these sign regulations shall be enforceable as set forth below in addition to the enforcement provisions as set forth in this chapter.
(1) Notice of violation. The Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to issue a notice of violation for all violations of the sign ordinance. Where the owner of the sign is indicated on the sign or is otherwise apparent or known to the Zoning Administrator, a copy of the notice of violation shall be delivered to the sign owner by hand delivery or by certified mail. In all other cases, a copy of the notice of violation shall be posted on the sign and a copy shall be delivered by hand delivery or certified mail to the property owner as shown on the Cherokee County tax records. In addition, service hereunder may be made in accordance with Rule 4 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.
(2) Time to remedy violation. In instances where the violation or violations of the sign ordinance is or includes failure to obtain a sign permit as required in § 153.064, all violations must be remedied immediately. For purposes of this division, IMMEDIATELY means within a 24-hour period following the earlier of the posting of the notice of violation on the sign or the delivery of a copy of the notice of violation to the sign owner or property owner. In all other cases, the sign owner and/or the property owner shall have 30 days to remedy all violations set forth in the notice of violation. The 30-day period shall commence upon the earlier of the posting of the notice of violation on the sign or the delivery of a copy of the notice of violation to the sign owner or property owner.
(3) Extension of time for compliance. The Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to grant a single 30-day extension of time within which the sign owner must comply with the notice of violation. The single extension of time may be issued based upon a written request for extension of time, which sets forth valid reasons for not complying within the original 30-day period.
(4) Remedies for failure to comply. Pursuant to G.S. § 160A-175(f), the Zoning Administrator may choose from the remedies set forth below to enforce the ordinance when there is a failure to comply with the notice of violation. Those remedies are as follows:
(a) In addition to or in lieu of the other remedies set forth in this section, the Zoning Administrator may issue a citation setting forth a civil penalty of $50. In the case of a continuing violation, each 24-hour period during which the violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate violation. Where multiple violations are located upon a single property, each shall constitute a separate violation, with each violation subject to separate fines pursuant to this subsection. The citation shall be served upon the person(s) described in division (D)(1) of this section by the means set forth therein. In the event the offender does not pay the penalty within ten days of service of the citation, the civil penalty shall be collected by the town in a civil action in the nature of debt, which shall not constitute a misdemeanor, and in so providing, the Board of Commissioners hereby chooses to exercise the option provided by G.S. § 160A-175(b);
(b) In addition to or in lieu of the other remedies set forth in the section, the Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to issue a remove order for any sign not repaired or brought into compliance within the time required by the foregoing provisions. Remove orders shall be issued to and served upon the person(s) described in division (D)(1) of this section by the means set forth therein. The sign owner or the landowner shall be allowed a period of 30 days after the service of the remove order within which to remove the sign at his or her own expense. The remove order shall describe specifically the location of the sign to be removed and all of the reasons for issuance of the remove order, including specific reference to the provisions of the code that have been violated; and
(c) In addition to or in lieu of the other remedies set forth in this section, the Zoning Administrator may seek injunctive relief in the appropriate court.
(5) Removal and recovery expense. If a sign owner or property owner fails to comply with the requirements of a remove order, the Zoning Administrator may cause such sign to be removed. The sign owner and property owner shall be jointly and severally liable for the expense of removal. Notice of the cost of removal shall be served upon the person(s) described in division (D)(1) by the means set forth therein. If the sum is not paid within 30 days thereafter, the sum shall be a lien upon the land or premises where the sign was located, and shall be collected as unpaid taxes.
(6) Removal of dangerous signs. Pursuant to G.S. § 160A-193, the Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to summarily remove, abate, or remedy a sign which is dangerous or prejudicial to the public health or safety. The expense of the action shall be paid by the sign owner, or if the sign owner cannot be determined, by the land owner, and if not paid, shall be a lien upon the land or premises where the nuisance arose, and shall be collected as unpaid taxes.
(Ord. passed 4-1-2024)
CONDITIONAL USES
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