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MapLink™ | Signs

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Awning Sign
A sign on a supporting framework that projects from and is supported by the exterior wall of the building.
Banner Sign
Any sign printed or displayed upon cloth or other flexible material without frames. A banner sign is for temporary use only.
Bench Sign
A sign which is affixed or painted in any manner to a bench.
Billboard Sign
Any outdoor sign, description, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, or structure which directs the attention of the traveling public to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered at a location other than the premises on which the sign is located.
Canopy Sign
A sign on a roof structure, where the roof structure is freestanding or is attached to and supported by a building and by columns, poles, or braces extended to the ground.
Directional Sign
A sign located on private property which displays warnings, instructions, or directions and on which no other form of business promotion or advertising appears.
Electronic Changeable Copy Sign
A sign containing changeable electronic variable message areas which permit light to be turned on or off intermittently or which are operated in a way whereby light is turned on or off intermittently, including any illuminated signs on which such illumination is not kept stationary or constant in intensity and color at all times when such signs are in use, including LED (light emitting diode) or digital signs which vary in intensity or color.
Flag
A piece of cloth or similar material, typically oblong or square, attachable by one edge to a pole or rope and used as the symbol or emblem of a country, institution, or business or as a decoration during public festivities.
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Menu Board Sign
Any sign displaying the items offered at a business.
Monument Sign
Any outdoor sign attached to a contiguous structural base that is of the same width as or greater width than the message portion of the sign, and is permanently affixed to the ground.
Nameplate Sign
An on-premises sign showing only the name and/or address of the occupant.
On-Premise Sign
Any sign identifying or advertising a business, person, or activity, and installed and maintained on the same premises as the business, person, or activity.
Pole Sign
Any outdoor sign that is mounted on one or more freestanding poles or other support so that the bottom edge of the sign face is not in direct contact with a solid base or the ground.
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Portable Sign
A sign, not including a bench sign, whose principal supporting structure is intended by design, use or construction, to be used by resting upon the ground for support and to be easily removed and relocated for reuse.
Projecting Sign
Any sign affixed to a building or wall in such a manner that its leading edge extends more than six inches beyond the surface of such building or wall.
Pylon Sign
A permanent freestanding sign having at least twenty-five (25) percent of the sign structure width in contact with the ground and in which the sign face is separated from ground level by means of one (1) or more supports such as poles, pole covers or columns.
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Roof Sign
A sign that extends above or is supported on the roof of a building.
Sign
A structure, display, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster, or billboard, intended to be visible from the outside of a building, that is designed or used to advertise or inform. The term "sign" includes the supporting structure of the sign.
Subdivision Entry Sign
A sign that is allowed at the entrance(s) into a legally recorded residential subdivision that contains only the name of the subdivision.
Substantially Damaged Sign
Where the cost of repairing the sign is more than sixty (60) percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location.
Temporary Sign
Any sign that is used only temporarily and is not permanently mounted.
Wall Sign
Any sign painted on or attached to an exterior wall of a building in a parallel manner.
Sign Locations and Construction Standards
1.   No sign shall be located in or erected so as to project into any public right-of-way except as allowed by this ordinance.

2.   All signs must be designed to withstand wind pressure as required by the City Building Code.

3.   Any sign more than twenty (20) feet in height shall have plans sealed by an architect or engineer licensed to practice in the state. The Building Official may use discretion in whether sealed plans are required for signs under twenty (20) feet.

Dimensional Calculations
1.   Sign Area
a)   Sign area shall be calculated in square feet, and by means of the smallest square, circle, or rectangle that will encompass the sign face and any framing, trim, or molding and the supporting structure (see Figure 28).
b)   All riders or attachments to signs or sign structures (whether temporary or permanent) shall be included as part of the total sign area for the sign to which they are attached.
 
2.   Calculation of Area of Multifaceted Signs
a)   The sign area for a sign with more than one face shall be calculated by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one point.
b)   When two identical sign faces are placed back-to- back so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than forty-two (42) inches apart, the sign area shall be calculated by the measurement of one of the faces.
c)   For three-dimensional objects, the sign area is the sum of the two adjacent faces of a cube encompassing the object (see Figure 29).
 
3.   Sign Height
a)   The overall height of a freestanding sign is measured from the lowest elevation of the ground abutting the base of the sign to the highest point of the sign (see Figure 30).
 
Prohibited Signs
The following signs are prohibited:
1.   Electronic Changeable Copy Signs
a)   Exception: Where allowed on Monument Signs or Pylon Signs.
b)   Electronic Changeable Copy Signs are expressly prohibited on billboards within the City or its ETJ.

2.   Bench Signs

3.   Pole Signs
a)   Exception: Where allowed as billboards, directional, or temporary signs complying with this ordinance.

