(12)   Permits.
(a)   Sign permits shall be processed through the Zoning Permit process in § 14-303(6). 978
(b)   For each non-accessory sign erected or converted to digital in conformance with these provisions, two existing lawful, non-accessory signs encompassing equal or greater sign area, other than a sign located in the Market Street East Advertising District, as defined in § 14-906, shall be removed; provided that this requirement shall not apply to the conversion to digital of a sign that, on June 1, 2015, lawfully could have been converted to digital without removal of an existing sign but for a then-existing lease or agreement which precluded the owner or future owner from effecting such a conversion; no more than ten signs owned by any sign company or related sign companies may be converted under this proviso. 979
(c)   The application to erect an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign must specify the size and the location of the sign(s) to be removed. Sufficient proof of the physical existence of the sign(s) to be removed shall be supplied to the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I). Required proof may be in the form of permits and/or photographs of the existing sign(s).
(d)   The application to erect an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign must also be accompanied by a written authorization from the owner of the property where the sign(s) to be removed are located authorizing the applicant to remove those sign(s) and acknowledging that the right to maintain an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign is being forfeited through the filing of the application and the issuance of the permit for the erection of the new sign.
(e)   No permit for the erection of an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign shall be issued prior to actual removal of the sign(s) required to be removed as provided in subsections (a), (b), and (c) above.
(f)   No permit for the erection of an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign shall be issued if there is any outstanding violation, for which all legal appeals have been exhausted, of The Philadelphia Code or regulations adopted pursuant to the Code, relating to the premises upon which the outdoor advertising sign or non-accessory sign is to be erected or maintained.
(g)   No permit for the erection of an outdoor advertising or non-accessory sign shall be issued if the owner of the premises upon which the outdoor advertising sign or non-accessory sign is to be erected or maintained is delinquent in the payment of any City or School District taxes, charges, fees, rents, or claims, unless the owner has entered into an agreement to pay any the delinquency and is abiding by the terms of the agreement.

 

Notes

978
   Amended, Bill No. 120430-A (approved January 14, 2013).
979
   Amended, Bill No. 130656-AA (approved July 1, 2015).