§ 18-601. Standards.
(a)
Off-premise signs shall be permitted only on parcels abutting Interstate Highway 35, and when such sign is located within six hundred sixty (660) feet from the centerline of Interstate Highway 35. All such signs must be oriented towards such trafficway, and can be located only in C-2 and I-2 zones.
(b)
Off-premise signs shall meet the front setback requirements of the zoning, subdivision and "scenic highway" ordinances of the City. Signs must be set back at least twenty-five (25) feet from the street right-of-way. Side and rear yard setbacks shall not be less than fifty (50) feet.
(c)
General standards applying to all off-premise signs [are as follows]:
(1)
Off-premise signs shall not be established on any property owned or used by churches, schools, and any municipal, county, state or federal facilities nor on any property within three hundred (300) feet of the perimeter of such public or quasi-public property.
(2)
All off-premise signs shall be maintained in good and safe structural condition. The painted portions shall be periodically repainted and kept in good condition.
(3)
The general area of the vicinity of any off-premise signs must be kept free and clear of sign materials, weeds, debris, trash and other refuse.
(4)
No off-premise sign shall be constructed with more than two (2) upright supports.
(5)
No off-premise sign shall be erected within one hundred (100) feet of a residence or within fifty (50) feet of a residential zone.
(6)
Flashing, intermittent or moving light or lights are prohibited except for time, temperature and date signs, and electronic digital signs as regulated by this chapter.
(7)
An off-premise sign shall not be illuminated so that it interferes with the effectiveness or obscures an official traffic sign, device or signal; neither shall it be permitted to have beams or rays directed at any portion of the traveled ways and be of such intensity or brilliance to cause glare or impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle or which otherwise interferes with any driver's operation of a motor vehicle.
(8)
Off-premise signs shall not be permitted on a lot that already has a total of two hundred (200) square feet of on-premise ground sign face, facing one (1) direction of travel.
(9)
Setback regulations for off-premise signs if erected within seventy-five (75) feet of a building are:
a.
No part of any off-premise sign structure shall be closer to any street right-of-way than the front line of the nearest building within seventy-five (75) feet.
b.
When an off-premise sign is erected between two (2) buildings each of which is within seventy-five (75) feet of the structure, no part of said structure shall be erected closer to any street right-of-way than a straight line drawn between the nearest front corners of the two (2) buildings.
(10)
Off-premise signs less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet shall not be higher than fourteen (14) feet including supports. (Ordinance No. O-9495-40—March 14, 1995)
(11)
No such sign shall be erected closer than one thousand (1,000) feet to another off-premises sign. The one thousand (1,000) feet shall be measured in a straight line from the center of an off-premises advertising sign's structure, as located on the ground, to the center of any other off-premises advertising sign's structure, as located on the ground.
(12)
Off-premise signs shall not be placed side by side or in a vertical position with one (1) structure atop the other. (Ord. No. O-9495-40—March 14, 1995)
(13)
No off-premise sign abutting such trafficway shall have more than six hundred seventy-two (672) square feet of sign face, facing one (1) direction of travel, excluding space extensions which shall not total more than one hundred sixty (160) square feet facing one (1) direction of travel. Any trim around the outside of the sign face shall be included in the sign face square footage measurements. The base, structural members or supports and apron shall be excluded from these measurements. No such sign shall be more than sixty (60) feet in horizontal distance.
(14)
The maximum size limitations shall apply to each facing of a sign structure, and signs may be placed back-to-back or in V-type construction. Each display area shall have no more than two (2) component parts.
(15)
No off-premise sign on such trafficway shall be erected to a height of more than thirty-five (35) feet. The exception to this would be in the case of an elevated highway roadbed. In this event, the allowable height shall be no more than twenty (20) feet above the roadbed at the edge of the pavement or thirty-five (35) feet, whichever is greater. (Ord. No. O-9495-40—March 14, 1995)
(d)
In addition to all of the requirements for off-premise signs enumerated above, off-premise signs which utilize electronic digital technology shall also comply with the following provisions:
(1)
Digital outdoor advertising signs shall only display a static message or messages. There shall be no effects of movement, blinking, animation, scrolling, flashing, or similar effects in the individual images.
(2)
Digital outdoor advertising signs which display more than one (1) static message shall do so sequentially, with each static message having a dwell time of no less than eight (8) seconds and a transition time between static messages of no more than one (1) second. Changes of image shall be instantaneous as seen by the human eye, and shall not use blinking, fading, rolling, shading, dissolving, or similar effects as part of the change.
