§ 4-122. Signs allowed in public right-of-way.

The only signs that are allowed in the public right-of-way in the city are:

(1)

Signs conforming to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and bearing no commercial message;

(2)

Other signs bearing no commercial message and installed by employees or officials of the city, Colbert County, a state or federal agency in the course of their governmental duties;

(3)

Signs required by a state or federal statute;

(4)

Signs installed by public utilities in their rights-of-way or on their facilities and bearing no commercial message other than such message is necessary to identify the use;

(5)

Signs installed by a transit company or agency with a franchise or other right to operate in the city, where such signs are installed along its routes and relate to schedules or other information about the transit route;

(6)

Any educational or religious institution or any place of public assembly operated by a nonprofit organization exempt from federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may install directional signs in the public right-of-way, subject to the following requirements:

a.

Such signs shall bear no commercial message;

b.

One institution may install up to three (3) such signs but no more than three (3) such signs;

c.

Each such sign shall be located within one (1) mile or less from the institution to which it provides direction;

d.

Such signs shall conform with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices in design and installation;

e.

Such a sign may be installed only after the issuance of a permit, which shall be issued by the building official upon demonstration that the sign and its proposed location will conform with all of the standards of this subsection;

f.

Where installed on a sidewalk, such a sign shall be installed in such a way that it does not impair the accessibility of the sidewalk under the Americans with Disabilities Act;

g.

Any sign installed in violation of any part of this section shall be removed at the expense of the institution identified on the sign;

h.

The location of such signs along any state highway may require a separate permit from the Alabama Department of Transportation;

(7)

Signs announcing civic events, subject to the following standards:

a.

A "civic event" shall be deemed to be any event, other than an election, occurring on a specific date or dates, and not a continuous activity, provided that such event is sponsored by a qualified organization;

b.

A "qualified organization" for purposes of this section shall be the City of Tuscumbia, Colbert County, a public school district operating under the laws of the State of Alabama, or a non-profit organization organized or registered to do business in Alabama and meeting one (1) or more of the following criteria:

i.

The organization owns or operates one (1) or more physical facilities in Colbert County; and/or

ii.

The organization maintains a permanent office in Tuscumbia; and/or

iii.

If the organization has no physical office or other physical facility in Tuscumbia, a majority of its directors are residents of Colbert County.

c.

Such signs shall be erected not more than two (2) weeks before the beginning of the event and shall be removed within five (5) days after the conclusion of the event;

d.

All other signs for such events shall be provided, installed and removed by the organization sponsoring the event or by affiliated persons or organizations.

e.

Such signs shall bear no commercial message, except as follows: where a business or other organization sponsors the event, not more than five (5) per cent of the area of each sign may be devoted to a commercial or noncommercial message provided by that sponsor;

f.

There shall be no fee for the installation of such signs. If such signs are not removed by the specified date, they may be removed by the city, with the costs of removal assessed to the sponsor(s) of the event. and

(8)

In residential districts only, a resident, occupant or owner of property abutting the public right-of-way may place temporary signs that are allowed on the abutting lot in the portions of the right-of-way not used for travel and maintained as part of the individual lot.

(Ord. No. 09-1123, 11-23-2009)