§ 714.04. General regulations.
All signs shall be located on private property and shall abide by those regulations that pertain to each class of signs. The permit number shall be permanently affixed to each permitted sign. In all cases sign regulations shall be applied on a parcel level basis. If several buildings or tenants are located upon the same parcel, the allocation of sign space for multiple uses shall be controlled by the property owner provided that the total number of signs (and the sum of the areas) shall not exceed that permitted for the parcel as a whole. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall not grant and does not have the authority to grant a variance that allows for any new pylon signs or changes in the shape, size, location, or design of existing pylon signs. Materials, colors, and shapes of the proposed sign structure shall be compatible with the principal buildings. Staff shall review the style and architectural design of each sign structure in order to insure that it is compatible with the materials and colors of its principal structure.
A.
Projecting Signs. Are permitted in nonresidential districts and shall be securely fastened by metal supports to the building surface and meet all applicable building codes while maintaining a clear height of 8 feet above the ground level. No projecting sign may extend above the parapet wall. Permissible sign area shall be calculated the same as wall signage and shall be considered inclusive of the total wall sign area allowance for the building.
B.
Wall Signs. Are permitted in nonresidential districts and shall be securely fastened to the building surface meeting all applicable building codes. Walls signs may project from the building face a maximum of 18 inches from the building provided that, if they project more than 4 inches from the building surface, they shall maintain a clear height of 8 feet above the ground level. No wall sign may extend above the parapet wall. Wall signs on building faces that abut public roadways or designated access drives to planned centers are restricted to covering no more than 15% of the wall face. The maximum sign area for walls not directly facing a public roadway or designated access drive to a planned center is limited to covering no more than 5% of the wall face on which the sign is attached. The total permissible sign area for a single business may be incorporated within wall, canopy, under canopy, projecting or window signage provided that in aggregate, the total sign area does not exceed the 15% limit.
C.
Canopy Signs. Are permitted in nonresidential districts and shall be securely fastened by metal supports to the building surface and meet all applicable building codes. Canopy signs may not extend above the parapet wall and shall maintain a clear height of 8 feet above the ground level. Permissible sign area shall be calculated the same as wall signage and shall be considered inclusive of the total wall sign area allowance for the building.
D.
Under Canopy Signs. May be no larger than 6 square feet and must be no less than 8 feet above the ground at the lowest extremity of the sign and attached to the supporting structure at no less than 2 points. Permissible sign area shall be considered inclusive of the total wall sign area allowance for the building.
E.
Window signs. Are permitted in nonresidential districts subject to those standards, which apply to wall signs. Permissible sign area shall be calculated the same as wall signage and shall be considered inclusive of the total wall sign area allowance for the building. No more than 50% of the windows of a business shall be used to display window signs and the signage in a single window shall not account for more than 50% of a window face.
F.
Freestanding Signs. Are permitted in all zoning districts, except in those designated as single-family residential, unless specifically allowed under other sections of this division.
1.
All new detached signs must be either monument or nostalgic signs. Pylon signs are not allowed. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall not issue and is not granted the authority to issue variances to allow any new pylon signs or changes in the shape, size, location, or design of existing pylon signs.
2.
For each property line that abuts public right-of-way for a distance of at least 75 feet, 1 freestanding sign is permitted provided the sign area is located at least 5 feet from any property line. The Public Works Director or his/her designee may require additional setback distances based upon site conditions for traffic safety. In the case of corner lots, a single sign with up to 4 sides may be erected in lieu of 2 or more separate signs. In no case shall a property contain multiple detached signs along the same road frontage, unless specifically allowed.
3.
The maximum allowable height and sign area of detached signs shall be determined in accordance with the type of roadway along which the sign is to be located to account for varying travel speeds, sight distances and commercial conditions (see Table H). In no case shall the area of a message board exceed 50% of the allowable sign face.
