§ 10.7. Special Sign Standards.
A.
Sign Standards (Building, Wall, Window, Freestanding).
1.
Building and wall graphics signs shall not occupy more than ten percent (10%) of the signable space on any facade of a building with a maximum size of the sign limited to forty (40) square feet.
2.
Window signs, which otherwise comply with this Article, may be displayed, provided no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the area of a window may be occupied by signage.
3.
Free-standing signs on any premises, other than those visible from the main traveled way of Interstate 20 and within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way in Greene County, Georgia, shall be spaced at a minimum two hundred (200) feet interval along each public way which views the premises. In the event that less than two hundred (200) feet of any premises is visible from any one public way, only one (1) sign shall be permitted along that public way.
4.
Any sign shall be erected so as to not obstruct or impair driver vision, or encroach into sight distance triangles at business ingress/egress points and intersections.
5.
Sidewalk Sandwich Signs.
a.
One (1) free-standing, framed sidewalk sandwich sign per business may be displayed during hours of operation.
b.
Maximum size of the sidewalk sandwich sign shall be six (6) square feet and the dimensions shall not exceed 24-inches wide and 36-inches high.
c.
Sidewalk sandwich signs shall be placed within ten feet of the building entrance of the business displaying the sign.
d.
Sidewalk sandwich signs shall be placed on or adjacent to a sidewalk and shall not interfere with pedestrian travel or encroach upon the required accessible path for the entrance to the building.
e.
Sidewalk sandwich signs shall be limited to a maximum of six square feet in total area.
f.
Sidewalk sandwich sign frame colors are limited to earth tones.
g.
Sidewalk sandwich sign faces shall be limited to black or dark green chalkboard material with a matte finish. Plastic or dry erase boards shall not be allowed.
h.
The total area of the sidewalk sandwich sign shall be counted against the allowable building and wall graphics area allocation.
B.
Temporary Signs and Standards.
1.
Area, Height. Location.
a.
Area. The total area of temporary signs on a single parcel shall not exceed forty-eight (48) square feet and twenty-four (24) square feet per sign face, except for temporary signs described in subsection 2(d) below ("Real Estate" Signs) for residential property, which shall not count toward this limit but shall not exceed the limitations of 10.7.B.2.d.
b.
Height. The maximum height of temporary signs or sign structures shall not exceed eight (8) feet, while the lower edge shall not exceed four (4) feet in height from the average grade.
c.
Location.
(1)
No temporary sign shall be located so as to obstruct or impair driver vision, or encroach into sight distance triangles at business ingress/egress points and at intersections.
(2)
No temporary sign shall be located nearer than one hundred (100) feet to any church property (unless placed by the church), cemetery, public building, historic site or district, and intersection of two (2) or more public streets or highways.
(3)
No temporary sign shall be permitted in the public right-of-way.
2.
Time Limits.
a.
"Grand Opening" Signs. Temporary signs may be erected for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days after the initial opening of a commercial operation on the property on which the temporary sign is located.
b.
"Project" Signs. Temporary signs may be placed on property on which construction is to be conducted upon the issuance of a final development permit on the construction site and shall be removed within seven (7) days following the issuance of the certificate of occupancy.
c.
"Land Subdivision" Signs. Temporary signs may be erected on land being subdivided and developed upon approval of the Final Plat and shall be removed when ninety percent (90%) of the development lots are conveyed.
d.
"Real Estate" Signs. One (1) temporary sign not exceeding five (5) square feet in sign area per face and, if free-standing, not exceeding three (3) feet in height may be erected on any lot. Property with two (2) or more frontages shall be permitted one (1) additional such temporary sign per frontage. These temporary signs shall be removed once the property on which the sign is located is no longer offered for lease, rent or sale, or for a term not to exceed six (6) months, whichever comes sooner. An extension may be permitted.
e.
Temporary Special Event signs for non-profit organizations. Temporary special event signs may be erected on any property with the permission of the owner of the lot on which the sign is located including properties located in the Lake Corridor Sign Overlay District as defined in Section 10.8, excluding public right-of-ways, for a period beginning fourteen (14) days prior to the event within Greene County organized by, and for the direct benefit of, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation. Only one such sign shall be allowed per property per event with no more than four (4) total such signs per event, and shall be limited to forty-two (42) inches in height and sixteen (16) square feet in area per side. Such signs may be attached to the exterior wall or walls of a building provided that such sign shall be limited to thirty-two (32) square feet in total area. These temporary signs must be removed within twenty-four (24) hours of the termination of the event.
f.
