Hampstead City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXII
Signs
§ 135-210 Applicable regulations.
In order to properly integrate all regulating provisions affecting signs, as defined in § 135-3, and to regulate such devices in an orderly and comprehensive manner, it is hereby provided that such signs are subject to regulations as set forth herein. These provisions shall apply equally to all signs located in the Town of Hampstead.
§ 135-211 General conditions.
All signs shall be subject to the following general provisions:
A.
No sign shall be permitted which becomes unsafe or endangers the safety of a building, premises or person.
B.
No sign shall be permitted unless maintained in a good general condition and reasonable state of repair as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
C.
If a sign becomes unsafe or falls into disrepair, the Zoning Administrator shall order the sign be repaired, renovated, replaced or removed. Such order shall be complied with as soon as practicable but no more than 10 days of receipt of such order where a sign is determined to be unsafe. Such order shall be complied with within 45 days of receipt of such order where a sign is determined to be in disrepair.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
D.
No sign shall be permitted which imitates or resembles an official traffic control device or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of an official traffic control device or traffic sight lines. Illuminated signs shall be so constructed as to avoid glare or reflection on any portion of an adjacent highway or residential building.
E.
No sign shall be erected in the right-of-way for any road.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
F.
Where a sign structure does not include advertising information for a period of 180 continuous days, such sign structure shall be deemed a violation thereafter and shall be removed.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
G.
Except for temporary signs and signs for home-based businesses, signage within the Main Street Revitalization Area shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
§ 135-212 Prohibited signs.
[Amended 12-9-2003 by Ord. No. 381; 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 435; 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
The following signs are hereby expressly prohibited for erection, construction, repair, alteration or relocation within the Town, except as otherwise permitted in this chapter:
A.
Pennants, streamers, balloons and other inflatable figures or devices.
B.
Billboards and all other off-premises signs.
C.
Signs with visible moving, revolving, or rotating parts or visible mechanical movement of any description or other apparent visible movement achieved by electrical, electronic or mechanical means, except for clocks and other time-keeping devices.
D.
Signs that are animated with lights or illuminations which flash, move, rotate, scintillate, blink, flicker or vary in color.
E.
Portable and wheeled signs.
F.
Projecting signs, to wit, signs which are attached or otherwise affixed to a building and project more than two feet beyond the wall surface of such building to which the sign is attached or otherwise affixed thereto.
G.
Roof signs.
H.
Signs on parked vehicles.
I.
Signs on trees, rocks or utility poles.
J.
Signs with obscene or indecent content.
K.
Signs which imitate traffic control devices or imitate, interfere with, obstruct the view of or might be confused with any authorized traffic control sign, signal or other device.
L.
Window signage that obscures more than 25% of the visible window area.
M.
Private signs on municipal or other property unless expressly authorized by the Town.
N.
Signage that advertises or identifies a business, product or service that is no longer in existence at that location.
O.
Commercial signage in any residential or R District, except as authorized by this chapter.
P.
Signage that is over 50% obscured by vegetation.
Q.
Signage placed on private property without the written permission of the property owner.
R.
Signage placed in roadway islands.
S.
Election or political signs on municipal property.
§ 135-213 Signs permitted without zoning certificate.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 435; 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 451; 5-14-2009 by Ord. No. 459; 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
The following signs are permitted without zoning certificates in any district, provided that the following conditions are adhered to:
A.
Temporary, unlit signs no greater than 32 square feet in size advertising a community event or activity. For the purpose of this section, a community event or activity shall be defined as an event or activity sponsored by and/or for the direct benefit of a nonprofit organization as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and formed for the use, benefit and enjoyment of its members to achieve religious, recreational, charitable, municipal or educational pursuits.
B.
Temporary real estate signs, not exceeding 20 square feet, being located on and advertising subject property for sale or lease.
C.
Temporary signs, not exceeding 100 square feet, located on and advertising a new subdivision.
D.
Building contractors' and professional persons' temporary signs on buildings under construction or repair, limited to a total area for all signs of 150 square feet and to only such time as the construction and/or repairs are occurring.
E.
Temporary political signs.
F.
