(A) Responsibilities. The administration and enforcement of these regulations shall be the responsibility of the City Zoning Administrator and the Building Official, in accordance with the customary duties and responsibilities of each official, respectively, and as further provided by this subchapter and by Article 2; § 154-02.02.
(B) Issuance of building permits.
(1) Permits required. A permit issued by the City of Yuma Building Safety Department shall be required for the installation, construction, reconstruction, alteration or replacement of all signs and sign structures as specified in the following. Failure to obtain such permit shall be considered a violation of this chapter. Approval of such permit by the city shall not eliminate any requirement to secure a permit from the State of Arizona pursuant to state law where applicable.
(a) Application. All permit applications shall be in the form prescribed by the Building Safety Department, and shall further include the information required by this subchapter.
(b) Permanent signage. A permit shall be required for all permanent sign installations as regulated by this chapter, including the painting or other attachment of any signage on the exterior of any building, wall, roof, fence or other outdoor surface as a new sign installation. In applying for such permit, the sign owner shall indicate in writing whether the sign is to be an on-site or an off-site sign installation.
(c) Temporary signage. A permit shall be required for any temporary sign installation exceeding 32 square feet in sign face area, and exceeding six feet in height, provided, however, that the installer of any temporary sign exceeding ten square feet in sign face area shall register its location, as permitted by this chapter, with the City of Yuma Department of Planning and Neighborhood Services. In applying for such a permit for temporary signage as required herein, the applicant shall indicate in writing the date by which such signage shall be removed.
(d) Electrical permits. If the sign or sign structure is to be illuminated by electrical means, a separate electrical permit shall be required in accordance with the standards and requirements of the electrical code as adopted by the city.
(2) Requirements for permit applications. Each application for a sign permit shall be accompanied by a plan or plan(s) drawn to scale which indicate the following:
(a) Complete dimensions to illustrate the sign face area, the height of the sign structure if freestanding, or the dimensions of the wall, roof or canopy upon which mounted or painted;
(b) The total amount of sign face area already existing on the property, whether permanent or temporary, on-site and off-site, and their locations;
(c) The location of the sign installation on the property, as well as the location of all property lines, curb lines, curb cuts and sidewalks pertinent to the sign location;
(d) The method of attachment, illumination and structural support; any calculations as may be required by the Building Official shall also be included; and
(e) The exact location of the property upon which the signage is to be installed, either by address or legal description.
(C) Fees.
(1) Permit fee. Prior to the issuance of any permit for a sign installation, the Building Safety Department shall collect a permit fee in the amount specified by current adopted building code.
(a) Such fee shall be based on the total valuation of the sign and sign structure, whether or not made locally, as calculated according to the building valuation data maintained by the Building Safety Department. The building valuation data include the unit cost per square foot sign face area for illuminated and nonilluminated signage.
(b) For any addition to an existing sign or sign structure, the valuation shall be based upon the square footage of the sign face area to be added.
(2) Plan check fee. In addition to the permit fee, a plan check fee shall be collected by the Building Safety Department in the amount of 65% of the permit fee. The plan check fee shall be required at the time that a permit is applied for and plans are submitted, and shall be paid whether or not a permit is issued.
(3) Investigation fees. Should there begin any work for which a permit is required by this chapter, and no permit has been issued, the Building Safety Department shall conduct a special investigation prior to issuing any permit for such work. The investigation fee shall equal, and be in addition to, the permit fee.
(a) In addition, the party performing work shall be subject to the penal provisions of this chapter, well as the applicable provisions of any other code or ordinance adopted by the city.
(b) A re-inspection fee shall be assessed when the work for which the inspection is called is not complete, or when corrections previously noted have not been made. Such fee shall be $15 and shall be collected by the Building Safety Department prior to conducting any further re-inspections.
(D) Variances. Variances may be granted by the appropriate city board as specified herein, to allow relief from the design standards specified by this chapter. However, no relief shall be granted to permit the erection of signs which are prohibited by § 154-17.06(A) of this chapter.
(1) Requests for variances from the design criteria of this chapter, such as, but not limited to, the size, height, location, spacing and number of signs, as well as the requirements pertaining to the manner of keeping, shall be considered by the City of Yuma Hearing Officer. Such variance requests, as well as any appeal from an interpretation made by the Zoning Administrator, shall be considered in accordance with the requirements and criteria of Article 2; § 154-02.02 of this chapter. However, since it is the intent of this chapter to secure the gradual and eventual elimination, rather than expansion, of nonconforming signs and sign structures, the Hearing Officer shall not grant any variance to increase the degree of nonconformity for any existing signage.
(2) Requests for variances from the structural or mechanical requirements of any building code as may be adopted by the city, or any appeal from an interpretation made by the Building Official, shall be considered by the appropriate board, such as the Board of Appeals or the Building Advisory Board, in accordance with their adopted procedures.
('80 Code, App. A, § 161) (Ord. 583, passed 9-16-1952; Ord. 2193, passed 3-21-1984; Ord. 2243, passed 12-19-1984; Ord. O2010-09, passed 2-3-2010; Ord. O2010-32, passed 7-7-2010; Ord. O2022- 044, passed 9-21-2022)