TABLE H. MAXIMUM HEIGHT AND SIGN AREA FOR DETACHED SIGNS
Use Roadway* Maximum Sign Height (ft.) Maximum Sign Face (sq. ft.)** Monument Style Commercial Arterial 15 90 Tier A*** 8 60 Collector/Industrial 10 50 Local 8 30 Multi-family Arterial 10 60 Collector 8 40 Local 6 24 Nostalgic Style
Local 6 12 Collector/Arterial 8 20 *As defined on the Official Thoroughfare Map of the City.
**Sign structures are limited to 100% of the allowable sign face.
***As defined on the Official Zoning Map of the City.
The numerical address of the property must be included on the sign, and must be clearly visible and legible from the street on which the property fronts. Numbers should be no less than 6 inches high and shall not be considered signage, nor shall they be included in the calculation of sign size.
4.
Digital signs. Digital Signs may be used in accordance with the following provisions, provided that billboard signs shall not be converted to digital except in accordance with the provisions of Section 714.04G. The following shall apply to all digital signs:
a.
Digital signs are prohibited in residential zones and within 200 feet of any residential property line. However digital signs shall be allowed in residential zones for places of assembly that have been granted a Special Land Use Permit by the Marietta City Council provided the digital sign is located beyond 200 feet of any residential property line.
b.
Digital signs shall only be used in conforming, freestanding monument signs and shall not be allowed as canopy, wall, or awning signs as defined in this ordinance, except as otherwise provided in this division.
c.
Digital signs shall not exceed 50% of the total sign face and must be located below the static copy area.
d.
Digital signs shall contain static messages only and shall not have movement nor flashing on any part of the sign structure, design, or pictorial segment of the sign, nor shall such sign have varying light intensity during the display of any single message. Transitions between messages shall not use frame effects or other methods which result in movement of a displayed image during such transition.
e.
Each individual static message must be displayed for a minimum of 20 seconds.
f.
Digital signs are prohibited from projecting beams or rays of light of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle or obscure or interfere with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, device, or signal.
g.
Each sign must have a light sensing device that will adjust the brightness of the display as the natural ambient light conditions change.
h.
Digital signs may not operate at brightness levels of more than 0.20 foot candles above ambient light levels (at measurement conditions) as measured at a distance of 125 feet.
i.
The owner of said electronic sign shall provide to the City of Marietta, information for a 24 hour contact able to turn off the digital sign promptly if a malfunction occurs. If, at any time more than 50% of the digital display lights malfunction or are no longer working, the owner of said digital sign shall turn off the display until repairs are made.
j.
City of Marietta staff may request a certification of the brightness (under measurement conditions) by an independent contractor (if such has not been certified within the preceding 12 months). If this investigation and certification indicates that the digital sign exceeds the brightness levels specified in this division, the owner of the sign, within 24 hours of a request by the staff of the City of Marietta, shall turn off the sign until the brightness of the sign is corrected to comply with this division at owner's expense.
k.
No digital sign shall utilize, house or contain any interactive features or components, or function as an interactive sign.
l.
No digital sign shall extend beyond the width of the sign structure.
G.
Billboards. All billboards are subject to the following restrictions regarding their location and permitting. No billboard lawfully in existence on December 11, 2013 shall be altered or moved unless it is made to comply with the provisions of this division. Billboards are not allowed outside of the area within 100 feet of the right-of-way of Interstate 75.
1.
Billboards shall also be regulated as a principal use and are required to meet all dimensional standards of the applicable zoning district. All distances shall be measured to the nearest point of the sign. The applicant is required to file an exemption plat through the City of Marietta with the Cobb County Superior Court to designate the area on the property that is to be used for the purpose of the general advertising or off-premises sign billboard.
2.
No billboard shall be placed within 500 feet of a residential zoning district, church, school, park, public building or cemetery on the same side of Interstate 75 that the billboard is to be located on.
3.
No billboard shall contain a sign area in excess of 672 square feet.
4.
No billboard shall contain more than 2 faces; nor shall any multi-message billboard be allowed, including signs that contain tri-vision panels or other changeable faces, electronic message boards, LCD, LED or plasma panels or screens, or any similar electronic signage devices or technology, unless as strictly regulated in this Section 714.04G.