Incidental signs. An incidental sign is a permanent sign that has a purpose secondary to the use of the property that provides information rather than advertising. Examples of such signs are traffic directional signs interior to the lot, including employee only parking, loading zone only, and truck traffic only. Incidental signs on windows may include credit card logos and hours of operation. An open sign shall be considered incidental if it is less than two square feet in size. A business shall be limited to one incidental sign per frontage to a public road. Any sign with advertising, such as a business name, product or logo, shall not be considered an incidental sign. Illuminated incidental signs shall not flash, blink, move or scroll.
G.
The flag of the United States of America, the State of Maryland or the Town of Hampstead and any other official flags as determined by the Mayor. Display of flags shall comply with federal and state statutes regarding flag display.
H.
Official notices posted by the Town of Hampstead or Carroll County.
I.
Temporary window signs under the following conditions:
(1)
Temporary window signage shall be limited to the Historic, BL and BG Zoning Districts.
(2)
Temporary window signage shall not occupy more than 25% of any window area. Where a business storefront has multiple windows, the area of display can exceed 25% of any given window; however, the overall area of display shall be limited to no more than 25% of the total window area.
(3)
Temporary window signs may not be displayed for more than 45 consecutive days. The first day of display shall be marked in the lower right-hand corner of the sign in a size and manner where the date can be clearly read from the adjoining sidewalk or road. Display of a temporary window sign without a date shall be a violation of this chapter.
(4)
Displays of merchandise are not considered to be window signage if such displays do not contain advertising.
(5)
Posters, fliers or other noncommercial signage advertising events of community or public interest and less than four square feet in size are not considered to be temporary window signage.
J.
Temporary banners under the following conditions:
(1)
Temporary banners shall be limited to the Historic, BL and BG Zoning Districts.
(2)
Temporary banners shall be smaller than 32 square feet in size per face.
(3)
Temporary banners shall not obscure windows and shall be firmly mounted or affixed onto a building or structure.
(4)
Temporary banners may not be displayed for more than 30 consecutive days. The first day of display shall be marked in the lower right-hand corner of the banner. Display of a temporary banner without a date shall be a violation of this chapter.
(5)
Temporary banners advertising a specific event must be removed within three days after the event is over.
(6)
Temporary banners shall be limited to one per property at any time except that a property with multiple commercial tenants shall be allowed one temporary banner per tenant.
K.
Temporary sandwich boards under the following conditions:
(1)
Temporary sandwich shall be limited to the Historic, BL and BG Zoning Districts.
(2)
Temporary sandwich shall be no taller than five in height and no larger than 12 square feet per sign.
(3)
Temporary sandwich boards may only be displayed during normal business hours and must be moved indoors when the business is closed.
§ 135-214 Signs requiring zoning certificate.
§ 135-215 Signs pertaining to uses on premises.
Business signs pertaining to a use on the premises are permitted as an accessory use in all commercial districts, provided that the following provisions are adhered to:
A.
No such sign shall project over or into any street right-of-way.
B.
Any sign which is attached to the ground shall be located in such manner that traffic visibility is not impaired.
C.
The total area of all signs shall not exceed three times each linear foot of the building wall most nearly parallel to or confronting the adjacent street. Only one building frontage shall be used in computing the sign area allowance, except on a corner lot, in which case an additional 25% of the total sign area allowed may be authorized. In no case shall the area of any one sign exceed 150 square feet on any one side. Computations of signs shall include all sides (where applicable), including the entire face of the sign and any wall work incidental to its decoration and shall include the space between letter figures and designs or the space within letter figures and designs.
D.
No exterior sign shall exceed 15 feet in total height, if freestanding.
E.
No business sign shall be so located where it obstructs the vision of traffic using entranceways, driveways or any public road intersection.
F.
No sign shall be located in a road right-of-way.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
G.
Temporary signs are not permitted except as authorized in this chapter.
[Amended 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
H.
Electronic variable-message signs may be permitted under the following conditions:
[Added 12-9-2003 by Ord. No. 381; amended 10-11-2005 by Ord. No. 419]
(1)
Such signs shall be limited to public or private schools, the Hampstead Volunteer Fire Department or local, state or federal government property.
(2)
On the premises of public or private schools, such signs may be used for scoreboards on athletic fields or for general informational use.
(3)
The design, dimensions, height, location and conditions of operation of such signs shall be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and approved by the Town Council.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 434]
I.
