The purpose of this article is to establish clear and unambiguous regulations pertaining to signs in the city and to thereby promote an attractive community, foster traffic safety, preserve and protect the quality of life and real estate values forming the city’s tax base, and enhance the effective communication and exchange of ideas and commercial information.

The city council hereby finds the following legislative facts:

Realty signs advertising the sale, lease or rental of the premises upon which the sign is located, which shall not exceed 32 square feet in area, except in all residential districts, where the area of the sign shall not be more than six square feet. This exception includes garage sale or similar signs in residential areas. Realty signs shall be limited to one per street frontage per actual listing realtor.

One professional nameplate or shingle sign not to exceed four square feet in area.

Signs denoting the name and/or address of the occupants of the premises, not to exceed four square feet in area.

One sign per street frontage of a building which is under construction or structural alteration or repair announcing the character of the building or enterprise or the purpose for which the building is intended, including names of architects, engineers, contractors, developers, financiers, and others, provided the area of such sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in all districts, except 16 square feet in residential districts. Individual contractor signs, not exceeding three square feet in area, are allowed in addition to the construction sign listed in this subsection. All such contractor or construction signs shall be removed within 30 days of the completion of the construction project. All such signs which are larger than the subcontractor sign limitation of three square feet shall be set back from the property line to the normal building setback line required in the applicable zoning district.

Community service signs are exempt. The installation or removal of community service signs placed on a public right-of-way or on public property shall be subject to the approval of the city council.

Scoreboards facing an athletic area.

Murals.

Flags or pennants attached to a building, but which are not extended over parking lots or other open areas, nor in any manner are supported apart from the building. Also exempted are flags, not to exceed six in number, mounted on poles, which are governmental flags, or flags carrying the emblem of the business located on the same building lots. Flags carrying the emblems of the business will be limited to 50 square feet in size per flag. Governmental flags shall have no size limitations.

Commemorative plaques placed by governmental or civic organizations, or integral signs.

Signs specifically approved in a planned development district.

Rearrangement/replacement of letters, numbers, characters, or pictures on existing signs, provided that the sign area is not enlarged.

Political election signs are any type of sign that refers to political candidates or issues involved in a political election. Political election signs shall not be placed earlier than six weeks prior to the election and must be removed within ten days following the election. Political election signs shall not be placed in the public right-of-way or on public property. Political election signs cannot be attached to street signs, utility poles or other fixtures within the public right-of-way or on public property, including public parks. Political election signs must be in compliance with Texas Election Code as cited by the Texas Ethics Commission and State Law including the Transportation Code.

Public service signs indicating time and temperature.

The following are prohibited signs:

Any unattached or portable signs permitted that exist on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived will be granted temporary nonconforming status and may continue to be displayed in the present location and configuration for the remainder of the calendar year 2008. A sign granted legal nonconforming status under this section will lose the status and will be required to be removed if the sign loses its designation as provided in section 10.14.010. Effective January 2, 2009, the sign must be removed by the owner at his expense. An applicant may seek a permit from the city for the use of a portable or unattached sign. A permit granted for a portable or unattached sign will allow the applicant to use the sign for one consecutive 60-day period in the current calendar year or for two separate 30-consecutive-day periods in the current calendar year. Each 30-consecutive-day permit will be assessed a separate permit application fee. An applicant granted a permit under this article may not seek another permit for the use of any portable or unattached sign at that location for that calendar year. A fee for such permit shall be the same as the city’s adopted fee schedule for its current building permits. Any portable or unattached sign allowed a permit pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the following requirements:

All of the signs listed within this section shall be required to meet the standards of this chapter and, except for banner signs, shall require a permit is obtained from the building official.

The maximum height of signs located in the C-2 district adjacent to the Highway 59 Bypass is 80 feet. The maximum sign area shall not exceed 450 square feet.

Subdivision name sign, not exceeding 32 square feet in sign area. Sign located in any residential district. All signs listed in section 10.14.001 [section 10.17.001] that are applicable to residential uses, or as may be allowed with a home occupation.

One freestanding sign is permitted for each building lot as outlined as follows, with the exception of signs located in all industrial and commercial districts:

One freestanding sign is permitted for each building lot or commercial center. The freestanding sign shall meet the following criteria:

Two freestanding signs are allowed for each building lot or commercial center. The freestanding signs shall meet the following criteria:

Banner signs requirements are as follows:

No part of a sign face shall be located within the triangular area formed by the curb or roadway lines and a line connecting them at points 25 feet from the intersection of the street lines, or in the case of a rounded corner from the intersection of the street property lines extended.

No sign shall be erected, altered, repaired or relocated without first obtaining a permit from the building official. The signs enumerated in section 10.14.003 shall be an exception unless otherwise specified by the building or electrical codes.

When a sign permit has been issued by the building official, it shall be unlawful to change, modify, alter, or otherwise deviate from the terms or conditions of such permit without prior approval of the building official. A written record of such approval shall be entered upon the original permit application and maintained in the files of the building official.

The building official shall notify the responsible party in writing of any signs which are damaged and considered to be an immediate danger to the public. The responsible party shall immediately proceed to remove or repair the sign. Should the responsible party, not later than ten days after being notified, fail to correct any such cited damage, the building official shall cause such sign and its supports to be demolished and removed.

Whenever the building official or any of his agents or any police officer finds a sign which was erected after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived and which was erected in violation of this article, the official or agent or officer shall require the party responsible for such sign to remove the sign immediately. If the party responsible fails to remove such sign within three days after being duly notified to do so or if it appears to the official, agent or officer that the illegal sign placement poses an immediate danger to the public, then such sign may be removed by the city at the expense of the party responsible. Any sign so removed shall be stored or impounded and shall not be returned to the party responsible until all applicable charges are paid. If any sign remains unclaimed for a period of 30 days after its removal, or if the removal and storage costs are not paid within the 30-day period, the city may destroy, sell, or otherwise dispose of the sign.

Any owner failing to remove any sign, after being duly notified to do so, shall be in violation of this article, and necessary legal proceedings shall be instituted.

Once constructed, all signs become the responsibility of the property owner upon which the sign is placed.

Such responsibility shall include that of repair, maintenance or removal, as may be necessary.

Any changeable electronic variable message sign (CEVMS) in use on November 25, 2008, will have ten days to make the required changes as to the use of that sign to comply with this article as described in section 10.14.004(a)(3).

Any portable or unattached sign may remain in use at its present location until January 2, 2009, and then must be removed or a permit application must be submitted to the city as described in section 10.14.004(b).

For all areas not within the jurisdiction of this article that may come within the jurisdiction of this article at some future date, the requirements and procedures of this article shall apply commencing on the date of annexation or the extension of the extraterritorial authority of the city.

This section does not apply to structural or electrical defects in any sign, which must be brought into conformance with the building or electrical codes at an earlier date than that listed in this article.

In order to qualify as a valid nonconforming sign, such sign shall meet the following requirements:

Should that sign undergo a major repair or replacement, then such sign shall be required to come into conformance with this article. A major repair or replacement shall occur if the cost of repairing or replacing the sign is more than 60 percent of the cost of erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location.

The provisions of this article, including but not limited to the requirements for permits, the abatement schedule, and the means for enforcement, shall apply within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city as defined by V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 42.

Unless provided otherwise by the city council, for the purpose of the sign regulations in this article, all land in the extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be subject to the regulations set forth in this article.