5.
No billboard shall be located within a 1,000-foot radius of another billboard.
6.
No billboard may exceed 70 feet in height along an interstate as measured from the established road grade at the nearest point of the aforementioned road.
7.
When it can be demonstrated that a reduction of the required setback for a billboard is necessary in order to preserve trees along interstate right-of-way, the Director of the Department of Development Services may administratively reduce the setback by up to 50 percent. In order to ensure that no trees will be cut in locating or erecting such outdoor advertising signs, the applicant and/or landowner must provide a survey to identify those trees to be preserved. Failure to preserve any trees so identified shall be considered a violation of this article. In addition, GDOT approval must be obtained by the applicant.
8.
No billboard shall be located or erected on a substandard lot. In addition, billboards shall meet all other zoning district regulations, including required setbacks and lot widths. Support structures shall meet the setback requirement; however sign faces may extend 25% into any required setback. All distances shall be measured to the nearest point of the sign.
9.
No billboard shall be located or erected on a lot upon which a building is located if such lot or the building thereon has any sign located thereon.
10.
No billboard may be located closer to a permanent structure than a distance that is equal to or greater than the height of the sign.
11.
Billboards shall be permitted in LI, HI, CRC, RRC, PCD, and OHR zoning districts. Billboards are prohibited in all other zoning districts.
12.
Billboards shall not be permitted within any right-of-way or easement provided for a railroad.
13.
Digital billboards:
a.
Purpose Statement for Digital Billboards: In addition to the other standards listed in the Purpose Statement of the Sign Ordinance (Section 714.01 Purpose) the Mayor and City Council find that the proliferation in number, size and manner of outdoor advertising unreasonably distracts motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians and promotes confusion with regard to traffic lights, signs, or signals or other interference with the effectiveness of traffic regulations and is therefore hazardous to roadway users; that the inadequately controlled proliferation of billboards visible from highways endangers the uniqueness of our City and our community and our scenic beauty; that tourism and trade from both resident and nonresident roadway users is an essential part of our economy; that tourist-oriented directional signs and logo signs erected pursuant to authority of the Georgia Department of Transportation offer businesses cost-effective means of announcing their presence to the highway users without harm to the City of Marietta's scenic beauty.
1.
The erection and maintenance of new billboards should be strictly limited in areas adjacent to Interstate 75, and are prohibited in all other areas in order to protect the public investment in such roadways, preserve the City's scenic beauty and distinctiveness, and promote the general health and welfare of the public.
2.
The Mayor and City Council find that the vast majority of billboards within the City of Marietta are legal non-conforming uses, and consistent with the provisions of Division 706 Non-Conforming Uses and Section 714.06C: Nonconforming Signs, it is the desire of the City of Marietta that such non-conforming uses be reduced over time. Despite this intent, the number of legal non-conforming signs has not been materially reduced in a significant fashion.
3.
This division is adopted based upon concerns for the distractions that digital billboards can cause. However, the Mayor and City Council find that the modification of a limited number of existing static billboards to digital signs, in exchange for a reduction in the overall number of billboards achieves a net improvement in public safety and character.
b.
Digital panel replacement for existing billboards within 100 feet of the right-of-way of Interstate 75 or U.S. Highway 41 shall be permitted provided applicants meet the following requirements:
1.
An existing billboard panel may be replaced with a digital panel if no less than 4 existing billboard panels are removed in their entirety. An existing panel that is to be retrofitted with a digital panel(s) shall not count toward the aforementioned panel to be removed.
2.
This removal must include the complete removal of the structure to the foundation supporting each sign face. The applicant must also agree that the sign will be removed voluntarily and that no right to compensation exists for the removed sign under any law. The applicant shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City from any legal actions taken by the property owner of existing sites in the implementation of this division. If the removed sign structure is one for which a state permit is required by state law, the applicant must surrender its permit to the state upon removal of the sign.
