HomeMy WebLinkAbout16244• • M
ORDINANCE NO. 16,244
1
2 AN ORDINANCE REGULATING OFF - PREMISE OUTDOOR
3 ADVERTISING IN THE CITY, AMENDING LITTLE ROCK,
4 ARK. ORDINANCE NO. 16,181 (FEBRUARY 18, 1992)
5 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER
6 PURPOSES.
7
8 WHEREAS, on February 18, 1992, the Little Rock Board of
9 Directors passed Little Rock, Ark. ordinance No. 16,181 which
10 amended former sign code provisions; and
11 WHEREAS, following passage of the ordinance and objections
12 of the sign industry relating to the prohibitions contained in
13 said ordinance, the Board appointed a Billboard Task Force
14 composed of two Board members, representatives of the sign
15 industry and the community, to develop recommendations to settle
16 the longstanding dispute over billboard regulation in the City;
17 and
18 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City to eventually remove
19 billboards from the scenic corridors designated under this
20 ordinance and any amendments hereto; this goal provides a
21 justification for higher off - premise sign permit fees for
22 billboards on the scenic corridors; and
23 WHEREAS, off - premise sign permit fees shall be placed into
24 the fund established by Little Rock, Ark. Resolution No. 6,973
25 (April 5, 1983) for the purpose of paying just compensation to
26 sign owners and site owners for the removal of billboards on the
27 scenic corridors; and
28 WHEREAS, billboard owners are encouraged to implement
29 landscaping on billboard sites where appropriate; and
30 WHEREAS, the provisions of this ordinance advance the
31 recommendations agreed upon by the Billboard Task Force; and
32 WHEREAS, the City's restriction of billboard construction
33 is an implementation of state authority to regulate the height,
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size, spacing and setback of structures and is immune from
federal antitrust liability as noted in Columbia v. Omni Outdoor
Advertising, Inc., 111 S.Ct. 1334 (1991).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
SECTION 1. That Section 1 of Little Rock, Ark., Ordinance
No. 16,181 (February 18, 1992) ( "LRO") is hereby amended to add
the following definitions:
Billboard means off - premise sign.
Billboard site means one sign structure regardless of the
number of faces. A location containing multiple billboards not
exceeding fifteen feet (151) in distance between the closest
point of the billboards is one billboard site.
Painted bulletin means a billboard containing up to 800
square feet in sign area.
Poster panel means a billboard containing up to 300 square
feet of sign area.
Scenic corridor means a public right -of -way which, in the
opinion of the Board of Directors, exhibits special aesthetic
and visual characteristics worthy of protection through enhanced
billboard regulation.
SECTION 2. That Section 3(e) of LRO No. 16,181 is hereby
amended to read as follows:
(e) All applications for permits filed with the
administrator shall be accompanied by a payment of the initial
permit fee for each sign according to the following schedule.
All signs shall be permitted and tagged for which a fee shall be
paid in accordance with the permit schedule set out below:
Off - premise signs on scenic corridors....
Painted bulletin ..................... $1,125.00
Poster panel ......................... 675.00
Off - premise signs outside scenic corridors
Painted bulletin ..................... 500.00
Poster panel ......................... 300.00
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All on-premise signs as follows:
Ground - mounted signs .................
40.00
Projecting...........................
35.00
Wall signs (including marquee
andmansard ) .........................
30.00
Specialevent ........................
10.00
Alteration fees: (based on cost of alteration
as percentage of replacement.cost)
Off - premise signs ...................
No fee
Ground - mounted signs:
Up to 25% .......................
$10.00
25% to 50 % .......................
20.00
50% to 75 % .......................
30.00
Over 75 % .........................
40.00
Projecting signs:
Up to 250 ........................
15.00
25% to 75 % .......................
25.00
Over 75 % .........................
35.00
Wall signs (marquee and mansard signs
included):
Up to 75 % ........................
20.00
Over 75 % ........................
30.00
SECTION 3. That Sections 4(a) and 4(d) of
LRO No. 16,181
are hereby amended to read as follows:
(a) Existing signs as of the effective
date of this
ordinance which do not conform to the specific provisions of the
chapter may be eligible for the designation
"nonconforming"
provided that the signs have a valid city permit
or variance and
the signs comply with all applicable laws.
(d) Nonconforming signs in existence on the
effective date
of this ordinance shall be allowed to remain
subject to the
provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 4. That Section 3(i) of LRO No. 16,181
is hereby
amended to read as follows:
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(i) All off - premise sign permits which were valid on the
1 effective date of this ordinance are hereby revoked. The fees
2 paid for such permits shall be prorated, rounded to the nearest
3 ten dollars ($10) and applied toward the new permit fees. Each
4 billboard site shall require one off - premise sign permit.
