ORDINANCE
NO. 6892
AN ORDINANCE
AMENDING THE AMARILLO MUNICIPAL CODE, BY AMENDING CHAPTERS 4-2 AND 4-10 TO
PROHIBIT NEW ADVERTISING SIGNS INSIDE THE CITY AND WITHIN THE CITY’S
EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISIDICTION, EXCEPT FOR MOST PORTIONS OF U.S. AND INTERSTATE
HIGHWAYS; PROVIDING SAVINGS AND SEVERABILITY CLAUSES; PROVIDING A REPEALER
CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
DIVISION 5. SIGNS
Sec. 4-10-226. Schedule of permitted
signs, maximum area, spacing standards.
The Districts in which the various types of Signs
are permitted are indicated by section
(a) Area shall mean the entire area within a single continuous
perimeter enclosing the actual message or Display Area of a Sign and shall
include border and trim, but exclude supports (See appendix Illustration 14.);
(1) Areas of stacked and side-by-side Signs shall be
added for the total area of Sign panels making up such a Sign; (2) For
Back-to-Back or V-Type Signs, only one (1) display face shall be counted in
computing the actual sign area;
(3) Area of Advertising Signs shall be further limited
by the following maximum total dimensions:
a. Height – Thirty (30) feet; Length – Sixty (60)
feet;
b. Individual Sign panels making up a stacked or
side-by-side Sign shall not exceed three hundred fifty (350) square feet in
area
(b) Street Frontage is the width of the
(c) Building Frontage is the length of the Building
wall to which the Sign is attached. The Building Frontage of a business may be
used to determine only the permitted area of Signs that advertise that business,
and the same linear Frontage may not be used to determine the permitted area of
more than one (1) Sign. No business shall be restricted to less than thirty
(30) square feet of flat Sign area, regardless of Building Frontage.
Sec. 4-10-226.1. Planned development district
regulated by ordinance.
In a PD Planned Development District, the Sign standards
shall be specified on the Site plan or in the amending ordinance.
Sec. 4-10-227.
No Sign shall be constructed to exceed the maximum Heights
set forth in Table 2, Summary of Sign Standards.
(a) In the GR, LC, HC, CB, I-1, I-2 or PD Zoning Districts,
on a Tract of land that is six (6) acres or more in area and is adjacent to
Interstate Highway 40, Interstate Highway 27, U. S. Highway 60-66, or Highway
Loop 335, pylon or major Identification Signs not to exceed eighty (80) feet in
Height may be erected when set back from the side and rear property line a
distance equal to the Height of the Sign. All Signs shall comply with Front,
Side, and Rear Setbacks of the Specific zoning Districts where the Sign is
located.
Height Standards for Advertising Signs: Along interstate
highways, freeways, primary highway systems, or arterials where the Grade of
the roadway is a minimum of ten (10) feet higher than the Grade of the adjacent
property where the Sign is to be placed, a Sign may be erected to a Height not
to exceed sixty-five (65) feet.
Sec. 4-10-228. Prohibited signs;
Allowable Advertising Signs.
The following Signs are prohibited:
(1) Signs which imitate or resemble any official
traffic Sign, signal, or device;
(2) Signs which are erected or maintained on trees
or painted or drawn on rocks or other natural resources;
(3) Signs using lights which are not effectively
shielded as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any
portion of the traveled ways and which are of such brilliance as to cause glare
or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle or otherwise
interfere with any driver’s operation of a motor vehicle;
(4) Any Sign that is so illuminated that it would interfere
with the effectiveness of or obscure an official traffic Sign, device or
signal.
(5) New Advertising Signs shall be prohibited in the
City with the following exceptions:
a. Advertising Signs shall be allowed adjacent to Interstate
40 (not Business Interstate 40), Interstate Highway 27, and State Highways 60, 87
& 287 (
b. Advertising Signs shall be allowed in the A with specific
use permit, GR, LC, CB, HC, I-1, I-2, and PD Zoning Districts adjacent to the
portion of Highway Loop 335 located inside the city limits. Advertising Signs
along this roadway shall be regulated by the City to the same standards that
are enforced by the TxDOT for controlling outdoor
Advertising Signs along interstate and primary highways.
(Code 1960, § 26-20(E); Ord.
No. 6600, § 8, 6-11-2002)
Sec. 4-10-229. Projection into public
right-of-way.
