§ 9.5. Signs.

All signs shall encourage a positive visual environment in harmony with the natural beauty of the area.

9.51

Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to achieve balance among the following differing, and at times, competing goals:

9.511

To encourage the effective use of signs as a means of communication for businesses, organizations and individuals in the City of Atmore;

9.512

To provide a means of way-finding in the community, thus reducing traffic confusion and congestion;

9.513

To provide for adequate business identification, advertising, and communication;

9.514

To prohibit signs of such excessive size and number that they obscure one another to the detriment of the economic and social well-being of the citizens of Atmore;

9.515

To protect the safety and welfare of the public by minimizing the hazards to pedestrian and vehicular traffic;

9.516

To differentiate among those signs that, because of their location, may distract drivers on public streets and those that may provide information to them while they remain in their cars but out of active traffic;

9.517

To minimize the possible adverse effects of signs on nearby public and private property;

9.518

To prohibit most signs with commercial messages in residential zoning districts, while allowing those commercial messages that relate to commercial activities lawfully conducted on individual properties within such districts;

9.519

To balance the desire to limit commercial signage in agricultural zoning districts with the recognition of the continued importance of agriculture as part of the economic base in the City of Atmore, thus allowing commercial messages that relate to commercial activities lawfully conducted within such districts; and

9.5110

To provide broadly for the expression of individual opinions through the use of signs on private property.

9.52

General Requirements.

9.521

No sign, except as otherwise herein provided, shall be erected, constructed, posted, painted, altered, maintained, or relocated, until a permit has been issued by the Building Inspector.

9.522

Any permitted sign shall be subject to the size and height limitations imposed by this Ordinance for the use district in which said sign is located, except as otherwise provided herein.

9.523

No sign or sign structure shall be placed upon any street or highway right-of-way except as otherwise provided herein.

9.524

No sign shall be erected or maintained at any location where by reason of its position, working, illumination, shape, symbol, color, form or character it may obstruct, impair, obscure, interfere with the view of, or may be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device, or interfere with, mislead, confuse, or disrupt traffic safety or flow.

9.525

No portion of a sign shall obscure visibility between a height of three (3) and ten (10) feet within an area defined by a triangle extending from a street intersection by a distance of 25 feet from the corner along the curbline of each street, with the third side formed by connecting the other two legs of the triangle.

9.526

No sign shall be erected, relocated or maintained so as to prevent free ingress or egress from any door, window or fire escape.

9.527

No portion of any projecting sign shall be less than eight (8) feet above the level of a sidewalk or other pedestrian thoroughfare, nor shall be less than fifteen (15) feet above the level of a public driveway, alley or street.

9.528

A sign permit shall be null and void if the sign for which the permit was issued has not been completed and erected within a period of six (6) months from the date of issuance of the permit.

9.53

Nonconforming Signs. Any sign in existence on the date of adoption of this Ordinance that is not in conformance with the requirements of this Ordinance shall be considered a nonconforming sign and shall be permitted to continue to exist subject to the following conditions:

9.531

No nonconforming off-premises sign shall be changed or altered in any manner which would increase the degree of its nonconformity, increase its size, or prolong its useful life. Replacing the support structure of the sign shall be considered as prolonging its useful life.

9.532

Any nonconforming sign prohibited under Section 9.55 of this Ordinance shall be removed or made to conform within ninety (90) days of the date of adoption of this Ordinance.

9.533

The Board of Adjustment may, in special cases and for good reason, and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the, actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of the Ordinance would result in unnecessary or unique hardship, permit the erection of a sign not in conformance with the requirements of this Ordinance, and at its discretion, may requires the posting of a bond in sufficient amount to protect the City against all liabilities that may result from the erection and use of such sign. A variance for a sign shall not affect the size of the sign but may allow for a reduced setback or greater height than otherwise permitted to provide reasonable visibility to a sign that would otherwise not be visible due to topographic or other physical conditions affecting the site and not under the control of the applicant for the variance.

9.534

No permits for additional signs shall be issued for any premises on which there are nonconforming signs, except that such a permit may be issued subject to the condition that the nonconforming sign(s) will be brought into conformance with the provisions of this Section 9.5 as part of the work under the permit. No permit shall be issued for any permitted sign for any premises on which there exists an off-premises sign or billboard unless the off-premises sign or billboard is first permanently removed.

