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Ordinance 22-035

An Ordinance amending Chapter 94, Zoning of the City of Brookings 

pertaining to Sections 94-467, 94-469, 94-470, and 94-473 for the purposes of amending sign regulations.

Be It Ordained by the Governing Body of the City of Brookings, South Dakota that the Subdivision Regulations be amended as follows:

I.

ARTICLE VI. – SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS

That Section 94-467 of Article VI, Division 5 of the Zoning Regulations shall be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 94-467. Permit.

(a)   Scope. This section shall apply to all sign permits. 

(b)   Permanent signs.

(1)   Application. All applications for the construction, creation, placement or installation of permanent signs or the modification of an existing permanent sign shall be accompanied by the following: 

a.     A detailed site plan of the lot showing the exact location and orientation of the sign(s) relative to all lot lines, building lines, parking lots, drive-ways and other pertinent land and architectural features. 

b.     For freestanding signs, a landscape plan as required (see Sec. 94-470 (b) freestanding signs).

c.     An elevation drawing showing the total height above the adjacent grade. 

d.     The total dimensions of the sign facing. 

e.     The design features of the sign. 

f.      The type of illumination or other characteristics of the sign (see Table 5 in section 94-473). 

g.     The size and type of existing signs on the property. 

h.     Certification from the sign manufacturer that the light intensity has been pre-set and locked to not exceed the levels specified in this chapter.

i.      All other applicable data such as lot line dimensions and building wall or other surface area dimensions as required by the city. 

Sec. 94-469. Design, construction and maintenance.

All permanent signs shall be designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with the following standards: 

(1)   All signs shall comply with the applicable provisions of the City's Building Code and National Electric Code at all times. 

(2)   All signs shall be constructed of permanent materials and shall be permanently attached to the ground, a building or another structure by direct attachment to a rigid wall, frame or structure. 

(3)   All permanent signs shall be constructed to withstand a wind load pressure of 30 pounds per square foot. 

(4)   Signs shall be maintained in a safe and legible condition at all times including the replacement of defective or damaged parts, painting, repainting, cleaning and other services required for maintenance of said signs. Signs which are not maintained shall be removed or brought into compliance immediately upon written notice. 

(5)   All signs with electronic message display capabilities shall have internal ambient light monitors installed which automatically adjust the brightness level. (6) No electronic message display shall exceed the brightness level of 0.3 foot candles above ambient light as measured using a foot candle (Lux) meter at a preset distance depending on sign area, calculated with the following formula: The square root of the product of the sign area and one-hundred.

Examples: 

Sec. 94-470. Regulations for all districts.

(a)   Scope of section regulations. The following regulations are applicable to all districts. 

(b)   Freestanding signs.

(1)   Freestanding signs shall be located only in a front or side yard. 

(2)   Lots which are allowed more than one freestanding sign shall space the signs no less than 50 feet apart. 

(3)   The supporting structure of a freestanding sign shall be designed to complement the primary building and shall at a minimum include permanent wrapping from the ground to 8 feet above grade or to the bottom of the sign, whichever is less.

(4)   A minimum planting radius of three feet shall be installed around the base of freestanding signs. For ground signs, the planting strip may consist of shrubs, perennials and native grasses. For pylon signs, the planting strip must include shrubs in addition to other plantings. Landscape plans shall be submitted to and approved by the Community Development Department.

(5)   Freestanding signs shall not be located within an intersection safety zone. 

(6)   Freestanding signs shall not employ any moving parts. 

(7)   Freestanding signs which obstruct any street improvement project shall be removed at the owner's expense. 

Sec. 94-473. Tables.

TABLE 3 
 NUMBER, DIMENSIONS AND LOCATION OF INDIVIDUAL SIGNS 
 BY ZONING DISTRICT 

Individual signs shall not exceed the maximum number or square footage nor encroach into the minimum setback shown on this table (Cross reference: Table 4) 

Table Notes: 

(a) This column does not represent a zoning district. It applies to institutional uses permitted in residential districts. Such uses may include, but are not necessarily limited to, churches, schools, apartment complexes, retirement homes, assisted living and nursing facilities, funeral homes, libraries, fraternities and sororities. 