No Sign shall be erected so as to project into any Public
Right-of-way, to any Street or Alley; except, Business Signs may be erected so
as to project into the Public Right-of-way of any Street or Alley only in the CB,
HC, I-1, and I-2 Districts. Any such Projecting Sign shall not exceed outward
from any Building face into the Public Right-of-way for a distance of more than
ten (10) feet or to within two (2) feet of the back of the Street Curb,
whichever is more restrictive.
(Code 1960, § 26-20-(F))
Sec. 4-10-230. Signs in required yards; certain districts.
Signs in the Districts designated in this section
may be located or erected within the required Front Yard, where a Front Yard is
provided in the District. The area of such Sign shall not exceed eighty (80)
square feet in the Agricultural, Office-1, Office-2, and Neighborhood Service
District or one hundred twenty (120) square feet in the General Retail and
Light Commercial District or the maximum area specified in section 4-10-226, whichever
is less. The maximum Height of such Signs shall not exceed the Height allowed
for Buildings in that District. In no event shall any Signs so erected protrude
into the adjacent Public Right-of-way.
(Code 1960, § 26-20(G); Ord.
No. 6198, § 1, 10-2495)
Sec. 4-10-231. Conflicting ordinances; which takes precedence.
No provision of this division shall supersede or
replace any other ordinance of the City having to do with Sign standards, materials of construction except the provisions
of this division pertaining to the use of the various types of Signs in the
various Districts shall take precedence over all other ordinances, regulations
and standards.
(Code 1960, § 26-20(H))
Sec. 4-10-232. Lighting restrictions.
(a) Lighted Signs shall be constructed so as to
conceal the light source in the R-1, R-2, R-3, MD,
MF-1, MF-2, MH, 0-1, 0-2 and NS Districts. Such Signs shall not contain,
include, or be illuminated by any flashing, intermittent, or moving light.
(b) No sign in any Residential Zoning District shall
be illuminated between the hours of
(Code 1960, § 26-20(I))
Sec. 4-10-233. Timely removal of
political signs.
Political Signs shall be removed by the property
owner within thirty (30) days following the election or activity for which such
Sign was intended.
(Code 1960, § 26-20(J))
Sec. 4-10-234. Nonconforming Advertising
Signs – Maintenance; upgrading; relocation; special requirements; failure to
comply; removal.
(a) Maintenance. Maintenance operations may
be performed on a Nonconforming Advertising Sign. For purposes of this section,
“maintenance operations” means the process of keeping a Nonconforming
Advertising Sign in good repair. Maintenance operations include:
(1) Replacement of nuts and bolts; nailing,
riveting, or welding; cleaning and painting; and manipulation to level or plumb
the Sign Structure;
(2) Replacement of parts, as long as the basic
design or Sign Structure is not altered or upgraded and materials of the same
type are used;
(3) Replacement of poles, as long as no more than one-half
of the poles are replaced in any twelve (12) month period and the poles are
replaced with the same type of materials as the original poles; and
(4) Changing the advertising message, including changing
the Surface Display Face, as long as similar materials are
used to replace the Surface Display Face. Surface Display Faces shall be replaced
only with Surface Display Faces that are the same size or smaller than the
Surface Display Face that existed prior to replacement.
(b) Upgrading. A Nonconforming Advertising
Sign shall not be upgraded. For purposes of this section, “upgrade” means
making any change to a Nonconforming Advertising Sign, other than repairs and
maintenance operations permitted pursuant to section 4-10-234 (a). All other alterations of any nature whatsoever in connection with Nonconforming
Advertising Signs are prohibited. If any such alteration or upgrade is
performed, the owner shall remove the Sign immediately or bring it into
compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and all other applicable ordinances as
soon as practicable, but in not more than thirty (30) calendar days from the
date of the violative alteration. Examples of actions
that are upgrades and not maintenance operations and are therefore prohibited, include without limitations:
(1) Adding lights to an unilluminated
Nonconforming Advertising Sign or adding more intense lighting to an Illuminated
Nonconforming Advertising Sign, whether or not the lights are attached to the
Sign Structure;
(2) Increasing the size or Surface Display Face of a
Nonconforming Advertising Sign; (3) Changing the number of poles in the Sign Structure;
(4) Changing the materials in the construction of a Nonconforming
Advertising Sign, such as replacing wooden materials with metal materials;
(5) Adding Surface Display Faces or changing a Nonconforming
Advertising Sign configuration, such as changing from a “V” configuration to a stacked
configuration, or from a “V” configuration to a back-to-back configuration;
(6) Increasing the height of a Nonconforming Advertising
Sign;
(7) Moving the Sign Structure or Surface Display Face
in any way unless the movement is made in accordance with relocation provisions
outlined in section 4-10-234 , as a result of a
roadway project;
(8) Replacing more than one-half of the poles in a multiple
pole Sign Structure in any twelve (12) month period;
(9) Making repairs that exceed sixty (60) percent of
the cost of erecting a New Advertising Sign of the same type at the same
location; or
(10)Converting a Nonconforming Advertising Sign to
utilize Animated display or moveable copy technology,
including but not limited to Signs featuring Tri-Vision technology. If a
Nonconforming Advertising Sign is dismantled for any purpose, the Nonconforming
Advertising sign shall not be altered, reconstructed, repaired, or replaced,
and the owner shall remove the Nonconforming Advertising Sign or bring it into
compliance with this section and all other applicable ordinances.