5 Notwithstanding any other provision for the application and
6 issuance of permits, owners of all existing billboards shall
7 obtain a new permit for each billboard within sixty (60) days of
8 the passage of this ordinance. Billboard permits shall be issued
9 for a period of five (5) years. Billboard owners shall renew
10 their permits prior to September 30th of the fifth year without
11 further notice from the city. The renewal fee shall be the same
12 amount as the initial permit fee. The sign owner shall submit to
13 the administrator any changes in the information contained in
14 the original permit. Any sign not permitted by the due date
15 shall be classified as abandoned. Such signs are illegal and
16 shall be removed by the sign owner at his expense.
17 SECTION 5. That Section 6 of LRO No. 16,181 is hereby
18 deleted in its entirety and the following language shall be
19 inserted to read as follows:
20 Sec. 36 -556. off- premise signs.
21 (a) Billboards shall only be allowed in C -3 and C -4
22 commercial zones, and I -2 and I -3 industrial zones, provided the
23 sign meets the following criteria:
24 (1) No portion of the billboard shall encroach within
25 the following setback from the public right -of -way:
26 C -3 zone -- 25 feet; C -4 zone -- 45 feet; I -2 and
27 I -3 zones -- 50 feet.
28 (2) The billboard shall not exceed the following
29 maximum height: C -3 and C -4 zones -- 35 feet; I -2
30 and I -3 zones -- 45 feet. Height shall be measured
31 from the elevation of the centerline of the adjacent
32 traffic lanes to the highest point of the billboard.
33 (3) The billboard site shall be located within six
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- - - - -
hundred sixty feet (6601) of an expressway or freeway
1 or within three hundred feet (3001) of any arterial
2 designated by the master street plan.
3 (4) No billboard site shall be located less than one
4 thousand feet (1,0001) from another billboard site.
5 The separation requirement shall be measured along the
6 nearest edge of pavement between points directly
7 opposite the signs, provided that only on streets
8 separated by a median, each side of the street shall
9 be considered separately for distance purposes.
10 (5) No billboard shall be animated.
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(b) I -430, I -630, I -440, Highway 10, Rebsamen Park Road
12 and Chenal Parkway from Kanis Road to Ark. State Highway 300 are
13 designated as scenic corridors for purposes of this ordinance.
14 No billboard may be altered or erected within six hundred sixty
15 feet (6601) of the nearest edge of the right -of -way of the
16 scenic corridors.
17 (c) Except as set forth in subsections (d) and (g) herein,
18 no new permits shall be issued for billboard sites exceeding the
19 number of billboard sites in existence in the city on the
20 effective date of this ordinance. Existing billboard sites shall
21 be permitted within sixty (60) days as required by this
22 ordinance.
23 (d) The number of billboard sites allowed to be permitted
24 in areas annexed into the city after the effective date of this
25 ordinance shall be determined by computing a cap ratio based on
26 the existing number of billboard sites (198) divided by the
27 total square miles of the existing city limits (106.7). The
28 current cap ratio is 1.86 billboard sites per square mile. The
29 cap ratio shall be adjusted to account for billboard sites in
30 annexed areas and new billboard sites may be permitted in the
31 annexed areas to maintain, but not to exceed the cap ratio.
32 (e) Owners of existing billboards in areas annexed to the
33 city after the effective date of this ordinance shall obtain an
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off - premise sign permit from the city within sixty (60) days of
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the date of annexation.
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(f)
Billboard alteration:
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(1) No alteration of billboards shall be allowed on
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the scenic corridors.
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(2) Billboards may be altered outside of the scenic
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corridors on an existing site if the site is located
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in the proper zone and the alteration will cause the
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billboard site to comply with the height, setback,
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size and zoning requirements of this ordinance. No
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alteration fee shall be required of on -site
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alterations, however, an alteration permit shall be
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obtained.
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(3) A new off - premise sign permit shall be obtained in
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order to move a billboard from one site to another
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site, provided the relocation conforms to all of the
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requirements of this chapter. No pro rata refund of
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the off - premise sign permit is available if the
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billboard is moved to another location.
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(g)
Billboard sites may be exchanged under the following
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criteria,
provided the new site conforms to the requirements of
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this chapter:
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A.
Outside scenic corridors:
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1.
A billboard site may be exchanged for another
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billboard site to erect the same type and size of
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sign.
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2.
One painted bulletin billboard site may be permitted
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in exchange for the permanent removal of three poster
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panel sites, with a corresponding decrease in the cap
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ratio.
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B_
On scenic corridors:
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1.
One painted bulletin billboard site may be permitted
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outside the scenic corridors in exchange for the
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permanent removal of one poster panel billboard site
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from a scenic corridor.
2. Two painted bulletin billboard sites may be erected
outside of the scenic corridors in exchange for the
permanent removal of one painted bulletin billboard
site from a scenic corridor, with a corresponding
increase in the cap ratio.
SECTION 6. Emergency Clause. The provisions of this
ordinance amending sign regulations are deemed to change and to
clarify existing provisions. The erection and alteration of
signs in violation of this chapter are activities deemed to be
detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of
the City. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this
ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its
passage in order to provide sign owners and city administrative
personnel clear and immediate guidelines as to the scope and
applicability of these provisions.
PASSED: July 7, 1992
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CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO
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