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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS ORD-2002-006 An Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance Article 9 Signs000$ c > An Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance of Orange County Be it ordained by the Board of Commissioners of Orange County, North Carolina, that the Zoning Ordinance is hereby amoi -ided__aG_follows.: Section 1: Petitioner proposed language in bold to amend Article 9 of the Zoning Ordinance: ARTICLE 9. SIGNS 9.1 Intent Amended 1/3/84 It is the general intent of this Article to prohibit signs of commercial nature in districts in which commerce is barred; to limit signs in the commercial districts in relation to the intensity of the use of the district and its surroundings; and to control the number, area and locations of signs in other districts. It is the intent of this section to regulate signs on a per lot basis in conjunction with the zoning designation of the lot as described in the current tax roll. 9.2 Traffic Safety Precautions Notwithstanding any other provisions in this ordinance, the following practices in relation to signs are prohibited in order to preserve the safety of pedestrian and vehicular movement: a) No sign shall be erected so that any part of it intrudes into the sight preservation triangle. b) No sign shall use words such as "stop," "slow," "caution ", "danger ", or similar admonitions which can be confused with traffic directional signs erected by governmental agencies. C) No sign shall be erected so that, by its location, color, nature or message, it would tend to be confused with or obstruct the view of traffic signals or signs or would tend to be confused with the warning lights of an emergency or public safety vehicle. d) No sign shall contain flashing lights, except those showing time of day and temperature. 9.3 Prohibited Locations For Signs Except where specifically permitted by this ordinance, all signs, including the supports, frames and embellishments thereto, shall not be located within any 9 -1 required setback area or public right of way, nor shall any sign be attached, affixed or painted upon any utility poles, any tree, rock or other natural object within the public right of way. No sign shall be permitted on the side street frontage of a corner building, if such building is located within one hundred feet of a Residential District. 9.4 Restri -tions On Illumination, Etc. No source of illumination on a sign, such as floodlights, spotlights, unshielded bulbs, etc., shall be directly visible from any public right of way, from any residential district or from adjacent premises. Animated, rotating, or other moving or apparently moving installations are prohibited. 9.5 Signs Subiect to Control Amended 7/5/88 All signs visible from the public right of way shall be erected, maintained, and operated in accordance with this ordinance and other relevant controls unless specifically excepted. Any sign authorized by this ordinance may contain non - commercial copy in lieu of any other copy. Signs not subject to the provisions of this ordinance are listed in 9.6. 9.6' Signs Not Subject To Permit Requirements The following signs are not subject to the permit requirements ordinance: a) Non- illuminated signs not exceeding 2 per lot and 2 square feet in area, of a non - commercial nature and bearing only property identification numbers and names, post office box numbers and names of occupants of the premises. b) Flags and insignia and signs of any government, when displayed in connection with a non - commercial activity. One flag of the United States displayed in connection with a commercial activity. c) Legal notices, identification and informational signs and traffic directional signs erected by or on behalf of a governmental body. d) Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts or moving lights. e) Signs directing and guiding traffic on private property, not exceeding 4 square feet each, and bearing no advertising matter. Amended 1/3/84 f) Signs, not exceeding 16 square feet in area and limited to 2 single - faced signs or 1 double -faced sign at each point of egress, giving the name of residential subdivisions, multiple family housing developments, or mobile home courts. 9 -2 0010 g) Internally lighted or unlighted church bulletin boards and identification signs, not exceeding 1 per abutting street and 16 square feet in area. h) Signs not exceeding 64 square feet in area, advertising agricultural products produced on the premises, if the lot is not part of a bona fide farm. i) Unlighted directional signs of non -profit organizations not exceeding 6 square feet in area, that bear no advertising matter or logo. j) Temporary real estate signs for lots of less than 5 acres, a single sign on each street frontage may be erected. It shall not exceed 4 square feet in area, and may contain the message that the property is for sale, lease or rent and the name, address and phone number of the agent. For lots of 5 acres or more in area and having a street frontage in excess of 400 feet, a second sign not exceeding 32 square feet in area may be permitted. k) Temporary construction sign. A single construction site identification sign shall be permitted. It shall not exceed 32 square feet in area, and may contain in its message identification of the project, its owner and /or developer, architect, engineer, land planner, landscape - architect, contractor and sub - contractors. Such signs shall not be erected prior to issuance of a building permit. I) New subdivisions with more than 1 builder, a single temporary sign may be erected to advertise a specific builder's model. It shall not exceed 16 square feet, and may contain the builder's company name, phone number, hours that the model is open and e-mail address. It shall also have a minimum perimeter landscaping of 12 square feet containing a mix of shrubs and flowering plants. 