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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2005_01_11_O001The Town of Leesburg, Virginia ORDINANCE NO. 2005-O-01 PRESENTED: January_ 11, 2005 ADOPTED: January 11, 2005 AN ORDINANCE: AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT WHEREAS, the former Downtown Committee of the Leesburg Economic Development Commission (now the Leesburg Downtown Business Association) raised concerns about items placed on the public sidewalks in the Old and Historic District falling into disrepair; and WHEREAS, a review of the existing Town Code section regarding such items revealed that the Town has neither the authority to compel owners to remove such items nor to have such items removed by town staff; and WHEREAS, the Leesburg Downtown Business Association also raised concerns about the prohibitions against placing outdoor caf6 furniture and merchandise on the public sidewalks in the Old and Historic District; and WHEREAS, the Leesburg Economic Development Commission and the Leesburg Board of Architectural Review agree that allowing the downtown merchants to place appropriate items on the public sidewalks adds to the ambiance of the downtown; and WHEREAS, the Leesburg Economic Development Commission and the Leesburg Board of Architectural Review further agree that amending the Town Code would alleviate the regulatory burden on both downtown businesses and town staff without sacrificing the historic character of the downtown. AN ORDINANCE: -2- AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT THEREFORE, ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia as follows: SECTION I. Chapter 16, Article II of the Leesburg Town Code is replaced in its entirety with the text shown below: ARTICLE II. PROJECTIONS AND STREETSCAPE AMENITIES OVER AND UPON PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT Sec. 16-27. Allowed locations. Subject to the provisions of this article, projections and streetscape amenities are allowed to be placed over and upon public rights-of-way in that portion of the Old and Historic District generally bounded by North Street, Liberty Street, the W&OD Trail and Harrison Street, and including those areas between Market Street and Loudoun Street extending west to Ayr Street and east to the intersection of East Market Street and Loudoun Street SE. Sec. 16-28. Allowed projections. Subject to the provisions of this article, the following projections and streetscape amenities are allowed to be placed over and upon public rights-of-way in that portion of the Old and Historic District specified in Section 16-27. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) Architectural features of buildings such as cornices, eaves and bay windows; Window plant boxes and mailboxes; Awnings; Wall signs; Projecting signs; Flags; Seasonal decorations; Planters; Outdoor furniture; Sandwich board signs; Newspaper and real estate boxes; Other non-fixed amenities not specifically prohibited. Sec. 16-29. General requirements. Any projection or streetscape amenity constructed, reconstructed, erected, relocated or maintained over or upon the public right-of-way must: (1) Obtain Board of Architectural Review approval for fixed amenities, such as but not limited to, signs, awnings, flags, window boxes and architectural features. (2) Comply with the design guidelines established by the Board of Architectural Review for allowed non-fixed streetscape features. (3) Allow at least a four-foot passage for pedestrians or the then current requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if greater. For non-fixed amenities, if the building AN ORDINANCE: -3- AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT has a stoop and there is less than four feet from the front edge of the stoop to the back edge of the curb, items may be placed on either side of the stoop but may not project beyond the front edge of the stoop. Sec. 16-30. Prohibitions. No projection or streetscape amenity shall be constructed, reconstructed, erected, relocated or maintained which: (1) Prevents free ingress or egress from any door, window or fire escape; (2) Interferes with the free and unencumbered passage of pedestrians; (3) Covers or intrudes upon any architectural features of a building such as windows, columns, moldings, balconies or any major decoration; (4) Obstructs free and clear vision or distracts the attention of the driver of any vehicle by reason of its position, shape, color, reflection or illumination; (5) Obstructs street intersection or vehicle entrance sight distance; (6) Bears or contains statements, words or pictures of an obscene, indecent or immoral character which will offend public morals or decency; (7) Advertises or publicizes an activity, business, product or service not conducted on the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way upon which such projections are maintained; (8) Is in any way animated; emits smoke, visible vapors, particles, sound or odor; (9) Is affixed to trees, fences, posts, light poles, street signs or any other types of natural vegetation or rocks; (10) Projects, in whole or in part, from the right-of-way line over a right-of-way more than three and one-half feet, except seasonal decorations, existing awnings, canopies and marquees; (11) Is a time-temperature device or a reader board; (12) Is illuminated with any color light other than white light and which source of light is visible from a pedestrian level; (13) Is internally illuminated. Sec. 16-31. Unlawful projections. Except as provided herein, any projecting object previously or hereafter erected or maintained in violation of this article shall be removed by the owner upon notification from the town manager or designee. If the owner fails to remove the object, the town manager or designee shall have the object removed and notify the owner in writing that the object has been removed. The town shall store any removed objects for a period of not less than 60 days, during which time period owners may claim their property upon payment of expenses incurred by the town for removal and storage. Written notification of removal to owners shall contain instructions for claiming removed objects including expenses incurred. If those instructions are not followed, the town may dispose of the object. See. 16-32. Abandoned projections. Any person who owns a projection or streetscape amenity shall remove it upon cessation of the activity with which it is associated. AN ORDINANCE: -4- AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT Sec. 16-33. Liability for damage. The provisions of this article shall not be construed to relieve or to limit in any way the responsibility or liability of any person who owns or erects any projecting object for personal injury or property damage caused by the projecting object; nor shall the provisions of this article be construed