(c) Relocation. If a Nonconforming
Advertising Sign is required to be relocated due to a public right-of-way width
expansion project for streets, highways, or roadways by the City, County, or
Texas Department of Transportation, the Nonconforming Advertising Sign shall be
relocated if the Nonconforming Advertising Sign complies with the requirements
set forth in (1) through (4) below.
(1) The Nonconforming Advertising Sign shall be moved
to the closest private property on the same side of the street as where the Nonconforming
Advertising Sign as previously located and shall not be erected on public right-of-
way or in an easement;
(2) The Nonconforming Advertising Sign shall be the
same type, same Sign support, same height or less, and same size of Surface
Display Face or less as the Nonconforming Advertising Sign prior to relocation;
(3) The materials from the Nonconforming Advertising
Sign prior to relocation shall be used to construct the Nonconforming Advertising
Sign prior to relocation shall be the Sign poles used for the Nonconforming Advertising
Sign in the new location, and the Sign Surface Display Face of the Nonconforming
Advertising Sign prior to relocation shall be used for the Surface Display Face
of the Nonconforming Advertising Sign in the new location;
(4) The Nonconforming Advertising Sign shall be relocated
only after approval of the Director of Community Services.
(d) Special requirements; failure to comply;
removal.
(1) The owner, agent, or person having beneficial use
of an Advertising Sign must comply with the following requirements after
written notification from the Building Official:
a. Any Nonconforming Advertising Sign or support, or
both, which sustains damage by nature or man, without the consent of the owner,
agent, or person having beneficial use of the Nonconforming Advertising Sign to
the extent of sixty (60) percent or less of the cost of erecting a new
Advertising Sign of the same type at the same location shall be removed within
fifteen (15) calendar days or repaired within ninety (90) calendar days. Damaged
Nonconforming Advertising Signs shall only be replaced using like materials. For
example, a wooden pole shall replace a wooden pole.
b. Any Nonconforming Advertising Sign or support or
both, which sustains damage to the extent of more than sixty (60) percent of the
cost of erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location shall be
removed from the property within fifteen (15) calendar days.
c. An Advertising Sign owner shall submit a cost
estimate to repair the damaged Nonconforming Advertising Sign to the Building
Official. If the Building Official disagrees with the cost estimate, an independent
engineering study shall be prepared by a professional engineer licensed to
practice in the State to determine the percentage of damage and cost of reconstructing
a Nonconforming Advertising Sign. The engineering study shall be prepared at
the Sign owner’s expense and be submitted to the Code Enforcement Department
for review and acceptance. The cost of any accessory used to a Nonconforming
Advertising Sign, including without limitation a communication antenna and
support facilities, shall not be included in calculating the cost of erecting a
New Advertising Sign at the same location.
d. Upon failure to comply within the time specified
in the written notice, the Building Official is hereby authorized to cause removal
of such Advertising Sign at the expense of the owner of the Sign.
(2) The City may demolish an Advertising Sign as a dangerous
Structure and obtain a demolition lien in accordance with V.T.C.A., Local
Government Code § 217, as the same may hereafter be amended, and in accordance
with section 4-3-3, Abatement of Substandard Structures, of the Amarillo
Municipal Code.
(Code 1960, § 26-20 (K); Ord.
No. 5531, § 6,
§ 1(a),
Secs. 4-10-235 – 4-10-245.
Reserved.
Editor’s note – Ord. No. 6600, § 10, adopted