9.535

All existing off-premises signs and billboards are nonconforming as of the date of this Ordinance but shall be permitted to continue to exist like any other nonconforming sign, provided that any maintenance to or work on the sign is consistent with § 9.531.

9.54

Applicability, Exemptions and Partial Exemptions.

9.541

Signs Entirely Exempt from Ordinance. The following signs are entirely exempt from this ordinance.

9.5411

Any sign located entirely inside a building and not visible from the public right-of-way or from private property other than the property on which such sign is located;

9.5412

Any sign on a truck, bus or other vehicle that is used in the normal course of a business for transportation.

9.542

Signs Partially Exempt from Ordinance. Signs listed in this subsection shall be exempt from the permit requirements of this Section 9.5 but shall, to the maximum extent allowed by law, be subject to the other standards of this Ordinance. Where a sign is erected pursuant to a statute or a court order, the sign may exceed the size standards of this Ordinance or otherwise deviate from the standards set forth in this Ordinance to the extent that the statute or court order expressly required the larger size or other deviation. In all other respects, such signs shall conform to the standards of this Ordinance.

9.5421

Signs conforming with the Alabama Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and bearing no commercial message;

9.5422

Signs bearing no commercial message and installed by employees or officials of a state or federal agency in the course of their governmental duties;

9.5423

Signs required by a state or federal statute;

9.5424

Signs required by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction;

9.5425

Signs installed by public utilities in their rights-of-way or on their facilities and bearing no commercial message other than such message is necessary to identify the user;

9.5426

Signs installed by a transit company with a franchise or other right to operate in the City of Atmore, where such signs are installed along its routes and relate to schedules or other information about the transit route.

9.543

Exemptions from Permit Requirements Only. The following signs shall be exempt from the permit requirements of this Section but shall be subject to all other standards of this Section:

9.5431

Signs installed by City employees or officials of the City of Atmore and not falling under one of the broader exemptions of Section 9.542, Signs Partially Exempt from Ordinance;

9.5432

Detached signs smaller than two square feet in area and less than four feet in height, and containing no commercial message;

9.5433

Wall signs smaller than two square feet in area and containing no commercial message;

9.5434

Window signs permitted by this Ordinance, where such signs are not illuminated or otherwise electrified;

9.5435

Permanent signs smaller than seven square feet and permitted in single-family residential districts;

9.5436

Any sign not legible from a public way or from private property other than the lot on which the sign is located;

9.5437

Routine maintenance of any sign, not involving structural changes to the sign;

9.5438

Changes of message, either manually or electronically, on a message board or reader board, subject to limitations in this Article on the frequency of changes of message; and

9.5439

Changes of sign panels or letters that do not involve structural changes to the sign.

9.55   

Signs Prohibited in All Districts. The following signs are prohibited in all use districts:

9.551

Any sign erected or painted upon a fence, tree, standpipe, fire escape or utility pole, except the manufacturer's or installer's ID plate which shall not be legible from a distance of more than three feet.

9.552

Any sign which is a copy or imitation of an official traffic control sign.

9.553

Signs which contain flashing or intermittent illuminations, except as required for traffic control. Changing the copy on a bulletin board or changeable copy type sign which changes no more than one time per minute shall be deemed not to be flashing or intermittent illuminations.

9.554

Portable signs, snipe signs, sandwich signs, or ladder-type signs.

9.555

Permanent signs that produce sound or noise; cause interference with radio, telephone, television or other communication transmissions; produce or reflect motion pictures; emit visible smoke, vapor, particles, or odor; are animated or produce any rotation, motion or movement.

9.556

New off-premises signs or billboards in any zoning district.

9.56

Maintenance and Removal of Signs.

9.561

All signs shall be maintained in good condition and appearance. The Building Inspector, after due notice in writing to the owner, may cause to be removed, at owners expense, any sign which shows neglect or which appears abandoned or which becomes dilapidated or dysfunctional, or where the area for a distance of ten (10) feet around such sign is not kept free of weeds, rubbish, debris, or uncut grass.

9.562

Any sign associated with premises that have been vacated shall be either removed from the premises by the owner or lessee within three (3) months of the time of the vacation, or said sign shall be altered or resurfaced by the owner or lessee within the same time period so that it does not display letters, numerals, symbols, figures, designs, or any other device for visual communication that would pertain to the activity formerly associated with the vacated premises.

