SEC. 51A-7.505. PERMIT PROCEDURES FOR SPECIAL PROVISION SIGN DISTRICTS.
Unless otherwise provided as part of the ordinance creating a special provision sign district or as part of an amendment thereto, the following permit procedures apply:
(1) When required. Except when erecting a sign in a historic overlay district, in which case a certificate of appropriateness must be obtained in accordance with Section 51A-4.501(b), no sign permit may be issued in a special provision sign district to any applicant unless the application has first been reviewed by the director and a certificate of appropriateness has been issued in accordance with this section.
(2) Application. When applying for a sign permit in a special provision sign district, the applicant shall submit an application to the building official. After determining that the proposed sign conforms with the other sections of the code, the building official shall forward a copy of the application to the director within five working days of its receipt. The applicant shall provide the building official, the director, and the committee with specific information in the form of perspectives, renderings, photographs, models, or other representations sufficient to show the nature of the proposed sign and its effect on the immediate premises. Any applicant may request a meeting with the director or the committee before submitting an application and may consult with the director or the committee during the review of the permit application. Every applicant is entitled to appear before the committee and to be present when any vote is taken.
(3) Determination of procedure. Upon receipt of an application, the director shall determine whether it is to be reviewed under the director procedure or the committee procedure. The proposed sign must be reviewed under the director procedure if it:
(A) has an effective area less than 50 square feet;
(B) is a premise sign;
(C) does not contain any changeable message or flashing or blinking lights;
(D) has a setback of at least 10 feet;
(E) is not located within a historic overlay district;
(F) does not project more than 18 inches over public right-of-way if it is an attached sign;
(G) has an effective area of less than 15 percent of the facade of the building to which the sign is attached if the sign is an attached sign; and
(H) does not exceed 25 feet in height if the sign is a detached sign.
If the proposed sign does not meet all of the above requirements, it must be reviewed under the committee procedure.
(4) Director procedure.
(A) Decision by the director. If the director determines that the sign must be reviewed under the director procedure, the director shall review the application and approve or deny it within 10 days of its receipt.
(B) Appeals. Any interested person may appeal the decision of the director by submitting a written request for appeal to him or her within 10 days of the decision. The appeal starts the committee procedure.
(5) Committee procedure.
(A) Decision by the committee. If the director determines that the sign must be reviewed under the committee procedure or that his or her decision has been appealed, he or she shall forward the application to the committee for review.
(B) Factors the committee shall consider. In reviewing an application, the committee shall first consider whether the applicant has submitted sufficient information for the committee to make an informed decision. If the committee finds the proposed sign to be consistent with the special character of the special provision sign district, the committee shall make a recommendation of approval to the city plan commission. The committee shall consider the proposed sign in terms of its appropriateness to the special provision sign district with particular attention to the effect of the proposed sign upon the economic structure of the special provision sign district and the effect of the sign upon adjacent and surrounding premises without regard to any consideration of the message conveyed by the sign. After consideration of these factors, the committee shall recommend approval or denial of the application and forward that recommendation to the city plan commission.
(6) Decision by the commission. Upon receipt of a recommendation by the committee, the commission shall hold a public hearing to consider the application. At least 10 days before the hearing, notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing, the name of the applicant, and the location of the proposed sign must be published in the official newspaper of the city and the building official shall serve, by hand-delivery or mail, a written notice to the applicant that contains a reference to this section, and the date, time, and location of this hearing. A notice sent by mail is served by depositing it properly addressed and postage paid in the United States mail. In addition, if the application is for a detached sign or for an attached sign that has more than 100 square feet of effective area, the applicant must post the required number of notification signs in accordance with Section 51A-1.106. In making its decision, the commission shall consider the same factors that were required to be considered by the committee in making its recommendation. If the commission approves the application, it shall forward a certificate of appropriateness to the building official within 15 days after its approval. If the commission denies the application, it shall so inform the building official in writing. Upon receipt of the written denial, the building official shall so advise the applicant within five working days of the date of receipt of the written notice.
(7) Authority of building official not affected. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or modify the authority of the building official to refuse to grant a sign permit in any case in which the proposed sign does not conform to specific provisions of height, effective area, setback, or similar restrictions established in this article or the modified restrictions applicable to the special provision sign district, or to the structural requirements of the building code or other codes which the building official is required by law to enforce.
(8) Action required within 60 days. If no action has been taken by the city within 60 days of the receipt of the application by the building official, a certificate of appropriateness shall be deemed issued and the building official shall so advise the applicant.
(9) Change in application. No change may be made in any permit application subsequent to action by the city without resubmittal to the director and approval of the resubmitted application by following the procedures in this section.
(10) Appeal to council. An applicant may appeal a denial of a certificate of appropriateness by the commission to the city council within 60 days of the date of the decision by the commission.
(11) Criminal responsibility. A person commits an offense if he or she erects or maintains a sign in a special provision sign district without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness expressly authorizing the sign as required by this article. (Ord. Nos. 19455; 20949; 20962; 21402; 22425; 24163; 24232; 30892)
