Del Norte County Municipal Code § 18.12 Signs Allowed On Private Property With Or Without Permits 18.12.10 Signs Allowed…

1. Signs shall be allowed on private property in the county in accordance with, and only in accordance with, Table 18.12A.

   1. If the letter "S" appears for sign type in a column, such sign is allowed without prior permit approval in the zoning districts represented by the column.

   2. If the letter "P" appears for a sign type in a column, such sign is allowed only with prior permit approval in the zoning districts represented by that column. Special conditions may apply in some cases.

   3. If the letter "U" appears for a sign type in a column, such a sign, or any modification to such sign, is allowed only with prior conditional use permit approval by the planning commission in the zoning district represented by that column.

   4. If the letter "N" appears for a sign type in a column, such a sign is not allowed in the zoning districts represented by that column under any circumstances.

   5. If the letter "C" appears beneath a zoning column, the proposed or existing use is subject to classification by the planning division and planning commission within the zone category which most appropriately reflects the use or regula tory requirements. In such case, requirements within the assigned zone classification shall apply to the zone lot on which the individual use is conducted.

2. Although permitted under the previous paragraph, a sign designated by an "S," "P," or "U" in Table 18.12A shall be allowed only if:

   1. The sum area of all signs on the zone lot conforms with the maximum permitted sign area as determined by the formula for the zone district in which the lot is located as specified in Table 18.12B.

   2. The size, location, and number of signs on the lot conform with the requirements of Tables 18.12C and 18.12D, which establish permitted sign dimensions by sign type, and with any additional limitations listed in Table 18.12A.

   3. The characteristics of the sign conform with the limitations of Table 18.12E, Permitted Sign Characteristics, and with any additional limitations on characteristics listed in Chapter 18.08 or Table 18.12A. (Ord. 96-06 § 3, 1996 Ord. 92-19 (part), 1992.)

A KEY TO TABLES 18.12A THROUGH 18.12E

TABLE 18.12A. PERMITTED SIGNS BY TYPE AND ZONING DISTRICT

S = Allowed without sign permit

P = Allowed only with sign permit

U = Allowed only with use permit

N = Not allowed

C = Regulation subject to commission and planning division classification of the use within one of the alternate zoning categories listed above.

a. This column does not represent a zoning district. It applies to institutional uses, public uses and quasipublic uses permitted under Title 20, the zoning ordinance in residential zoning districts. Such uses may include, but are not limited to, churches, schools, parks, meeting halls and hospitals.

b. No commercial message of any kind allowed on sign if such message is legible from any location off the zone lot on which the sign is located.

c. May include only building name, date of construction, or historical data on historic site must be cut or etched into masonry, bronze, or similar material.

d. Only address and name of occupant allowed on sign.

e. Shall not extend over the highest portion of the roof more than six feet or one-third the height of the building, whichever is less.

f. No commercial message of any kind allowed on sign.

g. The conditions of Chapter 18.28 apply.

h. Flags of the United States, state and local political subdivisions, foreign nations having diplomatic relations with the United States, and any other flag adopted or sanctioned by an elected legislative body of competent jurisdiction. These flags must be flown in accordance with protocol established by the Congress of the United

States for the Stars and Stripes. Any flag not meeting any one or more of these conditions shall be considered a banner sign and shall be subject to regulation as such.

i. Applies only to political campaign signs. construction signs, real estate signs or signs with no commercial message.

j. Permitted on the same terms as a temporary sign, in accordance with Chapter 18.28, except that it may be freestanding.

k. Permitted with use permit subject to commission review of sign characteristics. No more than one sign per community is permitted, except two single-faced signs per community may be considered where it is determined that one double-faced sign would not be legible to both directions of two-way traffic on a given road or high way.

l. Copy limited to name of civic, fraternal, or religious organization and directional information where such organizations do not front an arterial or major road.

m. See use permit requirements of Chapter 18.32.

TABLE 18.12B. MAXIMUM TOTAL SIGN AREA PER ZONE LOT BY ZONING DISTRICT

The maximum total area of all signs on a zone lot, except flags (b), incidental, building marker, identification, window and community service signs, may be calculated by either building frontage or lot frontage, whichever is the greater; however, the maximum cap shall apply in all cases except as provided elsewhere in this ordinance.

a. Maximum total sign area subject to commission classification of the use within one of the alternate zoning categories listed above.

b. Flags of the United States, state and local political subdivisions, foreign nations having diplomatic relations with the United States, and any other flag adopted or sanctioned by an elected legislative body of competent jurisdiction. These flags must be flown in accordance with protocol established by the Congress of the United States for the Stars and Stripes. Any flag not meeting any one or more of these conditions shall be considered a banner sign and shall be subject to regulation as such.

c. Where a structure and lot frontage exceeds 300 feet in frontage each, a maximum allowable sign area of 1 square foot per foot of building frontage (or less) may be permitted in lieu of the 300 square foot cap subject to use permit approval by the planning commission.

d. Where no principal commercial use exists on the zone lot, total sign areas allocations for single or multifamily zones apply, whichever is appropriate. Table 18.12C Number, Dimensions, and Location of individual signs by zoning district

a. Maximum total sign area subject to planning commission classification of the use within one of the alternate zoning categories listed above.

b. Applies to on-site signs only. See Chapter 18.32 for off-site sign height restrictions.

c. The actual height shall not exceed the actual sign setback from any adjacent lot that is zoned for residential purposes. For example, if the sign is set back seven feet from such a lot, it may be no more than seven feet high.

d. In addition to the setback requirements on this table, signs within 50' of an intersection shall be located such that there is a clear view for sight-distance between heights of 3 feet and 10 feet.

e. Within future street rights-of-way, setbacks shall be as provided in Section 20.48.90 (A) and 21.46.90 (A) of this code. No sign or portion thereof shall be erected within these setbacks unless and until an agreement is recorded stipulated that the sign will be removed or relocated upon street improvements at no expense to the county.

f. A minimum of one sign is permitted. Lots fronting on more than one street area allowed the total frontage for more than one street provided a freestanding sign is oriented directly towards the frontage credited.

g. Petroleum rate signs under 40 sq. ft. in size shall be exempt from restrictions on the number of freestanding signs permitted per zone lot.

h. The percentage figure here shall mean the percentage of the area of the wall of which such sign is a part or to which each such sign is most nearly parallel.

TABLE 18.12D. NUMBER AND DIMENSIONS OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL SIGNS BY SIGN TYPE

a. Applies only to political campaign signs, construction signs, real estate signs or signs with no commercial message.

b. Permitted on the same terms as a temporary sign, in accordance with Chapter 18.28, except that it may be freestanding.

18.12E. PERMITTED CHARACTERISTICS FOR ON-SITE SIGNS (a)

S = Allowed without sign permit

P = Allowed only with sign permit

U = Allowed only with use permit

N = Not allowed

C = Regulation subject to planning commission and planning division classification of the use within one of the alternate zoning categories listed above.

a. See Chapter 18.32 regarding permitted off-site sign characteris tics.

b. No direct light or significant glare from the sign shall be cast onto any adjacent zone lot that is zoned and used for residential purposes.

c. Signs which tend to attract motorists to a roadway-oriented business shall not be lighted except during the hours that mer chandise or services are available.

d. Permitted on building signs only as opposed to freestanding signs.