§ 74-402. Permits, fees and inspection.

(a)

General permit. Permits shall be required under this article as follows:

(1)

Except for those signs listed in sections 74-402 (b)(1), 74-413, and 74-415, it shall be unlawful for any person to erect, make repairs exceeding fifty (50) percent of the cost of replacement, alter or relocate any sign or other advertising structure as defined in this article without first obtaining a general sign permit from the code enforcement officer.

(2)

Application for such permit shall be accompanied by drawings and specifications indicating the location, disposition, place of erection, method of fastening, full dimensions of all signs to be permitted and the total area of all signs existing on the property at the time of application.

(3)

Whenever such application, accompanied by all required information, has been submitted, such application shall be examined by the code enforcement officer or his designated agent, and if the application and specifications comply with all applicable requirements, a permit shall be issued for the erection of such sign or advertising structure, upon payment of the sum as set forth in Section 107.1 et. seq. of the Southern Standard Building Code for each permit unless otherwise indicated.

(4)

Failure to comply with the drawings and specifications submitted with an approved sign permit application shall constitute a violation of this article.

(5)

If work authorized under a general sign permit is not completed within six (6) months after the date of issuance, such permit shall be deemed null and void.

(b)

Temporary permit. The following signs are permitted for a limited amount of time as provided.

(1)

Political signs:

a.

Prior to the erection of any political sign, a temporary sign permit shall be obtained from the code enforcement officer. Such permit shall authorize the erection of all signs pertaining to the candidate or political point of view indicated on the temporary sign permit application. Such application shall also include the dimensions of each sign and the type of materials to be used.

b.

A temporary sign permit for political signs shall allow political signs to be erected commensurate with the initial qualifying date for a city, parish, state or federal election and shall require that such signs be removed within seven (7) days following the election. However, they may be allowed to remain displayed between the initial and runoff elections.

c.

Upon completion of the application showing satisfactory compliance with the provisions of this section, a temporary sign permit for political signs shall be issued at a refundable fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). If violations of the provisions for a temporary political sign permit do not occur the permit fee shall be refunded.

(2)

Mobile/portable signs:

a.

Prior to the erection of any mobile/portable sign, a temporary sign permit must be obtained from the code enforcement officer.

b.

A temporary sign permit for a mobile/portable sign shall permit the use of such sign for a period no longer than thirty (30) consecutive days and shall not be used for at least sixty (60) days thereafter, with a total limit of ninety (90) days per calendar year for any one (1) business.

c.

Upon completion of the temporary sign permit application indicating satisfactory compliance with all applicable requirements of this section, a temporary sign permit shall be issued for the erection of a mobile/portable sign upon payment of fifty dollars ($50.00).

(Ord. No. 7/99, 4-26-99; Ord. No. 12/00, 7-10-00; Ord. No. 5/08, 5-12-08)