Selbyville City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Signs
§ 200-102 Definitions.
The following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A sign directing attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than upon the premises where the sign is maintained, including a billboard sign.
A sign of permanent character, but with movable letters, words or numerals, indicating the names of persons associated with, or events conducted upon, or products or services offered upon the premises upon which such a sign is maintained.
A sign directing attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered upon the same premises and those upon which the sign is maintained.
A sign displaying only name, nature, and location of one establishment located in the Town of Selbyville offering accommodations, merchandise, and/or services or two real estate developments, industries, churches, schools, parks or other features or institutions located in the Town of Selbyville.
An illuminated sign on which the artificial or reflected light is not maintained stationary and constant in intensity and color. Any sign which revolves or moves, whether illuminated or not, shall be considered a flashing sign, except an electronic reader board.
[Amended 10-5-2009]
A detached sign which shall include any sign supported by uprights or braces placed upon or in, or supported by, the ground and not attached to any building.
A sign whose illumination is derived from an external artificial source, which source is so arranged that no direct rays of light are projected into a residential district or a public street.
A sign conveying instructions with respect to the premises on which it is maintained, such as "Entrance," "Exit," "No Trespassing," "Danger" and similar signs.
A sign attached to a marquee used for notice, advertisement or announcement purposes, limited to the following:
Any sign which is attached to a building and extends beyond the wall of the building to which it is attached or within the setback required for a building. Projecting signs are subject to the following:
No projecting sign shall project or extend more than 10 feet into or beyond the required building setback line.
No projecting sign shall be permitted which obstructs or interferes or in any way becomes a hazard to the orderly movement of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic.
No projecting sign shall exceed in thickness 18 inches as measured between the principal faces of any projecting sign.
No projecting sign or part thereof shall be placed closer than 10 feet above the sidewalk, public way or other public thoroughfare or way of ingress or egress over which it is erected, nor shall any such sign or part thereof extend more than six feet above the wall to which it is attached at the point of attachment.
Horizontal projecting signs greater in width than in height shall not exceed an area of 15 square feet for each side.
Vertical projecting signs greater in height than width shall not exceed an area of 30 square feet for each side.
No projecting sign shall exceed an area of 30 square feet for each side.
A sign of permanent character, but with movable or printed letters, words or numerals, indicating the names of persons associated with or events conducted upon or projects or services offered upon the premises upon which such a sign is maintained; the movable or printed letters, words or numerals may be changed by hand or by computer (electronic).
[Added 10-5-2009]
A sign located and supported on top of a building or structure. An open space (except for necessary supports) of not more than six feet below the bottom of the sign may be maintained. The overall height of the sign shall not exceed any open space plus 10 feet. The sign area shall not exceed 200 square feet.
An open space on the same premises with the sign or signs which open space lies between the nearest edge of the sign or signs and the nearest street line.
A structure, display or device that is arranged, intended, designed or used as an advertisement, announcement, identification, description or direction.
The area of a sign shall include the entire sign, together with all moldings, battens, cappings, nailing strips, latticing and platforms which are attached to or are a part of the sign proper and/or incidental to its decoration. For the purpose of this chapter, when two sign faces are placed back-to-back and are at no point more than two feet from one another, the area of the sign shall be taken as the area of one face if the two faces are of equal area, or as the area of the larger face, if the two faces are of unequal area. For the purpose of this chapter, signs which are composed of letters, words or representations only and which follow no square or rectangular pattern shall be considered to include in the sign area a square or rectangle as drawn at the outer limits of the letters, words or representations.
A dividing line between a lot, premises or tract of land and/or street, road, highway, court, place, square, lane or way set aside and/or used as a right-of-way for common street or ingress or egress purposes. For the purpose of this article, street frontage shall be measured along the street line.
A sign erected for a period of no more than six months.
Any sign attached to and erected parallel to the face of or painted on the outside wall of the building and supported throughout its length by such wall or building and not extending more than 18 inches from the building wall. A wall sign may not be located beyond the ends of the wall in which is located, may not extend more than four feet above the wall to which it is attached, and may not exceed in sign area two times the length of the wall to which it is attached.
§ 200-103 Prohibited signs.
The following signs shall be prohibited in all districts:
A.
Flashing signs, except for time and temperature indicators, except as may be otherwise provided.
