(A) Permit required. No person shall erect or assist in the erection, construction, maintenance, alteration, relocation, repair, or do any work upon any sign for which a sign permit, and any other required permit, has not been obtained. Any such sign shall be illegal and is a violation of this section. Structural and safety features and electrical systems shall be in accordance with the requirements of the city's adopted Construction/Building Code. No sign shall be approved for use unless it has been inspected and found to be in compliance with all the requirements of this Code.
(B) Application; determination of completeness. Before any sign permit is issued, a written application, in the form provided by the City Manager, or his or her designee, shall be filed, together with such drawings and specifications as may be necessary to fully advise the city of the location, construction, materials, manner of illuminating, method of securing or fastening, the number of signs applied for, the consent of the property owner, and the wording of the sign. Upon the submission of an application, staff shall have ten business days to determine whether it is complete. If staff finds that the application is not complete, they shall provide the applicant with written notice of the deficiencies within the ten-day period. Upon resubmission of the application, staff shall have five additional business days to determine whether the applicant's revisions are sufficient to complete the application. If they are not, staff will again inform the applicant of any remaining deficiencies in writing. This process shall continue until the applicant has submitted a complete application, or demands that the application be reviewed "as is."
(C) Administrative review.
(1) Administrative review of sign permit applications shall include the following:
(a) Review of all information submitted to determine conformity with this Code.
(b) An on-site inspection of the proposed sign location.
(2) The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall approve or deny the sign permit based on whether it complies with the requirements of this Code, and shall approve or deny the sign permit within 30 calendar days after receipt of a complete application or from the date the applicant demands that the application be reviewed "as is". The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall prepare a written notice of his or her decision, describing the applicant's appeal rights, and send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the applicant. The applicant may file a written notice of appeal to the City Council within 15 calendar days after the date of receipt of the county's written notice. The City Council shall hear and decide the appeal at the next available Council meeting that is at least 30 calendar days after the date of receiving the written notice of appeal. If the City Council does not grant the appeal, then the appellant may immediately seek relief in the Circuit Court for Pasco County, as provided by law.
(D) Time limitations. An application for a sign permit for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned six months after the date of filing for the sign permit, unless before then a sign permit has been issued. One or more extensions of time for a period of not more than 90 days each may be allowed by the City Manager, or his or her designee, for the application, provided the extension is requested in writing and justifiable cause is demonstrated.
(E) Time to complete construction. Every sign permit issued shall become invalid unless the work authorized by such sign permit is commenced within six months after its issuance, or if the work authorized by such sign permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of six months after the time the work is commenced. If a building permit for the sign is applied for within 30 days after the sign permit is issued and building permit is issued, the work authorized by the sign permit shall be commenced within six months after issuance of the building permit. If the work has commenced and the sign permit is revoked, becomes null and void, or expires because of lack of progress or abandonment, a new sign permit covering the proposed work shall be obtained before proceeding with the work.
(F) Sign permit tag. For each permit issued, the permittee shall permanently affix a permit identification tag which shall be printed or impressed thereon a number corresponding to the permit number plus any additional information deemed appropriate by the City Manager or his or her designee subject to the following:
(1) No sign as herein defined, unless specifically exempted, shall be erected, displayed, rebuilt, repaired, or otherwise maintained which does not have such tag securely attached thereto, or to its supporting structure in such a manner as to be plainly visible from the street or roadway.
(2) The absence of an identification tag shall be prima facie evidence that the sign or advertising structure is being operated in violation of the provisions of this Code.
(3) The permittee is responsible for maintaining a valid permit tag on each permitted sign at all times.
(4) Said tag shall be no smaller than five inches by two inches and shall contain numbers not less than one inch high.
(5) The permit will become void unless the permit tag is properly displayed on the permitted sign within 30 days after the completion of the installation of said sign.
(G) Permit revocation. The City Manager or his or her designee is hereby authorized and empowered to revoke, in writing, any permit issued by him or her upon failure of the holder thereof to comply with the provisions of this Code or if the permit was issued on the basis of misstatement of facts or fraud by the applicant. The written revocation shall describe the appeal process. The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall send the revocation by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the sign owner. Any person having an interest in the sign or property may appeal the revocation, by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Council within 15 calendar days after receipt of the written notice of revocation. The City Council shall hear and decide the appeal within 30 calendar days after the date of receiving the written notice of appeal. If the City Council does not grant the appeal, then the appellant may immediately seek relief in the Circuit Court for Pasco County, as provided by law.
(H) Relationship to other permits. No permit for any on-site sign shall be issued by the city until a building permit or development has been issued for the establishment to which it relates.
(Ord. 1253-15, passed 4-13-2015)