Manual variable-message signs (reader board panels) may be permitted under the following conditions:
[Added 4-13-2010 by Ord. No. 476[1]]
(1)
The lettering and background of any such signs shall be consistent in font, style and/or color with the lettering and background of the permanent sign upon which the reader board panel is mounted.
(2)
Any such sign using plastic zip track or other method of replaceable lettering shall have a secure, clear plastic or lexan cover.
(3)
Such signs shall be subordinate in size and location to the permanent signage.
J.
Window signage may be permitted under the following conditions:
[Added 5-14-2009 by Ord. No. 459]
(1)
Such signage shall be generally limited to opaque letters, numbers or symbols professionally painted upon or affixed to the window, such as gold leaf or decal application, or hung, mounted or displayed within one inch of the glass, unless another type of window signage is approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(2)
The letters, numbers and/or symbols of such signage shall not occupy more than 33% of any window area or more than 20% of any glass or translucent door. The area of such signs painted on the glass, or individual letter signs, shall be determined by creating an imaginary rectangle, circle or oval encompassing all of the lettering of the sign and measuring its area.
(3)
The background of all permanent window signage shall be transparent.
(4)
The font, color and style of window signage shall be consistent with the font, color and style of the other permanent signage on the premises.
§ 135-216 Temporary signs.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 435; 3-8-2011 by Ord. No. 486]
Temporary business signs shall be permitted within local business and general business zones subject to the following conditions, restrictions and limitations herein:
B.
General conditions.
(1)
All temporary signs must be kept in good repair and are subject to the general conditions listed in § 135-211. Failure to meet these general conditions shall result in the revocation of the sign permit or other enforcement as authorized by this chapter.
(2)
All temporary business signs shall be located only upon the zoning lot upon which the special, unique or limited activity, service, product or sale is to occur. Such signs may be located in any required yard, but shall not extend over any lot line or within 15 feet of any point of vehicular access from a zoning lot to a public roadway.
(3)
Temporary business signs shall not project higher than 12 feet, as measured from base of sign or grade of the nearest adjacent roadway, whichever is higher.
(4)
Temporary signs must be constructed of materials that present a finished appearance. Rough cut and/or unfinished plywood is not acceptable. The sign lettering should be professionally painted or applied; a "yard sale" or "graffiti" look with hand-painted or paint-stenciled letters is not acceptable; however, chalkboard signs shall be permitted. The written message of the sign should be kept to the minimum necessary to communicate the name of the business or a special message of the business.
(5)
Painting, writing or drawing on storefront windows or building walls is prohibited as a form of temporary signage.
C.
Display without a valid permit. Unless otherwise authorized in this chapter, display of any temporary sign without a permit shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $50 per occurrence, with each day of display constituting a separate occurrence.
§ 135-217 Continuance of legal nonconforming signs.
Unless lawfully removed by county or state action, legal nonconforming signs may continue to be used, the copy may be changed, and such signs may be rebuilt or replaced; provided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of § 135-13A, such nonconforming signs may not be enlarged in height or area beyond that which existed on the enactment of this amendment.
§ 135-218 Main Street Signage.
[Added 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 435]
A.
Design guidelines. Within the Main Street Revitalization Area, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall approve signage that the Commission finds:
(1)
Adequately and effectively communicates the business identity and type to the public;
(2)
Is pedestrian-oriented and as small in size and few in number as is consistent with their purpose of communicating identification and essential information;
(3)
Protects the Main Street Revitalization Area from sign clutter and visual blight resulting from excessive and redundant signs;
(4)
Is architecturally compatible with the style, composition, materials, colors and details of the building and its vicinity and contributes to the character of the historic Main Street Revitalization Area;
(5)
Reflects the vision of the Main Street Revitalization Plan. This vision is articulated through the following preferences:
(a)
Wood or stone rather than metal or plastic;
(b)
Externally illuminated rather than internally lit;
(c)
Monument rather than pole-mounted;
(d)
Historic rather than modern;
(e)
Smaller rather than larger;
(f)
Tasteful rather than garish;
(g)
Professionally rendered rather than hand-drawn or home-made;
(h)
Permanent rather than temporary.
B.
Temporary signs. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the authority to alter the conditions, restrictions or limitations on the following temporary signs displayed within the Main Street Revitalization Area:
(1)
Temporary signage directly related to the opening of a new business for a period of no more than six months after the business opens.