Encourage the effective use of signs as a means of communication in the Town.

Avoid visual clutter and unsightly displays.

Promote the safety and convenience of pedestrians and motorists.

Minimize the adverse visual effects of signs on nearby public and private property.

A sign may be erected, placed, established, painted, created or maintained in the Town only in conformance with this chapter. Signs erected in any manner not in conformance with this chapter shall be considered illegal and shall be subject to the removal provisions and punitive sanctions of this chapter and this Code.

By agreement of property owners in private developments, subdivisions, and residential complexes, an owners' association or similar regulatory body may promulgate and enforce sign regulations within that private community. In the event any such regulation is in conflict with any provision of this chapter or Code, the more stringent regulation shall apply within that community. The Town shall not enforce the private sign provisions of such community, but the provisions of this chapter shall be enforced within such community.

Government, utilities and safety/warning signs.

Historic markers placed under the authority of local, state or federal government.

Measuring two square feet or less in total area:

Flags of any nation, state, city, educational institution, or nonprofit organization.

A sign whose display is required by law or regulation.

Commemorative sign: a sign that is cut into the masonry surface or constructed of bronze or other material and made an integral part of a structure, indicating the origin, originators and date of the structure.

Noncommercial speech signs, subject to the following:

Political signs, subject to the following:

Real estate signs subject to the following provisions:

Open/closed signs subject to the following provisions:

Signage proposed by the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department for the specific and singular purpose of identifying its facility shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, provided that the plans and specifications for such signage be presented to and approved by the Town Council at a regularly scheduled meeting.

A sign permit shall be required to erect, install, alter, display, relocate or replace any sign or mural, except as otherwise exempted.

Application for permit to erect, install, alter, display, relocate or replace a sign is to be made by the owner, tenant, or lessee of the property on which the sign is to be located, or by the authorized agent, Delaware-licensed contractor, or registered architect or engineer. The application is to be made in writing to the Town on forms furnished by the Town and shall be signed by the applicant. The application shall state the address, site of installation, and estimated cost of the work and fully describe the sign according to the definitions and specifications of this chapter.

Upon approval of the application and before issuing the sign permit, a permit fee of $50 shall be paid.

If the permittee, at any time, fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter or does not provide the approved drawings, specifications and details, or fails to comply with any written directions of the Code Enforcement Officer, the Code Enforcement Officer may suspend or revoke the permit seven days after notice has been provided to the permittee.

Temporary signs, commercial flags and/or banners placed within Town limits for special events, holidays, public demonstrations, commercial promotions or promotion of civic welfare or for charitable purposes shall require a temporary permit. No fee shall be paid for a temporary sign permit unless subsequently determined by the Town Council.

Incidental signs are permitted subject to the following provisions:

Not more than three temporary sign permits will be granted in any calendar year for any one lot or parcel.

Signs employing any light that flashes, moves, oscillates or varies intensity, except time-and-temperature indicators.

Animated signs.

Signs that produce noise or sounds or emit visible smoke, vapor, particles or odor or contain iridescent material to simulate reflections or illumination.

Signs with intermittent lights resembling or seeming to resemble the flashing lights customarily associated with danger or such as are customarily used by police, fire or ambulance vehicles or for navigation purposes.

Signs located in a position that causes them to obstruct a motorist's view of other vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Signs located and so illuminated as to provide a background of colored lights blending with traffic signal lights to the extent of confusing a motorist.

Signs attached to any vehicle or trailer parked primarily for display purposes.

Signs located within any right-of-way unless otherwise permitted by this chapter.

Pennants, flags, streamers, balloons, blimps or banners displaying a commercial message, except as temporary advertising signs which have been issued a temporary sign permit.

Structural walls used for advertising or directing attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered at a location other than upon the premises on which the building sits.

A sign erected in any place where it may, by reason of its position, shape, color, or other characteristic, interfere with, obstruct the view of, or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal, or device.

A wall sign that extends above the eaves of a building, or beyond the corner of the wall to which it is affixed.

Roof signs.

Billboards or off-premises signs.

No unregistered or inoperative vehicle or trailer body shall be used as a sign.

Obscene signs: signs containing graphic pornography or obscenity or statements, words or depictions that are pornographic or obscene as determined by local standards.

Any new sign that is not specifically permitted by the provisions of this article is prohibited.

Any sign and/or supporting structure which advertises or identifies a closed or abandoned business shall be removed by the owner of the property or the person having beneficial use of the property upon which the sign is located within 60 days after the business closes. After the sixty-day period, the Code Enforcement Officer may remove the sign, provided that the owner has been issued 10 days' notice of the violation, in writing, by the Code Enforcement Officer.

