Code of the City of Washington, North Carolina
Chapter 27 - Zoning
Article XVI. Signs
Illustrated Sign Ordinance
Section 177: Miscellaneous restrictions and prohibitions

(a) No temporary nor permanent sign shall be attached to a tree or to a City utility pole, except that political signs may be posted in accordance with Section 16-10 of the Washington City Code. No temporary nor permanent sign shall be placed on any public street right-of-way, except that political signs may be posted in the right-of-way in accordance with Section 16-10 of the Washington City Code and signs attached to a structural element of a building may be erected in the right-of-way in accordance with Section 27-174(d) above.
(b) No sign may be located so that it substantially interferes with the view necessary for motorists to proceed safely through intersections or to enter onto or exit from public streets or private roads.
(c) Signs that revolve or are animated or that utilize movement or apparent movement to attract the attention of the public are prohibited. Without limiting the preceding, banners, streamers, animated display boards, pennants, and propellers are prohibited, but signs that move only occasionally because of wind are allowed if their movement is not a primary design feature of the sign and is not intended to attract attention to the sign. The restrictions of this subsection shall not apply to signs specified in Section 27-166(d) or to signs indicating the time, date, and weather conditions.

(d) No sign may be erected so that by its location, color, size, shape, nature, or message it would tend to obstruct the view of or be confused with official traffic signs or other signs erected by units of government.
(e) Freestanding signs shall be securely fastened to the ground or to some other substantial supportive structure so that there is virtually no danger that either the sign or the supportive structure may be moved by the wind or other forces of nature and cause injuries to persons or property, in conformity with the North Carolina State Building Code.
(f) Canopy signs are permitted when suspended or attached to the underside of a canopy provided such signs do not exceed six (6) square feet in area and are located at least eight (8) feet above the sidewalk.
(g) The sign area of a sign permanently painted, affixed, or placed in a building window which is visible from a street right-of way shall be restricted to no more than forty (40) percent of the total window area.
In the B1H and RHD districts, signs painted on storefront windows shall take up no more than ten (10) percent of the window,
and signs placed in windows, from the interior, shall occupy no more than twenty (20) percent of the area of the displaying window. The sign area of such signs shall not be included in the total sign surface area established in accordance with the provisions of Section 27-170.

(h) Off premises signs are not permitted except for those signs specifically exempt from regulation in accordance with Section 27-166.

(i) All temporary or portable signs, as defined in Section 27-164, except for those specifically exempted in Section 27-166 and Section 27-167, are not permitted.
(j) Any sign made up of or containing strobe lights, ziplights, flashing lights or rotating beacons, flags, streamers, banners, pennants, or strings of lights, or permanently installed or situated merchandise, except for those specifically exempted in Section 27-166 and Section 27-167, are not permitted.
(k) Off premises, outdoor advertising signs, commonly known as billboards, are not permitted.
(l) No sign shall contain statements, words or pictures which describe or display "Specified Anatomical Areas" or "Specified Sexual Activities," or which contain words which are classified as "vulgar" or "vulgar slang" in The New College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1981 Edition; the phrase "god damn" is also specifically prohibited for use in signs.
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