Related documents
Swartland
South Africa
South Africa
Outdoor Advertising and Signage By-law, 2015
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette 7394 on 22 May 2015
- Commenced on 22 May 2015
- [This is the version of this document from 22 May 2015 and includes any amendments published up to 1 November 2024.]
1. Definitions
In this by-law, unless the context otherwise indicates—"advertising structure" means any physical structure built to display a sign;"advertisement" means any representation of a word, name, letter, figure or object or an abbreviation of a word or name, or any symbol, or any light which is not intended solely for illumination or as a warning against any dangers and "advertising" has a similar meaning;"aerial sign" means a sign that is displayed or performed in the air, including but not limited to balloons and blimps that can be viewed from within the municipality’s area of jurisdiction;"approval" means approval by the municipality and "approve" has a corresponding meaning;"areas of control" means those areas set out in Schedule 1 of the by-law which may be modified or amended in terms of the municipality’s zoning scheme regulations, which amendments and modifications will be graphically depicted by way of maps as prepared by the municipality;"banner" means any material upon which a sign is displayed in such a manner as to be fully legible in windless conditions, attached to one or more ropes, poles or flagstaffs projecting vertically, horizontally or at an angle, or attached to buildings or special structures, but excludes banners carried as part of a procession. A flag which is not displayed on an approved flag pole shall for the purposes of this by-law be deemed to be a banner;"billboard" means any screen or board which stands free and is larger than 4.5m2 in total area which is supported by, or consists of, a structure used, for the purpose of posting, displaying or exhibiting a sign;"class 2 roads" means the roads which form the primary network for the urban areas as a whole and which are characterised by high volumes, restricted access and fairly high speeds;"class 3 roads" means roads that distribute traffic between the principal residential, industrial and business districts of the town and which form the link between the primary network (class 2 roads) and the roads within residential areas;"clear height", in relation to a sign, means the vertical distance between the lowest edge of the sign and the natural level of the surrounding ground, footway or roadway immediately below the sign;"commercial advertising" means any words, letters, logos, figures, symbols, pictures relating to the name of a business, trade, partnership, individual, or any information, recommendation or exhortation in respect of any particular goods manufactured or sold, or any particular services rendered or offered, or any event for commerce or entertainment, including sporting events;"commercially sponsored sign" means a sign which advertises goods or services, but the erection of which has a secondary purpose, which is to promote or contribute to some recognised public or community goal or function;"common boundary façade" means any façade of a building which is built abutting a rear or side boundary of an erf and which façade is blank, that is, having no architectural features, which includes windows;"composite sign" means a single freestanding advertising structure for the display of more than one sign;"consultant" means a suitably qualified independent person or company that acts on behalf of, or as an agent of, an applicant for approval of a sign in terms of this by-law;"continuing offence" means an offence in terms of this by-law, which offence continues to exist after the expiry of the notice period referred to in a notice served in terms of this by-law;"custom made design" means the design of any sign, which features special effects such as specialist character cut outs or shapes or three dimensional presentations or moving parts or a combination thereof, and which is uniquely designed or constructed for erection in a particular location;"development board" means a sign—(a)displayed at premises upon which building operations are currently in progress and relating to any services being provided, work being done or goods being supplied in connection with such building operations, but excludes contract boards for building and civil engineering projects as required in terms of the National Building Regulations and Control Act, 1977 (Act 103 of 1977); and(b)a loose standing sign on which the name and nature of development on a specific site is displayed and include, but is not limited to residential- business- recreational- or industrial development and on which third party advertising is allowed subject to the conditions laid down in terms of item 4 of Schedule 8 to this by-law;"development site" means any site on which development is undertaken and include but is not limited to residential- business recreational- or industrial development;"display" means the display of a sign and includes the erection of any billboard, sign or structure intended solely or primarily for the support of a sign or billboard, and includes the display of a sign of a business, trade partnership or individual connected with the contents of the sign or sign, and "displayed" has a corresponding meaning;"electronic sign" means a sign which has an electronically controlled, illuminated display surface which allows all, or a portion, of the sign to be changed or illuminated in different ways;"environmental impact assessment" (EIA) means an assessment carried out in accordance with the municipality’s guidelines for outdoor advertising;"estate agency" means a person who markets or sells properties with or without buildings erected thereon and "estate agent" has a corresponding