ORD 848 05/13/2008 ORDINANCE 8 4 8
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CIBOLO, TEXAS AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. 583 SIGN ORDINANCE BY PROHIBITING NEW
BILLBOARD CONSTRUCTION AND PROHIBITING THE CONVERSION
OF EXISTING BILLBOARDS INTO CHANGEABLE ELECTRONIC
VARIBLE MESSAGE SIGNS(CEVMS)IN THE CITY OF CIBOLO,TEXAS
AND ITS EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
WHEREAS,the City of Cibolo is a Home Rule City formed pursuant to TEX.LOC.Gov'T.
CODE § 9.001-9.008, et seq.;
WHEREAS,City Council agrees with courts that have recognized that outdoor advertising
signs tend to interrupt what would otherwise be the natural landscape as seen from the highway,
whether the view is untouched or ravished by man,and that it would be unreasonable and illogical to
conclude that an area is too unattractive to justify aesthetic improvement;
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that outdoor advertising signs, including
changeable electronic variable message signs,pose a distraction to drivers,bikers and pedestrians
from the roadway;
WHEREAS,the City Council has determined that in order to preserve and enhance the City
as a desirable community in which to live and do business, a pleasing, visually attractive
environment is of foremost importance; and these regulations are a highly contributive means by
which to achieve this desired end and have been prepared with the intent of enhancing the visual
environment of the City and promoting safety and continued well-being;
WHEREAS,the City Council has determined that these regulations maintain and enhance
the aesthetic environment, improve pedestrian and traffic safety, lessen unnecessary visual clutter
that competes for the attention of pedestrian and vehicular traffic,regulates signs in a manner so as to
not interfere with, obstruct the vision of or distract motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, conserve,
protect, and enhance the aesthetic quality of the City,protect property values by precluding sign-
types that create a nuisance to the occupancy or use of other properties;
WHEREAS,the City Council has determined that off-premise signs,commonly known as
billboards, are inconsistent with the above-stated goals;
WHEREAS,the City Council has determined that changeable electronic variable message
signs (CEVMS), as defined herein, are inconsistent with the above-stated goals;
WHEREAS,the City Council finds that TEX.LOC.GOV'T.CODE§216.902 provides for the
application of its outdoor advertising sign regulations to extend into the extraterritorial jurisdiction
(ETJ) of the city;
WHEREAS,the City Council is authorized to regulate signs by virtue of the Texas Constitution,the
City of Cibolo's police power, and . Loc. GOV'T. CODE § 216;
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CIBOLO THAT:
Section IV. Definitions.
Replace definition Sign, Changeable with:
Sign, Changeable electronic variable message (CEVMS) shall mean a sign which
permits light to be turned on or off intermittently or which is operated in a way whereby light
is turned on or off intermittently,including any illuminated sign on which such illumination
is not kept stationary or constant in intensity and color at all times when such sign is in use,
including an LED(light emitting diode)or digital sign,and which varies in intensity or color.
A CEVMS sign does not include a sign located within the right-of-way that functions as a
traffic control device and that is described and identified in the Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices(MUTCD)approved by the Federal Highway Administrator as the National
Standard.
Add:
Sign, off-premise shall mean any sign, commonly known as a billboard,that advertises a
business,person,activity,goods,products or services not located on the premises where the
sign is installed and maintained, or that directs persons to a location other than the premises
where the sign is installed and maintained.
Add:
Sign, on-premise sign shall mean any sign identifying or advertising the business,person,
activity,goods,products or services sold or offered for sale on the premises where the sign is
installed and maintained when such premises is used for business purposes.
Add
Sign Code Application Area shall mean the corporate limits of the city and the area of its
extraterritorial jurisdiction as defined by TEX. LOC. GOV'T. CODE § 42.021.
Section VI. Prohibited Signs.
Add: Off-premise billboard signs,including but not limited to a new off-premise CEVMS and the
conversion of an existing non-CEVMS off-premise sign to a CEVMS,within the Sign Code
Application Area.
SECTION 1. The recitals set forth above are found to be true and correct, and they are
hereby adopted by the City Council and made a part of this ordinance for all
purposes.
SECTION 2. From and after the effective date,no new construction permit shall be issued
for the erection of any new off-premise billboard sign, including but not
limited to a new off-premise CEVMS and the conversion of an existing non-
CEVMS off-premise sign to a CEVMS, within the Sign Code Application
Area.
SECTION 3. From and after the effective date, no CEVMS shall be allowed within the
Sign Code Application Area,except as otherwise allowed in Ordinance 583.
SECTION 4. This ordinance will remain in force and survive any future recodification of
state statutes cited herein.
SECTION 5. This ordinance becomes effective on 13 May, 2008.
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CIBOLO CITY COUNCIL ON THIS THE 13TH DAY
OF MAY, 2008.
APPROVED:
9„,,,44Jennifer Hartman,Mayor
ATTEST:
Peggy Cimics, City Secretary