9.7 Zoning Compliance Permit Required Before any sign, except those specifically exempted from such a requirement, shall be erected or structurally altered, a Zoning Compliance Permit must be obtained. 9.8 RESERVED 9.9 Determining the Number of Signs a) For the purpose of determining the number of signs, a sign shall be considered to be a single display device containing elements organized, related, and composed to form a unit. Where matter is displayed in a random manner without organized relationship of elements, each element shall be considered a single sign. 9 -3 b) Without limiting the generality of subsection (a) above, a multi -sided sign shall be regarded as 1 sign. Unless specifically permitted elsewhere no more than 1 ground or pole- mounted sign having not more than 2 sign surface areas, each limited to 20 square feet, may be erected on any 1 lot. 9.10 Computation of_Sign Area a) The surface area of a sign shall be computed by including the entire area within a single, continuous, rectilinear perimeter of not more than eight straight lines, or a circle or an eclipse, enclosing the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but not including any supporting framework or bracing that is clearly incidental to the display itself. b) If the sign consists of more than one section or module, all of the area, including that between sections or modules, shall be included in the computation of the sign area. C) With respect to three dimensional or multi -sided signs, the surface area shall be computed by including the total of all sides designed either to attract attention or communicate information. d) The sign surface area of any sign located on the wall of a structure where the closest element of the sign is at least sixty feet from the street center line shall be computed by multiplying the true sign surface area subsection 9.9 (a) by 0.5. 9.11 Permitted Signs Amended 1/3/84 SEE TABLE 9.11 PERMITTED SIGNS, SIZE NUMBER, HEIGHT, AND LOCATION OF 9.12 Miscellaneous Requirements a) If a lot has frontage on more than 1 street, then the total sign surface area permitted on that lot shall be the sum of the sign surface area allotments related to each street (as determined in accordance with district in which the lot has frontage). However, the total sign surface area that is oriented toward a particular street may not exceed the portion of the lot's total sign surface area allocation that is derived from frontage on that street. b) Signs for home occupations shall not exceed 1 per lot and 4 square feet per sign in the R -1 and AR districts. The size in all other residential districts shall not exceed 2 square feet. 9 -4 0011 0012 c) Outdoor advertising signs shall be considered principal uses of land and shall not have other principal uses on the same lot. Amended d) Outdoor advertising signs shall not exceed one sign every thousand 6/4/84 (1000) feet measured in a radius from the sign. e) All signs shall comply with the construction requirements of the North Carolina State Building Code. Trailer mounted signs do not meet these standards. Amended f) Signs identifying any non - residential use permitted by right or by 1/3/84 special use permit in a residential zone shall not exceed 16 square feet in area and shall be limited to one single or double -faced on- premise sign per street or road frontage. No sign shall exceed six (6) feet in height. Height of the sign shall be measured from the average finished ground level to the highest point of the sign. Measurement shall not be taken from the highest point of a mound or berm at the sign site. Amended g) No more than 3 signs totaling 9 square feet in area are permitted on 1/3/84 each residentially zoned lot in connection with elections and political campaigns. Such signs shall be removed within 7 days after the election or the conclusion of the campaigns. In cases of second or subsequent primaries, signs must be removed 7 days after the concluding election. Amended h) Within the Major Transportation Corridor (MTC) District the following 6/4/84 additional requirements shall apply: 1. Outdoor advertising signs shall not be permitted in the MTC district. 2. Permitted signs within the MTC district are limited to identification and incidental signs. 