9.563

Any sign erected in the public right-of-way or on public property shall be deemed abandoned and may be removed by the Building Inspector without notice or compensation to the owner. Removal by the Building Inspector shall not affect penalties applicable for the unlawful erection or placement of the sign in the public right-of-way or on public property.

9.564

The erection or maintenance of any sign in violation of this Ordinance is a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 11.9 of this Ordinance.

9.57

Traffic Control Devices on Private Property. When the owner of real property allows it to be used by the public for the purpose of vehicular traffic and/or as a public or quasi-public parking lot for the use of customers, tenants or employees of said property, the owner shall erect and maintain all traffic control signs and other devices in accordance with the Alabama Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and any revisions thereof.

9.58

Permitted Signs.

9.581

Signs Permitted in Residential Districts.

9.5811

One wall sign, not to exceeding two square feet in area shall be permitted for each dwelling unit. Such sign may contain a noncommercial message or a commercial message related to an activity lawfully conducted on the premises in accordance with Section 7.23 (Home Occupations) or other applicable sections of this Ordinance. Such sign shall not be separately illuminated.

9.5812

Each occupied lot in a residence district shall be allowed one permanent ground sign and an unlimited number of temporary ground signs, which shall not be separately illuminated, shall not exceed six and one-half (6.5) square feet in area and shall not exceed five (5) feet in height. The permanent sign may not contain a commercial message, and no more than three such signs on any lot at one time may contain a commercial message. The only commercial messages permitted on such signs are messages related to commercial activity lawfully conducted on the premises, including the lawful, occasional sale of personal property (such as through a garage sale or a yard sale) or the sale, rental or lease of the premises. Signs related to the sale of personal property shall be removed within twenty-four hours after the end of the sale. Signs related to the sale, lease or rental of the premises shall be removed no later than the date on which the deed, lease or other document representing the transaction is completed. Any such sign may contain any message other than a commercial message. If a message relates to an election or special event, it shall be removed within seven (7) days following the conclusion of such election or other event.

9.5813

As a temporary use accessory to the permitted activity of lawful subdivision development, one temporary signs at each principal entrance to the subdivision; there shall in no case be more than one such sign for a subdivision or development with 50 or fewer lots included in the subdivision or development and no more than two such signs for any subdivision or development. Such sign shall not be illuminated and shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area; such sign shall be removed upon the earlier of the following: installation of a permanent neighborhood identification sign; sale of more than ninety percent (90%) of the lots in the subdivision; or the expiration of two (2) years from the date of installation.

9.5814

Any school, house of worship, recreation center or other institutional use permitted in these districts may have two freestanding signs, not to exceed seventy-five (75) square feet in area per sign. This may include changeable copy signs, not to exceed thirty percent (30%) of the sign area. Such signs may be illuminated and shall not be located any closer than ten (10) feet from the pavement edge or edge of the street or thoroughfare to which said sign is directed, nor within the sight triangle defined by Section 9.525. Each such use shall also be allowed one wall sign for each public entrance to the institutional use; such wall signs shall not exceed four square feet each and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.5815

In required off-street parking areas, signs conforming with the Alabama Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and containing no commercial message.

9.5816

Detached signs not more than two (2) square feet in area and four (4) feet in height, provided that such signs shall contain no commercial message and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.5817

For permitted uses other than single-family residences, wall signs not more than two (2) square feet in area, provided that such signs shall contain no commercial message and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.582

Signs Permitted in Business and Industrial Districts.

9.5821

Detached Signs.

a.

In the B-1 Local Business District and the M-1 and M-2 Industrial Districts, there shall be a maximum of one detached sign per premises, which sign shall not exceed seventy-five (75) square feet in area and shall not exceed twenty-one (21) feet in height.

b.

In the B-2 Local Business District, there shall be a maximum of one detached sign per premises, plus one additional detached sign for any premises with a lot lines abutting public streets totaling more than 1,000 linear feet; such signs shall not exceed seventy-five (75) square feet in area and shall not exceed twenty-one (21) feet in height; where there is more than one detached sign on a premises, such signs shall be separated by at least 500 feet.

9.5822

Wall Signs. In the B-1 and B-2 Local Business Districts and the M-1, and M-2 Industrial Districts, wall signs shall be allowed in accordance with the following standards:

a.

The size of all wall signs for an establishment shall not exceed the lesser of three hundred (300) square feet or twenty (20) percent of the building wall to which the sign is attached;

b.

Signs mounted on mansards, marquees, and awnings are deemed to be wall signs;

c.

