1990-182ORDINANCE NO. U -I g
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AMENDING ARTICLE 17 OF
APPENDIX B-ZONING OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCE RELATING TO SIGNS;
PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF A SIGN BOARD OF APPEALS TO HEAR
APPEALS, VARIANCES, AND SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR AN
ALTERNATE METHOD OF MEASURING SIGN HEIGHT; AMENDING THE PROVISIONS
FOR SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS; SETTING FEES FOR APPLICATIONS TO THE SIGN
BOARD OF APPEALS; AMENDING ARTICLE 23 OF APPENDIX B-ZONING TO
DELETE THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT TO HEAR CASES
INVOLVING SIGNS; PROVIDING FOR A MAXIMUM PENALTY IN THE AMOUNT OF
$2,000.00 FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
SECTION I. That article 17, G, 1 (b) of Appendix B-Zoning is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Height. The maximum height of a ground sign
shall be determined by the method of measurement that
allows the greater height, as follows:
(1) Curb Line Measurement. Measure along a
vertical line extended upward from the nearest
curb line of the public street fronting the
premises where the sign is to be located, to
the maximum height allowed for the sign. From
that point, extend a horizontal line to where
the sign is to be located. The horizontal
line is the maximum height allowed at that
location. (See Appendix Illustration 14b)
(2) Natural Ground Level Measurement. At the
highest point of the sign, draw a horizontal
line to the outer extremities of the sign. At
the center of the horizontal line, draw a
vertical line to the natural ground level
below. (The "natural ground level" shall
include any changes in topography necessary
for development of the property). The
vertical line may not exceed the height
allowed for the sign at that location. (See
Appendix Illustration 14b).
SECTION II. That article 17, I of Appendix B-Zoning is
amended to read as follows:
I. APPEALS, VARIANCES AND SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS
1. Sian Board of Appeals Created. There is hereby
created a Sign Board of Appeals consisting of five
members. Members shall be appointed by the City Council
for a two year term, except that the Council shall
designate two members of the initial Board to serve one
year terms, or until their successors are appointed. The
council may remove a board member for cause on a written
charge after a public hearing. A vacancy on the board
shall be filled for the unexpired term. The Council may
appoint two alternate members to serve in the absence of
one or more of the regular members when requested to do
so by the City Manager. An alternate member serves for
the same period as a regular member and is subject to
removal in the same manner as a regular member. A
vacancy among alternate members is filled in the same
manner as a vacancy among the regular members.
The Board shall adopt rules to govern its
proceedings. Meetings of the Board shall be held at the
call of the chairperson and at other times as determined
by the Board. The chairperson or acting chairperson may
administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.
Each case before the Board must be heard by at least
four members. The Board shall keep minutes of its
proceedings that indicate the vote of each member on each
question or the fact that a member is absent or fails to
vote. The Board shall keep records of its examinations
and other official actions. The minutes and records
shall be filed immediately in the Board's office and are
public records.
The concurring vote of four members of the Board is
necessary to:
(1) reverse an order, requirement, decision, or
determination of an administrative official;
(2) decide in favor of an applicant on a matter on
which the Board is required to pass under a zoning
ordinance; or
(3) authorize a variation from the terms of the
sign ordinance.
2. Powers of the Board. The Board shall have the
following powers:
(a) To hear and decide an appeal that alleges error
in an order, requirement, decision, or determination made
PAGE 2
by an administrative official in the enforcement of this
article.
(b) To hear and decide special exceptions to the
terms of this article when this article requires the
Board to do so.
(c) To hear and decide on requests for variances in
the regulations of this article.
3. Appeals to the Board.
(a) Appeals may be brought by any person aggrieved
by a decision or by any officer, department, board, or
bureau of the municipality affected by the decision.
(b) The appellant must file with the board and the
official from whom the appeal is taken a notice of appeal
specifying the grounds for the appeal. The appeal must
be filed within fifteen days after the decision of the
administrative officer. On receiving the notice, the
official from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately
transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the
record of the action that is appealed.
(c) An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance
of the action that is appealed unless the official from
whom the appeal is taken certifies in writing to the
Board facts supporting the official's determination that
a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property.
In that case, the proceedings may be stayed only by a
restraining order granted by the Board or a court of
record on application, if due cause is shown, after
notice to the official.
(d) The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the
hearing of an appeal, give notice of the hearing by
mailing notice to all real property owners located within
two hundred feet of the property on which the appeal is
made, as shown on the City's tax rolls, and by publishing
notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general
circulation in the City of Denton. The notices shall be
mailed and the notice published at least ten (10) days
prior to the date set for the hearing. Any party may
appear in person, by attorney, or by agent at the
hearing.
(e) The notice of appeal shall be accompanied by a
filing fee in the same amount as required for an appeal
to the Board of Adjustment.
PAGE 3
4. Variances to the Sian Reaulations.
(a) Any person requesting a variance from the
provisions of the sign regulations shall submit an
application on a form provided by the City, containing
the information and plans requested in the application,
along with the established filing fee.
(b) The Board shall act upon the variance request
within a reasonable time. Notice of the hearing shall be
given in the same manner as for appeals to the Board.
