§ 24-1. Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to establish clear and unambiguous regulations pertaining to signs in the city and the city's municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction, as allowed by V.T.C.A. Local Government Code, § 216.902, to promote thereby an attractive community, foster traffic safety, and enhance the effective communication and exchange of ideas and commercial information. The city council hereby finds the following legislative facts:

(1)

The proliferation of signs creates commercial confusion and makes it difficult for travelers and motorists to locate the goods and services they seek.

(2)

The increasing height of signs within the city is an endless battle for a higher and more visible sign, and a reasonable limitation on the height of signs is necessary to prevent visual pollution, potential windstorm damage, injury or death.

(3)

Excessive height in signs creates clutter and is unsightly and offensive to the members of this council and many, if not most, of the citizens in the city. The establishment of a reasonable maximum height for signs will allow effective communication, prevent altitude competition, and will not penalize smaller business concerns which may not be able to compete for aerial superiority.

(4)

Reasonable provisions pertaining to size, scale, location, design, lighting, permanency, and maintenance are necessary to avoid visual clutter, preserve and improve the appearance and character of the community, to avoid traffic problems caused by distracting signs or structures in close proximity to streets, which complete with traffic signs and signals for the attention of motorists, and to prevent deterioration, disregard, and abandonment of signs or structures.

This section will complement the provisions of the Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1972.

The council recognizes that signs are necessary for visual communication for public convenience, and that businesses and other activities have the right to identify themselves by using signs that are incidental to the use on the premises where the signs are located. The city council herein seeks to provide a reasonable balance between the right of a person to identify his or her business or activity, and the rights of the public to be protected against visual discord and safety hazards that result from the unrestricted proliferation, location and construction of signs. This section will insure that signs are compatible with adjacent land uses and with the total visual environment of the community, in accordance with the city's comprehensive plan for zoning and land use.

The city council finds that the rights of residents of this city to fully exercise their rights of free speech by the use of signs containing non-commercial messages are subject to minimum regulation regarding structural safety and setbacks for purposes of traffic protection. The council seeks herein to provide for the reasonably prompt removal and disposal of such signs after they have served their purpose, and yet to avoid any interference with First Amendment freedoms, especially as to persons who are of limited financial means.

Instances may occur in the application of this chapter where strict enforcement would deprive a person of the reasonable use of a sign, or the reasonable utilization of a sign in connection with other related property rights, and herein provides for such persons to have the right to seek variances from the requirements of this chapter for good cause. It is imperative that enforcement officials apply this chapter as it is written, in the interest of equality and fair and impartial application to all persons, and that the use of the variance procedure shall remain the sole administrative means to obtain any exception to the terms hereof.

(Ord. No. 2003-42, § 1.0, 11-13-2003; Ord. No. 2008-20, § 1.0, 7-8-2008)