Wall signs shall be permitted for each of the following:

i.

For an establishment that is the sole occupant of a principal building, signs shall be allowed on one wall;

ii.

In a shopping center or other multi-tenant building, each establishment with an exterior entrance used by the general public shall be allowed to have wall signs on the wall with such entrance;

iii.

In a shopping center, office building or other multi-tenant building occupied by one or more establishments without exterior entrances used by the general public, wall signs conforming with this subsection shall be allowed on one wall, in addition to any signs allowed for individual establishments with exterior entrances.

9.5823

Changeable Copy Signs. Up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the copy area of any permitted sign larger than fifty (50) square feet may consist of changeable copy area; copy in such area may be changed by a person or electronically, provided that any electronically changeable copy sign shall be programmed so that it does not change more than one time per minute.

9.5824

Window Signs. In the B-1 and B-2 Local Business Districts, any establishment with windows on the first floor may display window signs covering not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the window area, provided that no such sign: shall be separately illuminated; shall be legible at a distance of more than six feet.

9.5825

A temporary sign will be permitted on each premises for a new business or a business starting in a new location where the premises is without a permitted permanent sign. The temporary sign shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area or, ten (10) feet in height; such sign shall not be separately illuminated. Said sign may be single or double faced. Such sign shall be removed upon the earlier of the following: the expiration of sixty (60) days from the date of installation; or the mounting or installation of a permanent sign permitted by this ordinance.

9.5826

A combination of temporary decorative signs, pennants, banners, streamers, bunting, flying paraphernalia, and tethered inflatable signs may be permitted to a premises owner for no more than fourteen (14) continuous calendar days in any six (6) month period.

9.5827

In parking areas, signs conforming with the Alabama Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and containing no commercial message.

9.5828

Detached signs not more than four (4) square feet in area and four (4) feet in height, provided that such signs shall contain no commercial message and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.5829

Wall signs not more than two (2) square feet in area, provided that such signs shall contain no commercial message and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.58210

In addition to all other signs permitted, each premises in the Business and Industrial Districts shall be allowed one temporary detached sign, which sign: shall bear no commercial message; shall not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in area or eight (8) feet in height; shall not be installed in the sight triangle defined by Section 9.525; and shall not be separately illuminated.

9.59   

Flags. The display of flags in the city is expressly permitted, subject to the following standards and conditions:

9.591

Residential Zoning Districts. Flags and flagpoles shall be allowed in accordance with the following standards in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 Residential Zoning Districts for residential and permitted institutional uses in such districts:

9.5911

There shall be no more than one flagpole on a lot;

9.5912

No flag shall bear a commercial message; and

9.5913

No flagpole shall exceed 20 feet in height.

9.592

Business and Industrial Zoning Districts. Flags and flagpoles shall be allowed in accordance with the following standards in the B-1, B-2, M-1 and M-2 Zoning Districts for permitted nonresidential and industrial uses:

9.5921

There shall be no more than three flagpoles per principal building on any development site;

9.5922

Each flagpole must be within thirty (30) feet of the principal entrance to the building to which it is oriented;

9.5923

One flag on each lot in a Business or Industrial District may contain a commercial message related to commercial activity lawfully conducted on the premises; and

9.5924

No flagpole in these districts shall exceed thirty (30) feet in height.

9.593

Conditions Applicable in All Zoning Districts. The following conditions shall apply to the display of flags in all zoning districts:

9.5931

A flagpole shall be set back at least 5 feet from any property line; and

9.5932

No rooftop flagpoles shall be permitted in any zoning district.

9.60

Substitution of Message. Any sign allowed under this section or a predecessor ordinance, by sign permit, by conditional use permit, or by variance, may contain, in lieu of any other message or copy, any lawful noncommercial message that does not direct attention to a business operated for profit, or to a product, commodity, or service for sale or lease, or to any other commercial interest or activity, so long as said sign complies with the size, height, area, and other requirements of this Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 05-2006, § 2(9.5), 6-26-2006)

9.61

Display of political signs. It is the candidates' responsibility to ensure that the volunteers and sign contractors who distribute and erect political signs during an election are doing so in compliance with this law. Candidates are responsible to remove such signs within seven days following the conclusion of an election or event as set out in section 9.5812 of the zoning ordinance. Candidates will be held responsible for violations.

(Ord. No. 06-2015, § 1, 9-14-2015; Ord. No. 2018-05, 10-22-2018)