(c) The Board may grant a variance from a
requirement of the sign ordinance if it finds all the
following exist:
(1) Without the variance, the applicant could not
make use of the sign otherwise permitted by the
ordinance;
(2) The variance is necessary because of a unique
condition or feature of the property not generally
common to other properties;
(3) The granting of the variance will not violate
the spirit or the intent of the ordinance; and
(4) The conditions or
need for the variance
property owner's acts.
features which create the
did not result from the
(d) The Board shall not grant a variance to any
applicant for personal convenience, financial hardship,
or other reasons unrelated to the property. If the board
grants a variance, the variance shall be granted only to
the extent that is reasonably necessary to remedy the
hardship.
(e) All decisions of the Board granting or refusing
a variance shall be reduced to writing and signed by the
Chairperson. If a variance is denied, the decision shall
state the conditions for the variance which were not met.
If the Board grants a variance, the decision shall state
that all conditions for a variance were met, specify the
degree to which the regulations are being varied, and be
signed by the members voting in favor of the variance.
5. Special Exceptions. The Sign Board of Appeals
may grant a special exception from the provisions of this
article for the setback or height of a sign, other than
a portable sign, under the following circumstances:
PAGE 4
(a) Visibility Obstructions. When fifty
percent (50%) or more of the effective area of
a sign to be located in accordance with the
setback or height requirements of this article
would not be visible from at least one
"visibility point" because of an existing
building, structure, or the natural ground.
As used herein, "visibility point" shall
mean the viewing locations, at a height of six
feet, determined by extending the side yard
setback lines of the property so as to
intersect the curb line of the public street
fronting the property, then measuring from the
intersecting points along the curb line away
from the property in each direction for a
distance of one hundred feet. If the street
fronting the property is one-way, the
visibility point in the direction from which
traffic approaches the property shall be used
to determine the visibility requirement. (See
Appendix Illustration No. 14d.)
(b) Medical Emergency Signs. When a
sign located on the property of an emergency
medical treatment facility would not, because
of the setback or height requirements of this
article, be readily visible from adjacent
public streets. For purposes of this
provision, "Emergency Medical Treatment
Facility" shall mean any hospital, clinic or
other facility where medical aid is offered to
a person or animal who suffers an injury or
illness which requires immediate medical
attention.
In granting a special exception, the Sign Board of
Appeals shall specify by written order the setback or the
height that will be allowed, but in doing so shall not
allow deviation from the provisions of this article
beyond what is minimally necessary to remedy the
situation allowing for the special exception.
6. Judicial Review of Board Decisions. Appeals from
any decision of the Board may be made in accordance with
the provisions applicable to appeals from decisions of
the Board of Adjustment.
SECTION III. That article 17 A, 6, (d) of Appendix B-Zoning
is amended to read as follows:
PAGE 5
(d) Any person may appeal a denial, proposed
revocation, or revocation of a license to the Sign Board
of Appeals as provided herein.
SECTION IV. That article 17 B. 6. of Appendix B-Zoning is
amended to read as follows:
6. Revocation of Permit; Appeals. The Building
official may revoke a sign permit for a violation of this
article. The permit holder may appeal the revocation to
the Sign Board of Appeals.
SECTION V. That article 17, F, 2 of Appendix B-Zoning is
amended to read as follows:
2. Removal; Appeals. If the person ordered to
correct a violation fails to do so within the time
specified, the Building official may remove or cause the
removal of the unlawful sign. Any person aggrieved by
the order may file an appeal with the Sign Board of
Appeals.
SECTION VI. That article 17, F, 5. of Appendix B-Zoning is
amended to read as follows:
5. Appeal of Cost Imposed; Levied. Any person may
contest the reasonableness of the cost of removal of a
sign imposed hereunder by filing an appeal with the Sign
Board of Appeals within twenty (20) days of the mailing
of the notice of the costs. The Board may uphold the
cost imposed by the Building Official or impose and levy
whatever cost it considers reasonable. Storage costs
shall not be appealable.
SECTION VII.
Zoning is amended
Exhibit A and inco:
SECTION VIII.
submitted with the
$100.00.
That Appendix Illustration 14b of Appendix B-
as shown in the drawing attached hereto as
-porated by reference.
That the application fee required to be
request for a variance is set in the amount of
SECTION IX. That article 23 of Appendix B-Zoning is amended
by adding a new paragraph F to read as follows:
F. Signs. The provisions of this article shall not
apply to the regulation of signs. Appeals, variances and
special exceptions involving signs shall be heard by the
Sign Board of Appeals.
SECTION X. That any person violating any provision of this
ordinance shall, upon conviction, be fined a sum not exceeding
PAGE 6
$2,000.00. Each day that a provision of this ordinance is violated
shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
SECTION XI. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence,
clause, phrase or word in this agreement, or application thereof to
any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity
of the remaining portions of this agreement, and the parties hereby
declare they would have enacted such remaining portions despite any
such invalidity.
SECTION XII. That this ordinance shall become effective
fourteen (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City
Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance
to be published twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the official
newspaper of the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the
date of its passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED this th4b? day of
hkthikk~ , 1990.
ATTEST:
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
BY:
1,11 _
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
DEBRA A. DRAYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY
r
BY:
109002 1/26/90
PAGE 7
14b. MEASUREMENT OF HEIGHT
Maximum Height
Horizontal Line SIGN
SIGN I
Vertical Line
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TAN ove Curbline
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Below Curbline
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STREET
CURBLINE
CURBLINE
MEASUREMENT OF IRREGULAR SIGNS
Maximum Height
Imaginary line defining
effective area of a sign
at its greatest extent.
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Horizontal line
Vertical Line