[Amended 10-5-2009]
B.
Animated signs.
C.
Signs which produce noise or sounds, or emit visible smoke, vapor, particles or odor.
D.
Banners, pennants, streamers, blimps, balloons and all other fluttering, spinning or similar type signs and advertising devices, except for national flags and flags of political subdivisions of the United States, and except for flags of bona fide civic, charitable, fraternal and welfare organizations.
E.
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 navigational purposes.
F.
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 when viewed from normal approaching position of a vehicle at a distance of 225 to 300 feet.
G.
Signs in any location which obstruct vision of motorists or traffic control signals.
H.
Signs located within 35 feet of any right-of-way line of an intersection of streets.
I.
Signs attached to trees or utility poles.
J.
Signs attached to any vehicle, parked primarily for display purposes.
K.
Portable signs which do not meet the requirements and/or regulations of ground signs.
§ 200-104 Permitted signs.
The following signs shall be permitted in all districts:
A.
Signs erected by any governmental agency for the purposes of direction, safety or convenience of the general public.
B.
"Warning" signs and "No Trespassing" signs, not exceeding two square feet in area.
C.
Instructional signs, nonilluminated.
D.
Signs in connection with doorbells or mailboxes, not exceeding 12 square inches in area.
E.
Name and address signs not exceeding more than one for each principal building or use on a premises and not exceeding two square feet in area.
F.
Signs which are attached or which are an integral part of gasoline pump or other dispensing or servicing devices, providing that such signs do not extend beyond the area of the pump, dispensing or servicing device to which they are attached.
G.
Permanent subdivision signs not exceeding 20 square feet in area maintained on private property not to exceed one such sign for each dedicated street entrance.
H.
Temporary real estate sign indicating sale, rental or lease of the premises on which it is located, with a maximum area of eight square feet in area, and having a minimum setback of 15 feet from the street line and which are nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated and not more than one sign for each street frontage on which the premises abuts.
I.
Temporary development sign advertising sale or rental of structures under construction upon the land under development, having a maximum area of 60 square feet and a maximum height of 15 feet, and having a minimum setback from the street line as required by the setback restrictions for the zoning district in which the sign is located, with such sign being nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated, and not more than one such sign for each dedicated street entrance.
J.
Temporary construction sign identifying those engaged in construction, having a maximum area of 30 square feet and a minimum setback from any street line of 25 feet with a maximum height of not more than 15 feet, such sign to be nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated, with not more than one sign for each street frontage upon which the premises abuts, and permitted only while construction is actually in progress.
§ 200-105 General regulations.
A.
No sign unless herein excepted shall be erected, constructed, posted, painted, altered, maintained or relocated, except as provided in this article, until a permit has been issued by the Building Inspector.
(1)
Before any permit is issued an application shall be made to the Building Inspector together with three sets of drawings and/or specifications (one to be retained to the applicant) as may be necessary to fully advise and acquaint the Building Inspector with the location, construction, materials, manner of illuminated, and/or securing or fastening, and the number of signs applied for, the wording of the sign or advertisement to be carried on the sign.
(2)
All such signs shall be erected on or before the expiration of six months from the date of issuance of the permit; otherwise, the permit shall become null and void and a new permit shall be required.
(3)
Each sign erected pursuant to a permit issued by the Building Inspector shall be clearly marked with a permit number and name of the person or firm placing the sign on the premises.
(4)
Fees for sign permits shall be pursuant to the schedule adopted by this chapter.
B.
The following signs may be erected or constructed without a permit but in accordance with structural and safety requirements:
(1)
Signs erected or required to be erected by any governmental agency.
(2)
Changing of the copy on a bulletin board, poster board, display encasement or marquee.
(3)
Temporary nonilluminated signs, not more than eight square feet in area, advertising real estate for sale or lease or announcing contemplated improvements of real estate, and located on the premises which is to be sold, leased or improved, with not more than one such sign for each street frontage.
(4)
Temporary nonilluminated signs not more than 10 square feet in area, erected in connection with new construction work and displayed on the premises during such time as the actual construction work is in progress with not more than one such sign for each such street frontage of the property.
(5)
Instructional nonilluminated signs.
(6)
Nonilluminated signs, not exceeding 10 square feet in area with letters not exceeding one foot in height, painted, stamped, perforated or stitched on the surface area of an awning, canopy, roller curtain or umbrella.
