Town of Cary, North Carolina - Land Development Ordinance Intro   
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Chapter 9: Signs Up   

9.8  Sign Appearance, Logos, and Symbols

 

9.8.1  Applicability

The provisions of this section are applicable to all signage located outside the Town Center. These provisions are intended to encourage a high-quality attractive built environment, in which signage is appropriate and architecturally compatible.  The provisions of this section shall not apply to developments with approved Uniform Sign Plans or to existing signage in developments unless there is a proposal to modify the Uniform Sign Plan or existing signage.  Any amendments to existing legally erected signage or Uniform Sign Plans after the effective date of this amendment shall be required to meet all standards of this section.

9.8.2  Appearance

All signage shall be architecturally compatible with the style, composition, materials, and details of the primary structure(s).

9.8.3  Colors

(A)      Individual signs shall not use more than three (3) colors, plus a background color.

(B)      All signage shall utilize the same building colors as shown on an approved site plan, and may have one additional color not found on the site plan.  The use of high intensity colors or fluorescent pigments is prohibited.

(C)      Signage will be allowed to utilize the four (4) predominant building colors, or any combination of one accent color and three (3) predominant colors as used on the primary structure(s).

(D)      Signage may utilize white and/or black as predominant colors even in a case when such colors are not utilized on the primary structure(s).

(E)      Signage may not utilize more than one (1) color for the primary message copy, unless a second color is used to create a shadowing or outlining effect.

 

PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

                        

§         For panel signs, the background color shall mean the panel itself.

 

§         For channel letters, the background color shall mean the returns.

 

§         If the portion of the building wall behind a wall sign is painted a different color than the remainder of the wall, then such portion of the wall shall be counted as a background color.

 

§         Trim colors shall be counted as background colors.

 

 

9.8.4  Display of Logos and Trademarks, General

Logos and trademarks may be included on signs (except identification, residential and incidental signs) without separate restriction, provided that such logos and trademarks are consistent with the approved color scheme shown on the Uniform Sign Plan.  Logos for single occupancy projects also shall be limited to the two-color requirement.

9.8.5  Display of Registered Trademarks

A federally registered trademark that is registered in colors inconsistent with the applicable Uniform Sign Plan or the color limitations applicable to a single-occupancy property may nevertheless be displayed on a sign in its registered form and color(s), provided that it may only occupy up to twenty (20) percent of the permitted area of any sign, without regard to the color limitations otherwise applicable to the sign; placement on the sign shall be in accordance with any applicable provision of the Uniform Sign Plan. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.8.6  Logos as Pieces of Information

A logo or trademark shall be considered one “piece of information” on a sign on which the number of pieces of information is limited.

 

PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

 

·              This Ordinance does not specify where a logo must be placed on a sign;

·              Holders of multi-color federally registered trademarks or of federally registered trademarks that do not conform to the colors shown in the applicable Uniform Sign Plan or with the three-color limitation on single-occupancy properties have two choices regarding the display of their trademarks:  under paragraph (b), the holder of such a mark may, at the holder’s choice, elect to display the mark in a color pattern consistent with the applicable Uniform Sign Plan; or, the holder may display the mark in its registered colors, provided that it shall not  occupy more than ten percent (10%) of the permitted area of the sign on which it appears. 

·              The holder of a federally registered trademark that conforms to the colors shown in the applicable Uniform Sign Plan may display that logo as part of the permitted signage without further restriction.

 

Cary, NC Land Development Ordinance On-line VIC Version - This site last updated 3/4/2008

Note: This is not the official version of the Cary Land Development Ordinance