ATTACHED PRIVATE SIGNS.
Dallas City Code § 51A-7.1207
in effectSEC. 51A-7.1207. ATTACHED PRIVATE SIGNS.
(a) In general.
(1) No sign may project above the building cornice area.
(2) Except for retaining wall signs, at grade structural supports for attached signs are prohibited.
(3) No establishment may have a mix of awning signs, projecting attached signs, flat attached signs, and/or marquee signs, except that awning signs may be mixed with flat attached signs.
(4) The total effective area of all private signs on one facade may not exceed 30 percent of the facade area. Projecting attached signs are not included in these effective area calculations.
(b) Awning signs.
(1) Letters and numbers on these signs must:
(A) be parallel or perpendicular to the front building facade; and
(B) not exceed 18 inches in height.
(2) No letters or numbers are allowed on the sloped top of an awning except as part of an official corporate logo or registered trademark. No more than 50 percent of the total sloped awning surface area may contain graphics.
(3) No words, other than those which are part of the basic awning design pattern, are permitted on awnings located above the second story.
(4) No sign may have flashing or sequenced lighting.
(c) Flat attached signs.
(1) This subsection applies only to flat attached signs located at or below the third story of a facade of a building with frontage on the Flora Street Frontage Area.
(2) These signs may project a maximum of four inches from a building.
(3) Except for flat attached signs located at or above the highest leasable floor, these signs are not permitted above the third story of a building.
(4) No sign may have a length that exceeds 70 percent of the length of the frontage of the establishment with which it is associated. Signs associated with the same establishment must be spaced at least 30 feet apart. No sign may exceed 60 square feet in effective area.
(5) The maximum character heights allowed on these signs are:
(A) 18 inches for signs located below the third story; and
(B) 24 inches for third-story signs.
(6) No sign cabinets are permitted. Adequate clear space for staging characters must be provided. The character height may not exceed 60 percent of the vertical dimension of the sign. The sides of three-dimensional characters, if any, must be the same color as their faces.
(7) No sign may contain more than five words.
(8) Sources of sign illumination that are an integral part of the design of the sign, such as neon or small individual incandescent lamps, are permitted. These signs may be protected by transparent covers.
(9) Internally lit plastic translucent signs are prohibited.
(10) No sign may have flashing or sequenced lighting.
(d) Marquee signs.
(1) These signs are only allowed in conjunction with establishments that have as their major use movies or live entertainment productions.
(2) The permanent canopy of which this sign is a part must:
(A) project no more than six feet from the building facade;
(B) be a minimum of 10 feet above the sidewalk grade;
(C) have a vertical dimension that does not exceed four feet; and
(D) have a horizontal dimension along the building facade that does not exceed 30 feet.
(3) The total effective area of signs on the permanent canopy must not exceed 120 square feet.
(4) No sign may:
(A) project more than three feet from the permanent canopy;
(B) extend vertically more than 30 feet above the canopy height; or
(C) be more than three feet in width.
(5) Messages with characters over eight inches in height are limited to a maximum of five words on each canopy facade. Messages with characters under eight inches in height have no limit on the number of words. Character height must not exceed 60 percent of the vertical dimension of the permanent canopy, or 24 inches, whichever is less.
(6) Only the name of the establishment with which the sign is associated may appear on that portion of the sign located above the permanent canopy.
(7) Display panels that announce a show or event may have plastic characters on an internally-lit background.
(8) These signs may turn on or off or change their brightness. The restrictions contained in Section 51A-7.303(b)(1) do not apply to these signs. Flashing and sequenced lighting are permitted.
(e) Projecting attached signs.
(1) These signs must be a minimum of 10 feet above grade.
(2) These signs must be located in either the bottom, top, or combined envelope depicted graphically in the diagram that is attached to and made a part of this ordinance as Exhibit B. Restrictions on the size and location of each sign depend on which envelope the sign is located in as follows:
| Bottom Envelope | Top Envelope | Combined Envelope
Maximum projection allowed from building facade | 6 ft. | 3 ft. | 3 ft.
Maximum vertical dimension allowed | 10 ft. | 20 ft. | 30 ft.
Maximum effective area allowed for each sign face* | 30 sq. ft. | 40 sq. ft. | 45 sq. ft.
*Double this amount to compute the total effective area allowed for both sides of the sign.
(3) If their characters are eight inches or less in height, these signs are not restricted as to the number of words permitted. Signs with characters more than eight inches in height are limited to five words. No character may exceed 12 inches in height if the message area exceeds 60 percent of the sign surface area.
(4) One sign is allowed above each entrance provided that signs associated with the same establishment are spaced at least 30 feet apart.
(5) No sign may be more than 12 inches thick. All messages on these signs must be located on a sign face that is perpendicular to the front building facade.
(6) No illuminated sign or element of a sign may turn on or off or change its brightness.