(7)
Sign on a truck, bus or other vehicle, while in use in the normal course of business, but not to be parked primarily for display purposes of a vehicle to which such signs are attached.
C.
The Building Inspector, upon application, may issue temporary permits for the following signs and displays for a period not exceeding 30 days when the use of such signs and displays would be in the public interest and would not result in damage to private property.
(1)
Signs advertising a special civic or cultural event, such as a fair or exposition, play, concert or meeting, sponsored by a governmental or charitable organization.
(2)
Special decorative displays used for holidays, public demonstrations or promotion of nonpartisan civic purposes.
(3)
Special sales promotion displays in the district where such sales are permitted, including displays incidental to the opening of a new business.
D.
Except as otherwise specifically provided for in this article, all signs shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter governing nonconforming uses.
E.
All signs shall be maintained in good condition and appearance. After due notice has been given as provided in this article, the Building Inspector may cause any dilapidated or neglected sign to be removed at the expense of the owner of said sign.
F.
The Building Inspector shall remove or cause to be removed at the expense of the owner such sign, any sign erected or maintained in conflict with the provisions of this chapter if the owner or lessee of either the site or the sign fails to correct the violation within 30 days after receiving written notice of the violation from the Building Inspector.
G.
A "nonconforming sign," defined as a sign which does not conform with the provisions of this chapter, is hereby permitted to continue, provided that:
[Added 9-13-1999 by Ord. No. 78-A9]
(1)
On-site, nonconforming signs: all nonconforming signs not otherwise prohibited by the provisions of this chapter, relating to a place of business and located on the same premises as such place of business may be continued until:
(2)
Off-site, nonconforming signs: where an off-site, nonconforming sign is located off the premises or place of business to which sign pertains and exists at the effective date of the adoption of this amendment to this chapter and which could not be built under the terms of this chapter by reason of restrictions on sign area, height, its location on the lot or other requirements, the owner of the sign shall:
(a)
Place on record in the office of the Zoning Official within two months following the adoption of this amendment, a sworn statement regarding the term of the lease agreement that was in effect on the effective date of this chapter, if any, and other information describing the existing sign.
(b)
If a lease is in effect, remove said sign at the end of the lease period.
(c)
If a lease is not in effect, remove the sign within three years from the effective date of the adoption of this chapter.
(3)
No nonconforming sign may be enlarged or altered in a way which would increase its nonconformity.
(4)
Should any nonconforming sign be damaged by any means to an extent of more than 50% of its replacement cost at time of damage, it shall not be reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
(5)
Exemption shall not be construed as relieving the owner of such signs from the responsibility of complying with applicable provisions of this chapter. The exemptions shall apply to the requirement for a sign permit only and no sign permit shall be required for the erection of the following signs:
(a)
Professional name plates erected flat on walls of buildings and not exceeding 12 square inches of display surface area.
(b)
Temporary construction sign.
(c)
Temporary real estate sign.
(d)
Temporary development sign.
(e)
Memorial signs or tablets, names of buildings and date or erection when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other noncombustible material.
(f)
Traffic of other municipal signs, legal notices, railroads crossing signs, danger and such temporary, emergency or nonadvertising sign.
(g)
Posting of bills on signs, repainting of signs or the changing of letters or numbers on signs designed for arrangeable lettering and numbering which were legally erected and maintained for such purposes.
(h)
Election campaign signs.
(i)
Time and temperature displays without advertising matter providing all clearances prescribed herein for signs similarly located or maintained.
(j)
Banners shall be exempted when used in conjunction with public and private events as follows:
[1]
Election campaigns. Election campaign banners.
[2]
Public events. Public event banners shall be removed within 72 hours following the event to which the banner applies.
[3]
Private sales events. Banners placed on private property for advertising a special sales event. Note: Banners bearing advertising matters shall be considered wall or freestanding signs, depending upon mounting and shall meet all regulations pertaining thereto.
[4]
All signs located within a building that are not visible to the public outside said building.
[5]
Signs painted on, or affixed to, glass surfaces of windows or doors and pertaining to the lawful business conducted therein.
[6]
Directional, identification and informational signs, provided that such signs are limited to wall and freestanding signs with maximum size as permitted in the zoning district applicable.