(b) In no case shall the sign height exceed the setback distance from an adjacent residential district boundary line. 

(c)  No part of any sign shall protrude into the horizontal or vertical setback line. 

(d) Lots with two or more frontages are regulated according to Table 2. However, signage cannot be accumulated and used on one frontage in excess of that allowed for lots with only one street frontage. 

(e) The percentage figure here shall mean the percentage of the area of the wall which such sign is a part of, attached to or most nearly parallel to. 

(f)  When a sign is located within 200 feet of a historic or residential district, the area of the sign used for an electronic message display shall be limited to 25% of the allowable individual sign area according to Table 3 or 40 square feet, whichever is greater. The distance shall be measured from the nearest point of the sign to an adjacent property line.

      Exceptions:

• For the purposes of this section, the following described real estate will be excluded from the required residential district buffer:

The Southwest Quarter, Excluding H-4, in Section 31, Township 110, Range 49; also known as Edgebrook Golf Course

(g) When a sign is located within 200 feet of a historic or residential district, the height of the sign used for an electronic message display shall be limited to the height of the primary building or the maximum allowable height for a sign according to Table 3, whichever is less. The distance shall be measured from the nearest point of the sign to an adjacent property line.

      Exceptions:

• Signs on a corner lot and impacted by the intersection and driveway safety zone can utilize the standard height allowance.
• For the purposes of this section, the following described real estate will be excluded from the required residential district buffer:

      The Southwest Quarter, Excluding H-4, in Section 31, Township 110, Range 49; also known as Edgebrook Golf Course

TABLE 5 
 PERMITTED SIGN CHARACTERISTICS BY ZONING DISTRICT 

The letter "P" means permitted. 

The letter "N" means not allowed. 

Table Notes: 

(a) This column does not represent a zoning district. It applies to institutional uses permitted in residential districts. Such uses may include, but are not necessarily limited to, churches, schools, apartment complexes, retirement homes, assisted living and nursing facilities, funeral homes, libraries, fraternities and sororities. 

(b) This characteristic shall not include stationary LED illumination. LED illumination is considered to be internal illumination. 

Portable signs with EMD capabilities are permitted in the A, RB-4, B-1, B-2, B-2A, B-3, B-4, B-5, I-1, I-1R and I-2 District subject to the regulations in subsection 94-470(e), and shall be permitted for any institutional use in conjunction with special events and public services for a period not to exceed seven consecutive days, nor more than 30 cumulative days within a calendar year. 

(c)  Signs with EMD capabilities are regulated as follows: No sign with EMD capabilities, other than a portable sign, is permitted in any historic district depicted in the Brookings Historic Preservation Plan and any amendments thereto.

(d) Signs with EMD capabilities are regulated as follows: 

1.   Only institutional uses such as churches, libraries and schools are allowed to use signs with EMD capabilities, subject to other requirements of this section. 

2.   No sign with EMD capabilities, other than a portable sign, is permitted for any institutional use in a historic district nor for any institutional use within 200 feet of a historic district as depicted in the Brookings Historic Preservation Plan and any amendments thereto. The distance shall be measured from the nearest point of the sign to an adjacent property line.

3.   No sign with EMD capabilities, other than a portable sign, is permitted for any institutional use within 200 feet of an individually listed property on the National Register of Historic Places as depicted in the Brookings Historic Preservation Plan and any amendments thereto. 

4.   Institutional uses not regulated by subsections 2 and 3 above shall be limited to one sign with a maximum size of 24 square feet. 

(e) No direct light or significant glare from the sign shall be cast onto any adjacent lot that is zoned and used for residential purposes. 

(f)  Any lighting involving motion or the appearance of motion is prohibited. 

II.

All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

First Reading:                       October 25, 2022

Second Reading:                 November 8, 2022

Published:                             November 14, 2022

                                                                                    CITY OF BROOKINGS, SD

                                                                                                                                                _______________________________

                                                                                    Oepke G. Niemeyer, Mayor

ATTEST:

_____________________________

Bonnie Foster, City Clerk