4.   Roof Signs

5.   Signs with revolving beacons, fluttering, undulating, swinging, or otherwise moving parts.
a)   Exception:
i)         Fluttering signs advertising special events shall require a permit and may be authorized for a maximum period of fourteen (14) consecutive days per calendar year.

6.   Signs that imitate or resemble any official traffic sign, signal, or device.

7.   Any sign illuminated so that it would interfere with the effectiveness of or obscure an official traffic sign, device, or signal.

8.   A sign placed on a vehicle or trailer that is parked or located for the primary purpose of displaying the sign.

9.   Any sign placed in the right-of-way of a road or highway maintained by the City of Canyon or that is a part of the State highway system or that is or has been placed in violation of Chapter 393 of the Texas Transportation Code unless permitted by Section 393.0026 of the Texas Transportation Code.

Removal of Signs
1.   If the Building Official determines any sign is in violation of this ordinance, then the Building Official shall give written notice to remove or replace (in accordance with this ordinance) said sign to the owner or person responsible for the sign.
a)   If the owner or person responsible for the sign fails to remedy the violation within ten (10) days’ notice, the Building Official may cause removal of the sign.
b)   A bill for the resulting costs incurred by the City shall be mailed to the owner or person responsible for the sign and must be satisfied within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing of the bill.
c)   If the bill is not satisfied within the thirty (30) day period, the City may file a lien on the lot upon which the expense was incurred and ten percent (10%) on the amount from the date such payment is due.

2.   The City may immediately remove any sign or circular posted on a utility pole or in the public right-of-way without prior notice to the person responsible. The person(s) responsible shall be in violation of Chapter 393 of the Texas Transportation Code.
 
Nonconforming Signs
A nonconforming sign shall be allowed to be continued and maintained at the existing location, when lawfully existing on the effective date of this ordinance, subject to the following conditions:

1.   A nonconforming sign must be replaced if a property is being redeveloped. For the purposes of this requirement, redevelopment is considered an investment of fifty (50) percent or more of the property’s value.

2.   The face of the sign may be changed, but no alteration shall be made that would increase the nonconformity.

3.   A nonconforming sign shall be removed if any of the following conditions applies:
a)   The City may require removal of an On-Premise Sign if the business, person, or activity that the sign identifies or advertises has ceased to operate on the premises for one (1) year. If the premises containing the sign or structure is leased, the sign or structure must be removed no later than two (2) years after the date the most recent tenant ceases to operate on the premises.
b)   The City may require removal of a sign or sign structure if the Building Official determines it to be substandard under any applicable ordinances of the City to the extent that the sign becomes a hazard.
c)   The City may require removal of a sign or sign structure if it becomes substantially damaged as defined by this ordinance (see Substantially Damaged Sign).
 
The purpose is to provide uniform sign regulations for the City that balance the right of individuals and businesses to identify themselves and convey messages with the right of the public to be protected against the unrestricted proliferation of signs.

Permits
1.   Before any sign is erected, constructed, reconstructed, installed, painted or replaced, a permit for the sign must be obtained.

2.   Sign permits are issued by the Building Official.

3.   Permits are not required for the following:
a)   Any sign being repainted where the painting constitutes the only alteration to the sign.
b)   The replacement of plastic sign faces or panels where the original frame is used and the frame size is not altered and the substructure is not altered or removed.
c)   The replacement of bulbs that illuminate the sign where the original or identical frame is used and the frame size is not altered and the substructure is not altered or removed.
d)   Any On-Premise Sign posted on private property on maximum twenty-four (24) inch by thirty (30) inch sheet poster panels.
e)   Any Wall Sign not exceeding five (5) square feet in area and not projecting more than six (6) inches from the wall of the building.
f)    All signs erected by municipal, state, or federal government for the purpose of public instruction, street or highway designation, control of traffic and similar uses relating to the public interest.
g)   Flags placed on private property and in compliance with this ordinance.
h)   Directional Signs placed on private property and in compliance with this ordinance.
i)    Banner Signs not exceeding twenty-four (24) square feet in area.
j)    Nameplate Signs for residential locations not exceeding two (2) square feet in area.
k)   Portable Signs not exceeding twelve (12) square feet in area.
l)    Temporary Signs in compliance with this ordinance.
m)  Construction and Development Signs not exceeding ten (10) feet in height or thirty-two (32) square feet in area.
i)         Construction Signs must be removed not later than 30 days after a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued.
ii)        Development Signs must be removed once 90% of the development has been completed.
n)   Professional nameplates and occupational signs attached to the building face that denote only the name and occupation of an occupant in a commercial building or public institutional building and not exceeding four (4) square feet of sign area.