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Signage NEW SIGN REGULATIONS - SUMMARY ENACTED: May 2, 2000 REASONS ENACTED: 1. Consolidate regulations in one section of the Zoning Ordinance 2. Update to meet present legal requirements for sign regulations 3. Difficulty enforcing existing sign regulations 4. Public interest in community appearance (removing clutter) MAJOR PROVISIONS: 1. Permit Application and Sign Plan - have to be submitted and approved by the License and Inspection Department before a permit is issued. 2. Decals - issued by the License and Inspection Department with sign permit. Has to be affixed to the sign. Color-coded decals issued for temporary signs. 3. Sign Fees - raised to help pay for ordinance administration. 4. Current Signs - allows all legal existing signs to remain, except certain temporary signs, even if they do not conform to the new rules. Such signs cannot be enlarged, heightened, nor illuminated (if not presently illuminated). 5. Temporary Signs - for business on own lot, one sign for no more than 30 days per quarter. For business in shopping centers and downtown, one sandwich board sign to be removed daily after the close of business. 6. Political Signs - must be removed 10 days after an election 7. Subdivision/Apartment Entrance Signs - one per street front limited to 24 square feet and 6 feet in height. 8. Sign on Residential Lot - one per residential lot displaying a non-commercial message or commercial message regarding a legal activity (i.e. yard sale) up to 6 square feet. 9. On-Premise Freestanding Business Signs - one per street frontage, plus one for each 300 ft. of street frontage, or plus one for each 10 businesses in a shopping center or similar complex. Sign area limited to 12 square feet in professional zones, 100 square feet in neighborhood business zones, and 200 square feet in general business and industrial zones. Exceptions occur where a sign is located within 100 feet of a house, in historic districts, where bonus provisions apply, or near I-20 or I-520. Sign height limited to 6 feet in professional zones, 20 feet in neighborhood business zones, and 30 feet in other business and industrial zones, except near I-20 and I-520. Within 1,500 feet of the centerline of I-20 and I-520 (except from Doug Barnard Hwy. - Laney- Walker Blvd.) larger and taller signs are allowed in certain zones. Minimum setback is 15 ft. from the curb or edge of pavement, or 10 ft. from the right-of-way line, whichever is greater. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10. Off-Premise Signs (Billboards) - Allowed only in B-2, L-I and H-I zones (previously allowed in B-1). Not allowed on some sections of many arterial and collector roads. Limited to one per 750 ft. of road frontage on each side of a roadway. Cannot be within 300 ft. radius of another billboard. Maximum height = 60 ft. Restrictions on location within vicinity of Interstate interchange ENFORCEMENT: Augusta-Richmond County License and Inspection Department, 1815 Marvin Griffin Road. Contact Mr. Marshall Masters at 312-5050. A copy of the new Sign Regulations may be obtained for a nominal fee from either the Augusta- Richmond County Planning Commission, 525 Telfair Street (821-1796), or the License and Inspection Department, 1815 Marvin Griffin Road (312-5050). The new sign sign regulations can also be viewed at Section 28-B of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County