Temporary signs conveying public safety messages or recruiting volunteer firefighters displayed by organized fire departments having current contracts with Greene County may be erected for so long as the circumstances that necessitate the posting of the sign remain in place.
3.
Display. No parcel shall be allowed to erect temporary signs in conjunction with this Section 10.7.B. more than two (2) times per year.
C.
Expression Signs.
1.
Expression signs shall be allowed without the necessity of obtaining a permit.
2.
Expression signs shall be no larger than four (4) square feet
3.
No more than one expression sign shall be allowed on any lot, except as provided in sub-section D, below;
4.
The sign area for a double-sided expression sign shall be calculated based on a single sign face provided that both sides of the sign are identical.
D.
Campaign Signs.
1.
During a political election or referendum, within sixty (60) days prior to any local, state or federal primary, special or general election or ballot initiative wherein citizens of Greene County are entitled to vote, lots located in the A1, A2, PUD, R1, R2, RM, LR1, LR2, LP and AP zoning districts may display up to five (5) additional expression signs ("campaign signs") with the permission of the lot on which the campaign sign is located. Campaign signs shall be no larger than four (4) square feet, but may be double sided. Campaign signs shall be removed within seventy-two (72) hours after a final determination on that election item or referendum that triggered the right to erect the sign.
2.
Expression signs erected pursuant to this subsection shall be located no closer than 100 feet from another expression sign erected on the same parcel.
3.
The placement of campaign signs in accordance with this section shall not require that such signs contain a message related to said election or ballot initiative, and such signs may display any lawful non-obscene copy;
4.
To the extent a numerical, durational, or locational limitation on placement of campaign signs conflicts with O.C.G.A. § 16-7-58(a)(2), then the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 16-7-58 shall control;
E.
Canopy Signs. A commercial center shall be permitted one (1) canopy sign per occupancy, not to exceed six (6) feet in length and eighteen (18) inches in height, placed entirely upon or under a canopy or marquee directly in front of said location.
F.
Multiple-Use Shopping, Business, Office and Professional Centers; Free-Standing Directory Signs.
1.
Any multiple-use shopping, business, office and professional center or mall shall be allowed to have not more the two (2) free-standing directory signs for individual business, provided they meet the following requirements:
a.
Information. Signs shall be for directory information purposes only.
b.
Location. Either the area of the directory sign shall be contained within the limits for total signage area at said center or mall or the sign shall not be visible from any public way.
2.
Free-standing signs on outlying parcels that do not have direct traffic access to the adjacent roadway will be permitted a sign at one-half (½) the size authorized in Section 10.6.D.
G.
Gasoline Filling Areas.
1.
Travel Center or Truck Stop. This section shall apply to establishments that are located at an interchange of an Interstate Highway where such Interstate intersects with a State Route with at least one of the establishment's parcel boundaries adjoining the Interstate Right-of-Way and at least one of the establishment's boundaries adjoining the State Route's Right-of-Way, and such establishment includes all of the following:
a.
A minimum of eight (8) double-sided diesel pumps.
b.
A minimum of six (6) double-sided gas pumps.
c.
The primary building footprint must be at least 15,000 square feet.
d.
A convenience store, sit-down restaurant, and a fast-food restaurant must be located within the primary building.
e.
Showers, laundry area, phone booth area, lockers, driver's lounge, and a game room must be located and available on the premises.
f.
A minimum of parking to accommodate 150 tractor trailer trucks, 100 cars and light trucks, and 8 recreational vehicles must be available on the premises.
2.
Signage Allowed.
a.
Free-Standing Signs. A total of three (3) free-standing signs shall be allowed per Travel Center or Truck Stop establishment. The total aggregate area of all free-standing signs shall not exceed thirteen hundred (1,300) square feet with the maximum for any one sign not to exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet. One free-standing sign may be erected up to a maximum of one hundred fifty (150) feet. Any additional free-standing signs shall have a maximum height of seventy (70) feet.
b.