to impose upon the town, its officers and its employees, any responsibility or liability by reason of the approval of any projecting object under the provisions of this article. Sec. 16-34. Maintenance requirements. All projections and streetscape amenities, together with all supports, braces, hooks, guys and anchors shall be of substantial and sturdy construction; shall be kept in good repair; and shall be painted or cleaned as oRen as necessary to maintain clean, neat, safe and orderly appearance. Sec. 16-35. Specific requirements for allowed projections. Allowed projections may be placed over and upon public rights-of-way only in the following manner: (1) (2) (3) (4) Architectural features, including gutters and downspouts, window plant boxes and mailboxes may project not more than 12 inches. Permanently installed signs must comply with any and all other ordinances of the town that govern signs. A minimum clearance of seven feet, six inches above the sidewalk, shall be required for projections over the public right-of-way, including but not limited to, projecting signs and architectural features. Projecting signs shall be located no higher than the sill of a second floor window or 14 feet above the sidewalk, whichever is less; except, however, if the board of architectural review deems a projecting sign appropriate in a higher or lower location. Sec. 16-36. Non-fixed items used for advertising purposes. Non-fixed items that are used for advertising purposes, such as sandwich board signs, newspaper boxes and real estate boxes, must receive a permit from the Town Manager or designee. Applications shall specify locations of the items and shall demonstrate that the items comply with the following guidelines: (1) Sandwich board signs may not exceed 24 inches in width and 34 inches in height and must be constructed of wood, wrought iron or other traditional material. The color of sign should complement the color scheme of the building in front of which it is to be placed. The design elements on the face of the sign should be consistent with the design elements of the applicant's permanent signs. If the sandwich board sign contains an area for changing text, this area may consist of chalkboard or whiteboard-type material to accommodate handwritten text. Sandwich board signs may not use changeable copy consisting of individual letters, whole words or phrases. (2) Newspaper boxes should be consistent with the color scheme of the town's streetscape furniture and should consist of black metal fixtures with white lettering. Newspaper boxes may not exceed the standard size of 4 feet in height, 16.5 inches in width and 19.5 inches in depth. AN ORDINANCE: -5- AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT (3) Real estate boxes should be consistent with the color scheme of the town's streetscape furniture and should consist of black metal fixtures with white lettering. Real estate boxes may not exceed 4 feet in height, 15 inches in width and 15 inches in depth. No more than one real estate box per location will be allowed. (4) Other non-fixed items that are used primarily for advertising purposes shall conform to the general design guidelines for non-fixed streetscape features established by the Board of Architectural Review and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. See. 16-37. Displays of merchandise. Businesses may display a limited amount of merchandise on the public sidewalk directly in front of their business during business hours. The intent of such merchandise displays should be to attract customers into the business, should be composed of a limited number of items representative of the business' overall merchandise mix and should not consist of large quantities of items. Such merchandise displays must be placed flush against the storefront, should not extend beyond the front stoop of the building or beyond the limits of the storefront, and must be removed from the sidewalk when the business is closed, including tables, racks and other display fixtures. Display fixtures must comply with the design guidelines for non-fixed streetscape features established by the Board of Architectural Review. Displays must allow at least a four-foot passage for pedestrians or the then current requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if greater and must comply with all other provisions of this article, including prohibitions listed in Section 16-29. Large displays of merchandise on the public sidewalk may be permitted only as part of a coordinated sidewalk or outdoor sale event. Such events must be open to participation by all merchants in the Old and Historic District, must have a specified time limit not to exceed three consecutive days, and must receive a special event permit from the town. Sidewalk or outdoor sale events may not occur more frequently than once a month and must comply with all other provisions of this article. Sec. 16-38. Benches and trash receptacles. Benches and trash receptacles may not be placed on the public right-of-way except in the Old and Historic District by the Town of Leesburg. Sec. 16-39. Definitions. For the purpose of this article, certain terms and words are defined as follows: Fixed: Affixed to a building by supports, braces, anchors, nails, screws or other means of permanent attachment. Front or frontage: Surfaces of any building or facility that present themselves to a public right-of-way giving immediate access to the premises. Marquees, canopies, awnings: Various forms of permanent, temporary, or portable roof like coverings for entrances and windows. Non-fixed: Placed on the ground without means of permanent attachment to the ground or a building. -6- AN ORDINANCE: AMENDING THE TOWN CODE REGARDING PROJECTIONS OVER AND UPON THE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE OLD AND HISTORIC DISTRICT Projecting sign: A sign, other than a wall, awning or marquee sign, which is affixed to a building and is supported only by the wall on which it is mounted. Sandwich board sign: An A-frame sign not fixed to a building or the ground. Sign: Any letters, words, symbols, etc., used or intended to attract the attention of the public from streets, sidewalks or other outside public right-of way. The term sign shall include all structural members and support apparatus. Wall sign: A sign attached to, or painted on or against a flat vertical surface of a building in such a manner that the wall becomes the supporting structure for, or forms the background structure of, the sign. See. 16-40-16-48. Reserved. SECTION II. All prior ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. SECTION III. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any remaining provisions of the ordinance. SECTION IV. This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage. PASSED this 11th day of January 2005. Town of Leesburg ATTEST: amendstreetscapefeatures