§ 20.40.040. Noncommercial signs.

Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, noncommercial signs shall meet the following requirements:

1.

Temporary Noncommercial Signs on Private Property.

a.

Such signs shall meet the general requirements of Section 20.40.020, except as specified in this section.

b.

Such signs shall not require a sign permit if less than four square feet in sign surface area and less than forty-eight inches in height.

c.

In residential zones, such signs shall not exceed five square feet in sign area per side, placed wholly on private property, and not to exceed a height of eight feet.

d.

In commercial and industrial zones, not to exceed thirty-two square feet in sign area per side, placed wholly on private property, and not to exceed a height of eight feet.

e.

No noncommercial sign shall be placed within, encroach into, or protrude over the edge of traveled way, the vision clearance triangle at intersections, deceleration lanes, auxiliary lanes, parking lanes, shoulders, medians, islands, roadway and street clear zones, bridges, and other areas of a public street right-of-way which may constitute a public safety hazard. Noncommercial signs should be placed as far outside of these locations as possible to ensure public safety.

f.

Signs visible from the public right-of-way shall remain in good repair and shall be removed, repaired, or replaced if in a damaged or deteriorated condition if it constitutes a hazard to public safety. Examples of damaged or deteriorated condition includes but is not limited to holes, rips and separation from support posts, and broken supports and posts.

2.

Temporary Noncommercial Signs in the County Right-of-Way.

a.

Such signs shall meet the general requirements of Section 20.40.020 except as specified in this section. This section applies to county right-of-way, and does not apply to private access easements or rights-of-way owned by a governmental jurisdiction other than Thurston County. The sign owner is responsible for compliance with any applicable laws on the use of rights-of-way outside of the ownership of Thurston County.

b.

No noncommercial sign shall be placed within, encroach into, or protrude over the edge of traveled way, the vision clearance triangle at intersections, deceleration lanes, auxiliary lanes, parking lanes, bike lanes, shoulders, medians, islands, bridges, and other areas of a public street right-of-way which may interfere with normal use of the travel way including creating a public safety hazard. Noncommercial speech signs should be placed as far outside of these locations as possible to ensure public safety.

c.

No noncommercial sign shall not interfere with or obstruct the view of any traffic control device.

d.

Where no sidewalk or curb is present, signs shall be a minimum of ten feet from the edge of the shoulder to maintain a minimum roadway clear zone. If ten feet is not available, the sign should be placed at edge of the right-of-way so long as it complies with other locational restrictions in this section.

e.

Signs shall be a breakaway design as defined in the Thurston County Road Standards, as amended.

f.

Where sidewalks are present at the back of curb with no planting strip, signs shall be located at the back of sidewalk away from the roadway. Where a planting strip is present, signs may be placed in the planting strip, but shall not encroach or protrude over the edge of the back of curb or the sidewalk.

g.

Signs shall remain in good repair and shall be removed, repaired, or replaced if in a damaged or deteriorated condition, or if it constitutes a hazard to public safety. Damaged or deteriorated condition includes but is not limited to holes, cracking, rips, peeling, fading, broken supports and posts, or otherwise showing need of general maintenance.

h.

Noncommercial signs shall not be attached to any traffic control device, county owned or maintained such as signs or posts, utility boxes, traffic signal, signal control box, street lights, street light poles, or any utility poles. Please see Section 12.100.005 TCC and RCW 47.36.130.

i.

The owner of a noncommercial sign placed in the public right-of-way may be required to remove the sign, or the sign may be removed by the county at any time if the sign constitutes a public safety hazard, the sign interferes with the function of drainage facilities, road construction, repair, regular maintenance, or because it is in a location not permitted by code.

j.

No sign shall cause a public safety hazard. The sign owner must ensure against any potential detriment to public safety by inspecting the site specific sign location for hazardous conditions, including but not limited to any view obstruction from all known or obvious vantage points that may compromise pedestrian or vehicular safety. Owners of signs shall solely assume all rise and liability for accidents and damages that may occur to persons, property, or natural resources by reason of the placement of signs in the right-of-way.

k.

Temporary noncommercial signs placed in the public right-of-way related to a specific event should be removed within fifteen days after the conclusion of the event. The individual, committee or organization for which the sign is displayed shall be responsible for its removal.

l.

Temporary noncommercial signs in the public right-of-way shall be limited to thirty inches above grade, and have a sign face with no more than four square feet in area.

3.

Property Owner Permission. Property owner permission is required prior to placing temporary noncommercial signs, which includes placement in adjacent county right-of-way.

a.

To the extent that the desired location for the placement of a temporary sign is within a portion of right-of-way which directly abuts a piece of private property, the sign owner must obtain permission from that abutting property owner before placing the sign in the right-of-way. Permission must be in a form sufficient to establish the grant of permission at a later date should permission be questioned. The permission must define the permitted location, number of signs, and duration in order to be effective. This requirement only applies to that property which is closest to the proposed sign location and directly abutting that portion of right-of-way. This requirement does not extend to both sides of the right-of-way for a single sign.

b.

If no private property abuts the right-of-way where the sign is proposed to be located then no adjacent property owner permission is required. However, under no circumstances may a temporary sign be allowed on government property outside of a right-of-way unless placed by the city or property owner.

c.

In every circumstance a sign owner must obtain complete and full approval from the property owner when placing a sign on private property. Whether the sign belongs to the property owner or is placed with permission, the sign allowance for both the property owner and the sign owner will be reduced to account for the sign's placement.

4.

Permanent Noncommercial Signs.

a.

Such signs shall meet the general requirements of Section 20.40.020.

b.

Such signs shall require a sign permit.

c.

If located on the premises of the business or residence of the owner, such signs shall meet the size and location requirements of the underlying zoning district for commercial signs.

d.

If not located on the premises of the business or residence of the owner, permanent noncommercial signs shall meet the size, height and location requirements for temporary noncommercial signs.

(Ord. No. 15637 , § 1(Att. A, § V), 6-26-2018)