Building and/or Wall Signs. A maximum of 400 square feet of building or wall signage is allowed. No single building or wall sign shall exceed 200 square feet in aggregate area, and if one such sign is used, all other building and wall signs shall not exceed 100 square feet. There is no maximum number of building or wall signs provided the total aggregate area does not exceed the 400 square feet maximum.
c.
Electronic Message Center. This sign displays a message which scrolls across the screen to provide information, including, but not limited to information related to the time, weather, public service message, and/or advertisement of products, pricing, and services. A maximum of two (2) electronic message centers are allowed provided that the total aggregate area does not exceed 320 square feet, and any single such sign shall not exceed 220 square feet.
d.
Other. Safety, traffic movement, and directional, signs shall be allowed. The size, location, and content must be approved by the Building Official.
3.
All Other Fuel Facilities. Any facility not meeting the criteria of a Travel Center or Truck Stop but offering the sale of fuel as a principle component of the business shall be governed by the commercial signage regulations of this Ordinance, and by (a) and (b) below:
a.
Petroleum products pumps and dispensers which are within view of a public way shall be permitted to display only information required by law in addition to the type of product being dispensed.
b.
Premises which dispense retail bulk petroleum products by pump shall be permitted one (1) additional sign, with characters not exceeding twelve (12) inches in height. In lieu of the one (1) additional sign permitted above, a sign with characters not exceeding six (6) inches in height may be placed on each individual pump structure.
H.
Flags.
1.
No flag shall exceed forty (40) square feet in size.
2.
No property shall display more than three (3) flags.
3.
Flags shall be displayed on purpose-built, professionally fabricated flagpoles, which may be vertical or mast-arm flagpoles.
4.
The maximum dimensions of any flag shall be proportional to the flagpole height. The hoist side of the flag shall not exceed 20 percent of the vertical height of the flagpole. In addition, flags are subject to the limitations defined in Table 10.G.#.
Table 10.G.# Pole height or length Maximum flag area Up to 20 feet 15 square feet (3' x 5') Up to 25 feet 24 square feet (4' x 6') Up to 30 feet 40 square feet (5' x 8') Up to 35 feet 60 square feet (6' x 10') Up to 40 feet 72 square feet (8' x 12') 5.
Flags and flagpoles shall be maintained in good repair, and shall be in compliance with the building code. Flagpoles with broken halyards shall not be used and flags which are torn or frayed shall not be displayed.
I.
Interstate Signs. This section shall apply to all outdoor advertising signs visible from the main traveled way of Interstate 20 and within six hundred sixty (660) feet of its nearest edge of the right-of-way in Greene County, Georgia.
1.
No sign shall be erected or maintained unless it is in compliance with the regulations of this Article and State laws, rules and regulations.
2.
All signs located on sites adjacent to or visible from the main traveled way of Interstate 20 shall conform with O.C.G.A. § 32-6-70, et seq., as amended, (the Georgia Outdoor Advertising Control Section) and shall meet all Federal and State requirements necessary to obtain a permit under said Code Section. In instances where the sign controls of this Article are stricter, these regulations shall apply.
3.
Interstate signs shall meet the following requirements:
a.
Uniform Size. The outside measurements of all such signs shall be fourteen (14) feet in height and forty-eight (48) feet in length, with or without trim.
b.
Height. No sign shall be erected which exceeds seventy (70) feet above the natural ground or the main traveled way of the roadway, whichever is the least restrictive, as measured from the highest part or portion of the sign structure.
c.
Extrusions Prohibited. Extrusions beyond the face of the sign, excluding aprons, are prohibited.
d.
Spacing. Sign locations shall be no less than five hundred (500) feet apart, as measured from the two (2) closest points.
e.
Number. No more than six (6) interstate signs shall be permitted at each interchange adjacent to the Interstate highway, with a maximum of three signs visible to be read by traffic travelling in each direction of travel.
f.
Location. Interstate signs must be located on property zoned B-2 and shall be located in an area twelve hundred (1,200) feet long, beginning five hundred (500) feet from the furthest point where the pavement widens or ceases to widen on the main traveled way at entrances to or exits from the main traveled way.
g.
Minimum Lot Size. The minimum lot size for the construction of an interstate sign is 150 feet by 150 feet.