No tree, light pole, utility pole or supporting member of a building shall be used for the placement of any sign except as otherwise provided in this article.

All signs for home occupations, bed-and-breakfast establishments or professional offices located in a residential district or the residential/commercial downtown district, if lit, shall only be externally illuminated.

A sign accessory to a nonconforming use or structure shall conform to the provisions of the zoning district in which the nonconforming use or structure is located.

All signs shall be maintained in good repair: free of peeling paint or paper, faded colors, staining, rust or other conditions that impair the legibility of such sign, and all supports, braces, guys and anchors shall be maintained in a manner that will not cause a hazard to the public.

No sign shall be placed in, upon, or over any public right-of-way, alley, or other public place, except as may be otherwise permitted by this chapter, and unless the Town Council issues a permit. If a permit is granted for a sign in a public right-of-way or alley, the sign must maintain a minimum height clearance of 12 feet from the bottom of the sign to the ground.

All signs shall comply with the Building and Electrical Codes adopted by the Town of Dagsboro. Illuminated signs requiring electrical connections shall be required to use underground wiring for all exterior connections.

All externally illuminated signs shall utilize an enclosed lamp design or indirect lighting from a shielded source in a manner that prevents the light from shining onto traffic or adjacent residential property.

Supports. The structure that supports a sign is not included in measuring the sign area unless the structure is designated and used as an integral part of the display.

Multiple sections. The area of a sign that consists of more than one section includes the space between the sections plus the measurement of the sections of the sign.

Multiple faces. The area of a sign with more than one face or plane is measured as follows:

Setbacks. Setbacks are measured from the portion of the sign nearest the property line.

Height. Height is measured from the portion of the sign that is vertically farthest from the ground.

A sign shall not be shaped like a traffic sign or signal, or use wording similar to traffic signs, or interfere with traffic safety.

A sign shall not be shaped to resemble a human or animal form.

Every permanent and legally valid sign existing at the time of adoption of this chapter which does not conform to the height, size, area, or location requirements of this chapter is hereby deemed to be a continued legal nonconforming use, provided that upon change of ownership, change of licensee, closure of the business advertised for a time period of in excess of 60 days, or upon substantial repair or maintenance to more than 50% of the total area of the sign, such signs shall be brought into compliance with the current sign ordinance.

Removal of unsafe or nonconforming signs.

Signs permitted in §§ 275-69 and 275-70 of this chapter are permitted in these districts.

Community signs and residential living signs and fixed symbols, in conjunction with residential usage such as mailbox signs, names of residences and house/unit numbers, not in excess of two square feet.

Except for signs listed in Subsection A(1) and (2), no signs shall be displayed from the interior of any structure so as to be plainly visible from outside the structure.

A maximum of two freestanding signs per entrance, not greater than 15 square feet for any school, church, residential subdivision, multiple-family complex having six or more units, or other institution permitted in residential districts.

Incidental or directory signs for multiple-family complexes having six or more units or nonresidential uses:

Signs for permitted home occupation, professional offices, and bed-and-breakfast establishments.

Standards for approval:

Windblown displays may be flown or displayed in residential districts, provided that:

Signs permitted in §§ 275-69, 275-70 and 275-73 are permitted in these districts.

For residential structures located in these districts, community signs and residential living signs not in excess of two square feet of area are permitted.

Except for signs listed in Subsection A(1) and (2) and permitted window signs, no signs shall be displayed from the interior of any structure so as to be plainly visible from outside the structure.

Wall signs.

Awning and canopy signs.

Marquee signs for theatres, exclusively:

Projecting and hanging signs.

Freestanding signs.

Window signs. Area is not to exceed one-half the total area of the window in which it is posted, and a maximum possible area of six square feet. For TC: Sign area is limited to 15% of the window area or a maximum of 24 square feet, whichever is less.

Sandwich boards shall not exceed 24 inches in width or 36 inches in height. Sandwich boards are prohibited in the public right-of-way and must be placed on private property.

Reader boards. One per property or business is permitted. It shall either be mounted on a wall or a freestanding sign. Maximum sign area is 10 square feet per site with a total sign area not to exceed 20 square feet. For TC: In the case of a wall-mounted reader board, the maximum area shall be six square feet.