meaning;"existing sign" means any sign previously approved by the municipality;"flat sign" means a sign which is affixed to, or painted directly onto a wall of a building but not onto or over windows or doors or architectural articulations and which at no point projects more than 250mm in front of the surface of such wall;"freestanding sign" means any sign or group of signs contained or displayed on one freestanding structure which is not attached to a building or to any structure or object not intended to be used for the primary purpose of advertising;"gateway route" means a prominent route with an entrance to or exit from a specific part of the municipality’s jurisdiction, consisting of man-made or natural features and creating a strong sense of arrival or departure and which is consistent with town planning or development framework plans or policy, and which may be geographically depicted by way of maps or listed by the municipality;"graphic" includes but is not limited to any component which contributes to the visual appearance or aesthetics of a sign, including its background;"height of a sign" is calculated by measuring the vertical distance between the uppermost and lowest parts of the advertising panel;"heritage impact assessment" (HIA) means a visual and contextual assessment of the impact that any proposed sign may have on the cultural heritage, whether built or recognised at the locality where the proposed sign will be displayed;"internally illuminated sign" means an advertisement or structure used to display an advertisement which has been installed with electrical or other power and an artificial light source which is fully or partially enclosed within the structure or sign and which light is intended to illuminate the advertisement or a portion thereof;"law" means any law, proclamation, ordinance, Act of Parliament or Provincial Legislature, or any other enactment having the force of law;"locality bound advertising" means any sign displayed on a specific erf, premises or building and may include such a sign on municipal owned land, adjacent to, abutting on or within 5 meters of the aforementioned erf, premises or building, which sign refers to an activity, product, service or attraction, located, rendered or provided on or from that erf or those premises;"loose portable sign" means a freestanding locality bound notice or advertising board placed or erected in the road reserve, street, sidewalk or in a public open space;"movable sign" means a sign not permanently fixed and not intended to remain fixed in one position, but does not include any moving part on a fixed permanent sign;"municipality"means the municipality of Swartland established in terms of Section 12 of the Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998, and includes any political structure, political office bearer, councillor, duly authorised agent thereof or any employee thereof acting in connection with this by-law by virtue of a power vested in the municipality and delegated or sub-delegated to such political structure, political office bearer, councillor, agent or employee;"new sign" means any sign first displayed after the promulgation of this by-law;"non-profit body" means a body established primarily to promote a community goal or benefit without direct or personal financial gain, and may include educational, sporting, medical, municipal departments, bodies as well as charities or community organizations;"organ of state" means—(a)any department of state or administration in the national, provincial or local sphere of government;(b)any other functionary or institution—(i)exercising a power or performing a function in terms of the Constitution or a provincial constitution; or(ii)exercising a public power or performing a public function in terms of any other legislation;"overall height", in relation to a sign, means the vertical distance between the uppermost edge of the sign and the finished level of the ground, footway or roadway immediately below the centre point of the sign;"perimeter of an intersection" means the perimeter of the area embraced within the prolongation of the road reserve lines of two or more public roads that join one another at any angle, whether or not one such public road crosses the other;"person" includes—(a)a natural person;(b)any organ of state;(c)any company incorporated or registered as such under any law; and(d)any body of persons, whether incorporated or not, functioning as a single entity for whatever purpose;"projected sign" means any sign projected by a laser projector, video projector, or other apparatus;"projecting sign" means a sign which is affixed to a wall of a building and which at some point projects more than 250mm in front of the surface of such wall;"public façade" means any façade of a building that has architectural articulations and which is visible to the public;"public place" means any public road, public street, thoroughfare, bridge, subway, footway, foot pavement, footpath, sidewalk, (or similar pedestrian portion of a road reserve), lane, square, open space, garden, park or enclosed place vested in the municipality, or other state authority or indicated as such on the Surveyor General’s records, or utilized by the public or zoned as such in terms of the applicable zoning scheme;"public road" means public road as defined in the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act 93 of 1996);"road reserve" means the area contained within the statutory width of a road, and includes roadways, shoulders and sidewalks and the air-space above such roadways, shoulders and sidewalks and all other areas within the road reserve boundary;"roadway" means that portion of a road, street or thoroughfare improved, constructed or intended for vehicular traffic as defined in the National Road Traffic Act, 1996;"roof sign" means a sign