(3)
Digital outdoor advertising signs shall not display an illuminative brightness exceeding three hundred (300) NITs at any time between one-half (½) hour before sunset, as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, for this specific geographic location and date, until sunrise or five thousand (5,000) NITs between sunrise until one-half (½) hour before sunset. The nighttime level may be increased to five hundred (500) NITS when the sign's location abuts other commercial or industrial property on the same side of the Interstate that is developed and brightly illuminated. The sign may not exceed five thousand (5,000) NITs between sunrise and one-half (½) hour before sunset.
(4)
Digital outdoor advertising signs shall not display an illuminative brightness of such intensity or brilliance that they impair the vision or endanger the safety and welfare of any cyclist or person operating a motor vehicle.
(5)
Digital outdoor advertising signs shall not resemble or simulate any warning or danger signal, or any official traffic control device, sign, signal, or light.
(6)
All digital outdoor advertising signs shall have installed ambient light monitors or photo cells, and shall at all times allow such devices to automatically adjust the brightness level of the sign based on ambient light conditions. Each sign shall be equipped with a default mechanism that will automatically freeze the sign in one (1) position or display a static message if a malfunction occurs.
(7)
Digital outdoor advertising signs shall not display consecutive messages facing the same traveled way, which constitute a substantially similar theme or story and is a continuation of any immediately preceding message, thereby creating a storyboarding effect when viewed by the person operating a motor vehicle. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall prohibit the display of identical consecutive messages.
(8)
Any existing outdoor advertising sign that conforms to the requirements of this code and is currently registered with the City of Norman may be converted to a digital outdoor advertising sign.
(9)
A new or converted electronic digital sign shall be located no closer than two hundred (200) feet from the closest point of any residential zoning district, measured in a straight line from the center of the sign structure to the nearest point of the residential zoning district, measured in a straight line from the center of the sign structure to the nearest point of the residential zoning district, and in no event shall the digital side of the sign face toward the residential area.
(10)
A new digital outdoor advertising sign can be erected at any site that complies with all of the current requirements for off-premise signs and the conditions of this section.
(e)
Off-premise signs in areas zoned C-2 and I-2 and abutting the right-of-way of such trafficway classified by the City's major streets and highways plan as a "controlled access arterial highway" shall meet the following conditions:
(1)
Shall be allowed only within six hundred sixty (660) feet from the edge of the right-of-way of such trafficway and shall be oriented towards such trafficway.
(2)
No off-premise sign abutting such trafficway shall have more than six hundred seventy-two (672) square feet of sign face, facing one (1) direction of travel, excluding space extensions which shall not total more than one hundred sixty (160) square feet facing one (1) direction of travel. Any trim around the outside of the sign face shall be included in the sign face square footage measurements. The base, structural members or supports and apron shall be excluded from these measurements.
(3)
The maximum size limitations shall apply to each facing of a sign structure, and signs may be placed back-to-back or in V-type construction. Each display area shall have no more than two (2) component parts.
(4)
There shall not be more than four (4) off-premise signs in excess of six hundred (600) square feet facing one (1) direction of travel erected in any one (1) designated mile of such trafficway.
(5)
No off-premise sign on such trafficway shall be erected to a height of more than thirty-five (35) feet. The exception to this would be in the case of an elevated highway roadbed. In this event, the allowable height shall be no more than twenty (20) feet above the roadbed at the edge of the pavement or thirty-five (35) feet, whichever is greater.
(6)
No such structure shall be placed in a vertical position with one (1) structure atop another.
(7)
No such sign shall be more than sixty (60) feet in horizontal distance.
(f)
Off-premise signs in C-2 and I-2 zones along scenic highways (Highway 9) and any future trafficway designated as a "scenic highway" in the City shall be in accordance with section 18-410 and section 18-601 (d) of this chapter.
(g)
In areas zoned C-2 and I-2, and abutting the right-of-way of major arterials, off-premise signs shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
No such sign shall exceed three hundred (300) square feet.
(2)
No such sign shall be located within twenty-five (25) feet of any street right-of-way.
(3)
No such sign shall exceed more than twenty-five (25) feet in height, including supports, at the twenty-five-foot setback line, except that for every foot such sign is set back it may have one (1) foot additional height up to thirty-five (35) feet maximum.
(4)
There shall be no more than three (3) off-premise sign structures in excess of one hundred fifty (150) square feet located on the same side of the street and along the same street frontage in any one (1) designated mile.
(Ord. No. 0-9192-37; Ord. No. 0-9495-40; Ord. No. 0-0102-25; Ord. No. 0-1112-32, § 3)