For TC: Total sign area. The total signage area for all signs on the property must not exceed the sum of two square feet for each horizontal linear foot of building which fronts on a street or walkway. The business/institution owner can have a maximum of two signs which may be a combination of wall signs, awning and canopy signs, marquee signs, projecting and hanging signs, freestanding signs, or window signs subject to follow maximum size requirements and total signage area limitation. If multiple businesses are located within a building, the total signage area should be distributed within them. No one sign shall exceed the total square feet for each linear front foot for each business fronting on a street or walkway. However, no one sign shall exceed 200 square feet.

Signs regulations that apply to the C, HC, TC and I Districts:

In addition to signage permitted in § 275-74B, one menu sign shall be permitted as follows:

Purpose. Recognizing that large-scale commercial complexes of three or more principal structures in excess of six units and educational campuses have signage needs that may not be specifically addressed by a municipal comprehensive signage plan, this subsection is intended to allow a procedure for approval of a comprehensive signage plan for these sites.

Any proposed shopping or business office center or group of three or more principal structures in excess of six units under common management and operation, located on one or more contiguous properties, shall submit an application for comprehensive signage plan approval to the Planning and Zoning Committee. Additionally, any proposed shopping or business office center or educational institution which has more than 400 linear feet of frontage on a principal arterial roadway must submit an application for comprehensive signage approval.

Such shopping or business office center or educational campuses are required to follow all sign regulations, as embodied elsewhere in this chapter, unless they choose to apply for comprehensive signage plan approval. All such plans must include a thorough review of all existing signs and proposed signs and detail how the comprehensive signage plan differs from the standard signage regulations set forth in this chapter.

Design guidelines for comprehensive signage plans.

Town Council duties.

Submission requirements.

Amendments to approved comprehensive signage plans.

Canopy signs:

Exempt signs:

Electronic message board signs shall only be permitted for parcels zoned HC - Highway Commercial with frontage on U.S. Route 113. All electronic message boards must be located on Route 113.

All changing message signs shall be constructed as an integral part of a permanent freestanding sign. "Integral" shall be considered to be incorporated into the framework and architectural design. Only one freestanding sign containing a changing message board sign shall be permitted per parcel.

The maximum sign area for an electronic message board, which is detached, shall be no greater than 75% of the maximum total allowable sign area for a freestanding sign in the HC District. In no situation shall an electronic message board be larger than 75 square feet.

Signs shall not operate at brightness levels of more than 200 cd/m² (candelas per square meter). Each electronic message board shall have a light-sensing device that will adjust the brightness of the message board as the natural ambient light conditions change.

Only those changing electronic message signs utilizing monochrome colors such as white, red or amber shall be permitted. No RGB (red-green-blue) technologies or other multicolored displays shall be permitted in an electronic message center sign in a manner that would create a video board. This section does not prohibit the use of color in a sign that is not a video board.

Changing electronic message signs shall maintain an 8-1-8 transition frequency. 8-1-8 means a message display time of a minimum of eight seconds, a transition time between messages of a maximum of one second, followed by a message display time of a minimum of eight seconds with all segments of the total message to be displayed within seventeen seconds.

All messages displayed on an electronic message board shall be directly related to the business for which the sign was constructed. No off-premises advertising signage is permitted.

Video boards shall be prohibited.

To install, create, erect, or maintain any sign in a way that is inconsistent with any plan or permit governing such sign or the lot on which the sign is located.

To install, create, erect, or maintain any sign requiring a permit without such a permit.

To fail to remove any sign that is installed, created, erected, or maintained in violation of this chapter, or for which the sign permit has lapsed.

To continue any such violation. Each such day of a continued violation shall be considered a separate violation when applying the penalty portions of this chapter.

Each sign installed, created, erected, or maintained in violation of this chapter shall be considered a separate violation when applying the penalty portions of this chapter.

Issuing a stop-work order for any and all work on any signs on the lot in violation.

Seeking an injunction or other order of restraint or abatement that requires the removal of the sign(s) or the correction of the nonconformity.

Commence and proceed with criminal and civil proceedings, sanctions and penalties in accordance with this Code.

The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to remove any signage which violates the provisions of this section, without notice to the owner or owners of the parcel(s) or of the signage, and may subsequently notify the owner(s) to claim the signage. In the event that no person or entity which owns the violating signage claims said signage within 30 days of written notification by the Code Enforcement Officer, the Code Enforcement Officer may dispose of the signage without liability to the Code Enforcement Officer or the Town. The provisions stated hereinabove shall not prevent the Town from commencing an appropriate criminal and/or civil proceeding.

In the case of a sign that poses an immediate danger to the public health or safety, the Town shall take such measures as are available to it under the applicable provisions of this article and building code.[1]

All such remedies provided herein shall be cumulative.