affixed to a roof of a building where the top edge of any point of that sign does not exceed the height of the roof plane to which it is affixed as determined in terms of the municipality’s zoning scheme regulations;"SAMOAC" means the 2008 South African Manual for Outdoor Advertising Control published by the departments of Transport and Environmental Affairs and Tourism as amended;"scenic drive" means a road designated as such on an approved zoning scheme or from which landscapes or features of aesthetic or cultural significance can be seen or viewed as designated by the municipality;"security sign" means an outdoor sign for neighborhood watch and similar schemes, and a sign containing the name, logo, address and telephone number of a security company contracted to protect or security system installed to protect the premises on which the sign is displayed;"service station facility sign" means freestanding signs at petrol filling stations, roadside rest and service areas and includes service station pylon signs;"shop" means a building used for retail trade or services;"sign" means any object, product, replica, advertising structure, mural, device or board which is used to publicly display a sign or which is in itself a sign and includes a poster, billboard and an advertisement which is included in the architectural design of a building or structure;"signalised traffic intersection" means an intersection controlled by traffic signals;"sky sign" means a sign where the top edge of any point of that sign exceeds the height of the roof plane to which it is affixed as determined in terms of the municipality’s zoning scheme regulations;"sponsored sign" means a sign, the primary purpose of which is not to advertise goods or services but which displays a graphic or content which promotes community or public awareness of a recognised public or community goal;"street name signs" means pole-mounted, double-sided, internally illuminated or unilluminated signs displayed in combination with names of streets, not exceeding 1m²;"street furniture" means public facilities and structures which are not intended primarily for advertising and includes but is not limited to seating benches, planters, bins, pole mounted bins, bus shelters, side-walk clocks, drinking fountains, Telkom boxes, traffic signal controllers, electricity boxes, post boxes and telephone booths, but excludes road traffic signs, traffic signals, street lights or any other road-related structures;"temporary signs" means signs which are displayed for a maximum period of 14 days, or such other period as may be approved by the municipality;"thickness", in relation to a projecting sign, means the width of such sign measured parallel to the plane of the main wall to which such sign is affixed;"third-party advertising" means the advertising of goods or services that are not made, procured, sold or delivered from the property on which the sign or sign advertising those goods or services is fixed or placed, and includes advertising which is not locality bound;"three dimensional sign" means a sign containing more than 2 dimensions, including product replicas;"traffic impact assessment" (TIA) means a study carried out by a registered professional engineer with demonstrable experience in the field of traffic engineering that investigates the impact a proposed sign may have on vehicle, pedestrian, or cyclist safety and traffic operation, which study should recommend any mitigating measures that may be required as a result of that impact;"traffic sign" means a road traffic sign as prescribed in the National Road Traffic Act, 1996;"traffic signal" means a road traffic signal as prescribed in the National Road Traffic Act, 1996;"transit advertising" means advertising by means of a movable sign which is capable of being transported by road either on or in conjunction with a motorised or non-motorised vehicle, including trailers primarily used for advertising;"transportation terminals" means any area designated by the municipality as such, where the formal interchange of modes of public transport takes place by the public, including, but not limited to designated railway stations, official taxi terminals and bus terminals;"urban edge line" means a predetermined point to point boundary line as determined by the municipality, which has as its purpose, the containment of urban development;"verandah" includes a cantilevered canopy and sunblind;"window signs" means signs which are temporarily or permanently painted on, or attached to the window-glass of a building;"zone" means a land use zone as set out in the relevant zoning schemes or town planning regulations as amended from time to time and applicable to any erf on which a sign is displayed or intended to be displayed and "zoning" has a corresponding meaning.2. Principles and objectives
Chapter 1
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS, CHARGES AND GENERAL FACTORS IN CONSIDERING APPROVAL, AMENDMENTS AND CONDITIONS TO APPROVAL, FACTORS RELATING TO SPECIFIC SIGNS, AREAS OF CONTROL AND COMMERCIAL SPONSORED SIGNS
3. Submission of applications
4. Charges and general factors in considering approval, amendments, conditions to approval
5. Factors relating to specific signs, areas of control, and commercial sponsored signs
Chapter 2
STANDARD CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL, REQUIREMENTS, AND APPROVAL
6. Standard conditions for approval
7. Electrical requirements
8. Illumination requirements
9. Road traffic safety requirements
TABLE 1:
LINEAR SPACING BETWEEN SIGNS
Case | Spacing required when visible for trafficon a road with a speed of | ||
---|---|---|---|
≤60 km/h | 61 - 80 km/h | 81 - 120 km/h | |
Where a sign follows aroad sign | 120m | 200m | 300m |
Where a sign follows asign | 250m | 250m | 300m |
Where a sign precedes aroad sign | 40m | 70m | 100m |