Copyrighted by SPRINGDALE CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.
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ARTICLE I. Sec. 98-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards to safeguard life, health, property, public welfare and community aesthetics by regulating and controlling the design and quality of the maintenance of signs visible to public places.
(Code 1973, § 28-1)
Sec. 98-2. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Banner means any sign, except an awning sign, applied to or made of cloth, paper, fabric, flexible plastic or other fabric-like material that only uses such non-rigid material for backing or background.
Billboard means a freestanding sign not in excess of 600 square feet per sign face area as provided by section 98-61.
Building frontage means the wall of the building that determines where signs can go and how large they can be. Only walls that face a street, driveway, or parking lot, which serves the building use, may be counted as building frontage.
Building inspector means the chief city inspector or his duly authorized representative.
Construction sign means a sign identifying an architect, contractor and/or material supplier participating in construction on the property upon which the sign is located.
Divided highway means a public highway of four or more through traffic lanes with opposing traffic lanes separated by a median area at least 15 feet in width and built to interstate highway standards.
Flashing sign means a sign which contains an intermittent or sequential flashing light source used primarily to attract attention. The term "flashing sign" does not include animated signs or signs which, through reflection of natural or automobile light sources, create an illusion of flashing, intermittent light or signs using movement or change of lighting to depict action or signs on which the copy changes automatically or through mechanical means, e.g., electronic time/temperature displays.
Freestanding sign means a sign supported upon the ground only by its own structural foundation and not attached to any building or other object or structure.
Garage/porch/yard sale sign means a sign advertising the sale of goods from residential property.
Government sign means a sign used solely by a local, state or federal government or agencies thereof or by any public utility company for the purpose of giving notice of matters of public safety or of governmental concerns.
Height of a sign means the vertical distance measured from the highest point of the sign and/or structural foundation to the grade of the adjacent street or of the ground surface grade beneath the sign, whichever grade is lower.
Pennants means triangle pennants or flags on strings; also includes strip pennants, polypennants, slogan pennants and racetrack starter pennants.
Person means any individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership or legal entity whatsoever.
Political sign means a sign advertising any candidate or any position on an issue upon which the citizens of the city may vote.
Projecting sign means a sign other than a wall sign which extends from and/or is supported by a wall or roof of a building or other structure.
Real estate sign means a sign advertising the availability of any particular real property.
Roof sign means a sign erected upon or above a roof or parapet of a building or structure.
Sign means any device, structure, fixture, display field or placard, designed for the display of or displaying graphics, any communicative symbols or message and/or written copy, and the structural foundation thereof which is located outdoors or which is not entirely located under the roof and entirely surrounded by the vertical plane of interior walls, including windows and doors, of a permanent building.
Sign area means the aggregate square-foot area enclosed by the perimeter of the sign face, including framework and decorative roofing or other embellishments but not including structural foundation, with each face contributing to the aggregate area. The sign area of wall signs composed of letters or symbols displayed against the wall as background with no distinguishing background coloration/decoration shall be calculated by measuring the area encompassing all the letters or symbols constituting the sign. The combined areas of the individual figures shall be considered the total sign area.
Sign face means any single planar surface of a sign, including the sign's framework or decorative embellishments, but not including structural foundation.
Sign face area means the aggregate area enclosed by the perimeter of any sign face.
Special occasion sign means a sign advertising a special occasion, such as a family reunion, birth of a child, school play, special church event or similar noncommercial function.
Street island sign means any sign placed in a curbed island in a street right-of-way.
Structural foundation means a structure or supporting member affixed to the premises for the purpose of supporting or displaying a sign but carrying no graphic or communicative symbol other than that within the sign area.
Temporary sign means a sign meeting the requirements of section 98-61.
Traffic/directional sign means a sign bearing only property numbers, post box numbers, names of occupants on premises or words or symbols guiding traffic or parking on private property and having no other message or any commercial connotation.
Wall sign means a sign which is attached to and supported by the vertical wall of a permanent building and which is entirely within a plane which is:
(1) Coplanar with the wall; or
(2) Parallel with the plane of the wall and is removed therefrom only by structural foundation.
(Code 1973, § 28-2; Ord. No. 2291, 6-14-94; Ord. No. 3074, § 1, 3-13-01; Ord. No. 4102, § 1, 8-28-07)
Cross reference(s)--Definitions generally, § 1-2.
State law reference(s)--Traffic control devices shall conform to state specifications, A.C.A. § 27-52-106(2).
Sec. 98-3. Variances.
(a) Upon written application delivered to the chief city inspector and containing such information as he may reasonably require, the board of adjustment may grant variances from the provisions of this chapter with terms and conditions. Variances may be granted for historic, aesthetic or other reasonable cause, which cause shall be stated upon the record.
(b) A variance shall be granted for no more than one sign used or maintained for each separately licensed business on any one lot or parcel.
(Code 1973, § 28-9)
Sec. 98-4. Enforcement.
(a) Any and all persons having express or implied authority over the size, appearance, content and/or location of a sign, together with the landowner and/or lessor of the real property upon which the sign is sited, shall be responsible for causing the sign to be in full compliance with law and shall be jointly and severally liable for any violations of this chapter or other law pertaining to the sign. The real property landowner shall be presumed to be the person recorded as such in county records.
(b) Citations for violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be issued by the chief of police or his designee and/or by the chief city inspector upon proper authority.
(c) Any sign not properly permitted may be removed by the chief of police or the chief city inspector or his designee after due notice to the landowner and failure to comply with the corrections required pursuant to this section.
(Code 1973, § 28-10)
Sec. 98-5. Penalties.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided by section 1-9. Each day the violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
(Code 1973, § 28-11; Ord. No. 3828, § 1, 2-14-06)
Sec. 98-6. Severability clause.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be judicially declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. Any city ordinance or part thereof in conflict with the provisions of this chapter is hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
(Code 1973, § 28-12)
Sec. 98-7. Removal of illegal signs.
All unpermitted signs, including signs for which the permit is revoked without appeal or after unsuccessful appeal, shall be removed or brought into full compliance with law within five weekdays; provided, however, and subject to the provisions of section 98-58 that any sign determined by the chief city inspector to present a great and present hazard to public safety shall be removed within one weekday, whether or not appeal is taken from the determination and whether or not any sign permit has been revoked.
(Code 1973, § 28-3(f))
Secs. 98-8--98-30. Reserved.
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