(7) Sources of sign illumination that are an integral part of the design of the sign, such as neon or small individual incandescent lamps, are permitted. These signs may be protected by transparent covers.
(8) Internally lit plastic translucent signs are prohibited.
(f) Window signs.
(1) This subsection applies only to window signs as defined in Section 51A-7.1203.
(2) Window signs may only consist of a business name, business logo, cultural institution information, or address.
(3) No character of a window sign may exceed 12 inches in height.
(4) The maximum amount of window area that may be utilized as sign space varies depending on the location of the window as follows:
Window Location | Maximum Window Coverage Allowed
First Story | 15 percent
Second Story | 20 percent
Third Story | 25 percent
(5) No establishment may have more than four window signs.
(6) Hanging neon signs are allowed if their transformers are concealed from normal view.
(7) Opaque painted backgrounds on windows are permitted during permitted construction.
(g) Canopy fascia signs.
(1) Canopy fascia signs must comply with the operational requirements in Section 51A-7.1205.1.
(2) Canopy fascia signs may only be located on buildings with frontage on Flora Street.
(3) A maximum of two canopy fascia signs are allowed per building. Only one canopy fascia sign is allowed on a building facade.
(4) Maximum height of a canopy fascia sign is four feet.
(5) [Reserved.]
(6) Maximum length of a canopy fascia sign is 74 feet.
(7) Maximum effective area of a canopy fascia sign is 296 square feet.
(8) Canopy fascia signs may only display premise and sponsorship content.
(h) Integrated signs.
(1) The following four integrated signs are the only integrated signs permitted:
(A) One integrated sign may be located on Ross Avenue a minimum of 10 feet from Olive Street and 260 feet from Harwood Street.
(B) One integrated sign that may only identify the building may be located on Ross Avenue a minimum of 280 feet from Olive Street and 20 feet from Harwood Street.
(C) One integrated sign may be a monument sign located on Pearl Street a minimum of 15 feet from Woodall Rodgers Freeway and 100 feet from Munger Avenue. The portion of the sign that contains the address and that does not contain tenant names must have a clear or transparent appearance.
(D) One integrated sign may be attached to a wall or a monument sign and must be located on a building site on Crockett Street and Leonard Street, east of Ross Avenue.
(i) If the integrated sign is attached to a wall, it must be located on Crockett Street.
(ii) If the integrated sign is a monument sign, it may be two- sided but must be located in a building plaza area.
(2) The maximum height for an integrated sign is eight feet, measured from the bottom of the sign face to the top of the sign face.
(3) The maximum effective area for an integrated sign is 60 square feet.
(4) A single contiguous integrated sign that is able to be viewed from more than one street is considered one integrated sign.
(5) Integrated signs may be located at the building line or within five feet of a public right-of-way.
(6) All elements of an integrated sign must be consistent in color and material.
(i) Tenant identity signs.
(1) Tenant identity signs are prohibited on facades with frontage on the following:
(A) Munger Avenue.
(B) Crockett Street, unless the building site is adjacent to the Ross Avenue Frontage Area.
(C) Leonard Street, unless the building site is adjacent to the Flora Street Frontage Area.
(2) Tenant identity signs must be the same color and composed of individual letters or symbols only.
(3) Illumination of tenant identity signs, if any, must be internal to illuminate the building facade and produce a “halo” around the characters. No illuminated sign or element of a sign may turn on or off or change its brightness.
(4) Tenant identity signs may not exceed four percent of the facade to which it is affixed.
(j) Building identification signs.
(1) On each facade, one building identification sign is permitted:
(A) below the third story of a building, provided the sign is located above a building entrance and contains only the building name and/or street address.
(B) at or above the highest leasable floor of a building.
(2) Building identification signs are prohibited on facades with frontage on the following:
(A) Munger Avenue.
(B) Crockett Street, unless the building site is adjacent to the Ross Avenue Frontage Area.
(C) Leonard Street, if the building site is adjacent to the Flora Street Frontage Area.
(3) A building identification sign located below the third story of a building may have a maximum of 50 square feet of effective area allocated to the building name, and a maximum of 25 square feet of effective area allocated to the building address. The maximum permitted heights of characters on these signs are 24 inches for the building name, and 12 inches for the building address.
(4) A building identification sign located at or above the highest leasable floor of a building may not exceed four percent of the facade to which it is affixed.
(5) Building identification signs must be the same color and composed of individual letters or symbols only.
(6) Illumination of building identification signs, if any, must be internal to illuminate the building facade and produce a “halo” around the characters. No illuminated sign or element of a sign may turn on or off or change its brightness. (Ord. Nos. 20345; 26768; 28071; 28471; 30731; 31079; 33252)
Source: City of Dallas, Dallas City Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-87719Fetched: 10/26/2026