3.
Multiple sign structures may be removed and counted for exchange if the sum of their sign panels is equal to or greater than 2,400 square feet.
4.
If the applicant complies with the permit requirements noted above, the city will issue a billboard permit for the designated billboard. A building permit shall only be issued once all the required sign structures are removed. Except for the replacement of the sign face with the digital panel, and any associated structural improvements necessary and approved by the City of Marietta, the retrofitted legal non-conforming sign shall not be, moved, increased in size or height, or otherwise modified in contravention of this division. This permit will allow a digital display to occupy 100 percent of the potential copy and graphic area. The designated sign must:
i.
Not be greater than 672 square feet;
ii.
Not be located within 500 feet of a residential zoning district if located on U.S. Highway 41 or within 500 feet of a residential zoning district on the same side of Interstate 75 that the billboard is located;
iii.
Not be more than 70 feet in height as measured at the nearest road grade if permitted along I-75, nor more than 35 feet in height as measured at the nearest road grade if permitted along U.S. 41;
iv.
Be in full compliance with the Sign Ordinance Sections 714.02, 714.06, 714.07, 714.09 and meet all other requirements of Sections 12, 13 and 14 of this division.
5.
Only billboard structures lawfully in existence on December 11, 2013 are eligible to contain digital panels, except as allowed under paragraph 15 of this section.
6.
Unless approved otherwise by City Council, billboards removed as part of another government agreement, including right-of-way condemnation and/or a zoning condition, shall not count toward the removal threshold for this exchange program.
14.
A digital billboard shall:
a.
Contain static messages only, and shall not have movement, scrolling, fading or flashing on any part of the sign structure, design, or pictorial segment of the sign, nor shall such sign have varying light intensity during the display of any single message.
b.
Every line of copy and graphics in a digital display must be at least 15 inches in height. If there is insufficient room for copy and graphics of this size in the maximum allowable sign area, then no digital display is allowed.
c.
Digital billboards may not operate at brightness levels of more than 0.20 foot candles above ambient light levels as measured at the following distances:
Sign
(sq. feet)Distance
(feet)< 300 150 301—400 200 401—672 250 d.
The owner of said digital billboard shall arrange for an annual certification of the brightness showing compliance by an independent contractor and provide said certification to the City of Marietta.
e.
Each digital billboard must have a light sensing device that will adjust the brightness of the display as the natural ambient light conditions change.
f.
No digital billboard shall be located within 5,000 feet of another digital billboard on the same side of the road.
g.
The owner of said digital billboard may coordinate with the local authorities to display, when appropriate, emergency information important to the traveling public including, but not limited to Amber Alerts or alerts concerning emergency management information.
h.
The owner of said digital billboard shall provide to the City of Marietta information for a 24-hour contact able to turn off the electronic sign promptly after a malfunction occurs. If, at any time more than 50% of the digital display lights malfunction or are no longer working, the owner of said digital billboard shall make repairs to the sign within 60 days or the sign will require removal.
i.
If the staff of the City of Marietta finds that the digital billboard exceeds the brightness specified in paragraph C. above, the owner of the sign, within 24 hours of a request by the staff of the City of Marietta, shall reduce the intensity of the sign to be in compliance with this division and provide said certification.
j.
Each sign must comply with all Georgia Department of Transportation rules and regulations applicable to electronic changeable message signs, where not in conflict with this division.
k.
A digital billboard existing on December 11, 2013 must comply with the operational standards listed above.
15.
Unless allowed as part of an exchange agreement, new billboard structures located within 100 feet of the right-of-way of Interstate 75 may contain electronic message boards, LCD, LED or plasma panels or screens, or any similar electronic signage devices or technology, provided that such electronic sign face shall be limited to 672 square feet and the designated sign must meet all other requirements of this division.
16.
All variance requests seeking relief from these standards must be made to City Council. Application shall be made through the Department of Development Services.
(Ord. No. 7867, 1/13/2016, § 1)