3. Within the MTC district the maximum area of any sign face shall not exceed seventy -tWtio (72) square feet. 9.13 Sign Survey Required and Compliance Deadlines Set The Zoning Officer shall make an inventory of all signs not meeting the requirements of this Article. This inventory, which shall include all land within the zoning jurisdiction of the County of Orange, shall contain the locationand a description of the sign and the name and address of the owner(s) of the lot on which each sign is located, as contained in the current tax roll. Additionally, for each sign, the Zoning Officer shall note the reasons for the determination that each sign falls under the provisions of this section. Upon completion of the inventory, the Zoning Officer shall notify by certified mail the owner(s) of the lot which each sign is located of the determination 9 -5 that such sign falls within the provisions of this section. Such notice shall also include a copy of this Article, and the name and official address of the Zoning Officer. (See Article II). Amended Upon determination from the sign inventory that a sign is non- conforming, 1/3/84 the following penalties are applicable: Within one year of the mailing of such notice of non - conformity, each sign which interferes with pedestrian or vehicular safety (Sec. 9.2) shall either be altered to bring such signs into compliance or be removed. Within five years of the mailing of such notice, all other signs not in compliance with other provisions of Article 9 shall either be altered to bring such sign into compliance or be removed. Any person violating this ordinance subsequent to the compliance period shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in G.S. 14-4. Section Two: That this ordinance shall be effective upon approval. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Orange County Commissioners that the proposed Text Amendments be approved. 2001. Upon motion of Commissioner , seconded by Commissioner the foregoing resolution was adopted this the day of , I, Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for the County of Orange, North Carolina, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true copy of so much of the proceedings of said Board at a meeting held on 2001 as relates in any way to the adoption of the foregoing and that said proceedings are recorded in Minute Book No. of the minutes of said Board. 2001. WITNESS my hand and the seal of said County, this day of , Clerk to Board of County Commissioners A -8 0013 9.11 PERMITTED SIGNS: SIZE, NUMBER, HEIGHT AND LOCATION OF p O Residential Commercial Industrial Districts Districts Districts ALL RB /AR/R1 OTHER LCA NC -2 CC -3 GC -4 EC -5 OI El 1 -1 1 -2 1 -3 AS ED 2 MAX NO. OF SIGNS 1 1 2 3 5 5 5 2 MAX NO. OF SIGNS IN MTC 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 200 TOTAL SQ. FT. FOR ALL 4 4 85 100 200 200 200 85 SIGNS 72 72 72 72 72 72 30 35 MAX SO. FT. SIZE 2 2 85 100 200 200 200 12 MAX SO. FT. SIZE IN MTC 2 2 72 72 72 72 72 X FOR ANY SIGN X YES YES YES YES X X YES MAX HEIGHT OF SIGN IN N/A N/A 30 35 40 40 40 1 FEET 1 1 1 X X X X X MAX HEIGHT IN MTC 6 6 12 12 12 12 12 25 EXPANSION ABOVE BLDG. X X X X 10 10 10 30 PARAPET IN FEET 30 = 30 30 30 X X X X PROJECTION FROM X X X X YES YES YES X BUILDING WALL N/A N/A N/A 1 1 WA N/A N/A ILLUMINATED SIGNS X X YES YES YES YES YES N/A ALLOWED* 200 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 25 25 POLE - MOUNTED SIGNS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 WA LOCATION OF SIGN IN X X X X X X X SETBACK FRONT DISTANCE FROM 1 1 1 15 10. 10 10 R/W FT. SIDEIREAR FROM 1 1 10 10 10 10 10 PROPERTY LINE SETBACK TO ADJACENT N/A N/A 20 30 30 30 30 RES. ZONE - OUTDOOR ADVERTISING IN X X X X X X X a MTC Z OUTDOOR ADVERTISING YES X X X X YES YES H OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 1 N/A N/A N/A WA 1 1 SIGNS NUMBER > SETBACK FROM RIGHT OF 660 N/A N/A N/A N/A 660 660 a WAY AREA IN SO. FEET 200 WA N/A N/A WA N/A N/A 0 ADJACENT TO US 70, ❑ NC 86, NC 57 HEIGHT IN FEET 25 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A O SPACING REQUIREMENT N/A N/A N/A WA N/A 1000' 1000' X — Not Allowed WA — Not Applicable 2 3 3 3 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 85 100 100 100 200 100 85 85 100 100 100 200 100 85 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 30 35 35 35 40 35 30 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 X 10 10 10 10 X X X YES YES YES YES X X YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 X X X X X X X 15 10 25 25 25 15 25 15 10 25 15 15 10 15 30 30 30 30 = 30 30 30 X X X X X X X X X X YES YES X X N/A N/A N/A 1 1 WA N/A N/A N/A N/A 660 660 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 200 200 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 25 25 N/A N/A N/A WA WA 1000' 1000' WA WA APPROVED 5/8/02 o ,eA0 -,Zocs _2' _ © c s:o` MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD JOINT PUBLIC HEARING FEBRUARY 25, 2002 JI—, G/ The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Planning Board met in joint session on Monday, February 25, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Nicole Gooding -Ray, Bob Strayhorn, Crauford Goodwin, Barry Katz, Ted Triebel, Rachel Preston, Howard McAdams and Hunter Schofield PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Maria Tad and Lynn Holtkamp NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. A. OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to add to the agenda a Closed Session "to consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney- client privilege between the attorney and the Board," pursuant to G.S. 143- 318.11(a)(3) in the case of Orange County versus Nuclear Regulatory Commission AND "to consider the qualifications, competence, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee" NCGS § 143- 318.11(a)(6). VOTE: UNANIMOUS B. PUBLIC CHARGE The Chair read the public charge. C. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS 1. Petitioner Initiated Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment Planning Director Craig Benedict said that this item is a text amendment to the zoning regulations in article 9, "Signs." The purpose was to receive public comment on a proposed change to the zoning ordinance, which would allow for larger signs for model homes to be unregulated. Presently, four square -foot signs for builders are unregulated. Petitioner Pierre Morin of Biltmore Homes LLC is a developer at Churton Grove and has asked that an amendment be made to the sign code to allow a 16 square -foot sign to be unregulated. The petitioner is also suggesting that there be 12 feet of associated ground landscaping used to adorn the base of the sign. The sign would limit information to the builder's name, phone number, hours the model is open for viewing, and an e-mail address. There is no fiscal impact associated with this decision. Staff is recommending denial of this request at this time because exempting a larger sign from the requirements, when other signs under 16 square feet are regulated (businesses, etc.), would set a bad precedent. The staff believes that a four square foot model sign that i is permitted by the code is adequate representation for the information needed to be conveyed to the public. The administration recommends that the proposed amendment be referred to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than May 21, 2002. Public Comment Pierre Morin, the petitioner, said that he was one of four builders in Churton Grove subdivision. He said that it was a little difficult to compete without showing new homebuyers the differences in each of their products. He said that a 2'x2' sign was not sufficient because most homebuyers would see the first house and assume that it was the only builder in the subdivision. He said that 16 square feet might be larger, but it is not as large as the Parade of Homes signs, which are 36'x36'. He said that he was just showing to new homebuyers their product as compared to other builders' products. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to refer the proposed amendment to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than May 21, 21002. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. Orange County Hazard Mitigation Plan Craig Benedict said that this item is in response to new legislation that was put into effect in June 2001, also known as Senate Bill 300. It was an act to amend the laws regarding emergency management as recognized by the legislation because of some of the recent disasters in North Carolina such as flooding. In response to the legislative act, there was a strong suggestion that any local government that would like to be in line for assistance in case of future natural disasters should put together a hazard mitigation plan. If local governments are interested in assistance funds, it is a requirement that they adopt a plan prior to August of this year. The purpose of this item is to explain what a hazard mitigation plan includes. There was a PowerPoint presentation. Orange County worked with Greensboro and the Emergency Management Division of North Carolina to develop this plan. The goal is to make residences and businesses less vulnerable to impacts and have a coordinated approach through discussion between local governments. 'Hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, and snowstorms are some of the disasters that have hit North Carolina in the past few years. Another part of the mitigation strategy is to identify the junkyards and automobile establishments that are in the way of flooding because oil and other liquids from the cars can get caught up in the flooding and cause further damage downstream. Part of the requirement in the Senate bill is that the plan should be very strong in the Planning aspect. Emergency Management is an up front participant, but the state wanted the focus to be on planning to prevent structures from going into the floodplain or being placed in hazardous areas. EMS typically comes in the reactive stage so the state wants planning to be proactive to guide this in the areas of building, planning and erosion control. There has been some development along floodplains in the past, and this needs to be identified. This draft plan will be transmitted to the state for comment. The comments will come back and the final plan can be submitted. Part of the requirement of the plan is to do training with the community. Commissioner Brown asked if there were any counties in the east that were not participating. Craig Benedict said that about 90% of the counties in the east were participating. There are a few counties in the coastal areas that have not put it together. Some communities do not have the ability, between their existing departments or staff, to put it together. The proposed action for this meeting is that we continue getting input from the local governments in preparing the plan and bring back a transmittal version of the hazard mitigation plan to the County Commissioners prior to June 1s'. The state will send back their comments in order for the County to send the plan back to the state by August 1s`. There is no financial impact at this time.