Sec. 3-8. Advertising on streets generally.
a. It shall be unlawful for any person without first obtaining a permit from the City to do so, to place or erect or cause to be placed or erected upon the streets, alleys or other property of the City any provisional sign, poster, placard, banner, shield, flag, sign, bill, card or any other device either decorative, pictorial or bearing advertisement.
b. The City Manager or his designated representative is hereby authorized to grant permits for such signs, decorations or advertising on the streets of the City, subject to the following:
1. Such advertising shall relate only to events of a general City-wide civic or public benefit nature sponsored by a recognized, nonprofit group or organization or to a national or regional convention to be held in Phoenix and having at least twelve hundred registered persons in attendance at its latest preceding convention. In the above case of a regional or national convention, this permit shall be restricted to allow only up to four banners. No advertisement of a commercial nature shall be permitted; provided, however, that permits may be issued for advertising the semiannual Greater Phoenix Days sponsored by the Phoenix Retail Merchants Association and for events of a similar nature sponsored by groups comprised of merchants in localized shopping areas. No advertising of a commercial nature shall be suspended over streets, alleys or thoroughfares.
2. No provisional sign, advertising or decoration shall be attached to electric wiring or energized by electricity, except decorations for the Christmas holiday season, and except for directional and informational pedestrian signage, which shall contain no advertising.
3. Such advertising may be in the nature of a poster or cutout of reasonable size attached to designated utility poles or decorations hung across the street. No advertising or decoration shall be placed upon traffic signal posts or signs, nor shall any decorations be so placed as to obstruct motorists view of traffic signals.
4. On any line hung across a public right-of-way, no message panel shall exceed one hundred twenty square feet. All panels, shields, pennants, or other decorations bearing any legend shall be considered as a message panel. No message panel shall contain more than four lines of copy, nor more than ten words excluding the date and time of the event. None of the letters on the message panel shall be less than eight inches in height. The lowest part of any panel, shield, pennant or other decoration shall be at least fourteen feet above the street surface. Each panel, shield, pennant, or other decoration shall be secured at the top to the line and shall hang independently.
5. Any application for a permit for decorations, or advertising attached to utility poles or lamp poles shall include the written approval of the Superintendent of Electrical Maintenance of the City and the authorized official of the public utility company owning the poles to which the devices would be attached as to the size and weight or the poster or decoration and the manner of attachment to the poles. The bottom of posters or advertising attached to poles shall be at least seven feet from the sidewalk surface. No advertising or decorations shall be attached to any utility pole carrying primary circuits or to any wooden pole or public property.
6. Lines placed across streets or thoroughfares to support decorations shall not be attached to any steel streetlight standard or pole.
7. Commercial decorations shall not be displayed longer than seven days for any event. Signs or decorations of a public service nature may be permitted to be displayed for up to one hundred eighty days. Other decorations shall not be displayed longer than fifteen days for any event except that decorations for promoting the annual rodeo sponsored by the Phoenix Junior Chamber of Commerce or for the annual United Fund campaign shall not be displayed longer than twenty-one days. This subsection shall not apply to Christmas decorations.
8. In no event may posters or decorations advertising more than one event be attached to any one light pole.
9. The permit shall set forth the area in which signs, decorations and advertisements may be placed.
10. In the event of two or more requests for permits covering the same period of time, the placement of the decorations or advertising of each applicant shall be specified in the permit.
11. The party granted the permit shall remove all posters, decorations and advertisements within twenty-four hours after the close of the event advertised.
12. All placing and removal of decorations shall be done only during the hours set forth in the permit. In determining such hours, the person authorized by the City Manager to issue such permits shall confer with the head of the Traffic Section of the Police Department.
13. No advertising other than signs and decorations installed under permits as set out therein except advertising on street benches and trash containers under agreement approved by the City Council, or advertising on vehicles, shall be permitted on the City streets. This provision shall not apply to permanent advertising signs as permitted under existing sign ordinances. Temporary commercial advertising signs in connection with community-wide special events, such as the Phoenix Grand Prix, may be authorized by permit from the City Manager, allowing occupation of the public right-of-way in the area used for the special event. Such signs are to be erected shortly before the special event and removed immediately thereafter.
14. By accepting any permit issued under the provisions of this section, a permittee, its heirs, successors and assigns shall agree to save and hold harmless the City, any of its departments, agencies, officers or employees, all of whom, while working within their respective authority, from all cost and damage incurred by any of the above and from any other damage to any person or property which is caused by any activity, condition or event arising out of the performance or non-performance of any provision of this Section by said permittee, any of its agents, or independent contractors. When any of the above cost, damage or other damage occurs as aforesaid, said permittee assumes the burden of proof that the above activity, condition or event did not cause such cost, damage or other damage.
15. Said permittee, its heirs, successors and assigns, further agrees to purchase public liability insurance for itself and also covering, as a named insured, the City of Phoenix, any of its departments, agencies, officers or employees, all of whom while working within their respective authority, in minimum amounts of three hundred thousand dollars per person, five hundred thousand dollars per occurrence, and one hundred thousand dollars per property damage.
16. All electrical wiring or attachments to poles, buildings, or other structures shall be done in accordance with the Electrical Code of the City of Phoenix.
c. The Director of the Phoenix Convention Center Department, or his designated representative, is hereby authorized to grant permits for temporary signs, advertising events or decorations on and in the Phoenix Convention Center, the theaters and the parking facilities. The permit shall become effective not more than 30 days prior to commencement of the event and shall terminate at the conclusion of the event. Each sign shall be commercial in nature, directly related to the event and approved by the Director as to content, size and form. All such signs shall comply with all applicable structural and electrical requirements of the Construction Code of the City of Phoenix. (Code 1962, § 3-5; Ord. No. G-717, § 1; Ord. No. G-847, § 1; Ord. No. G-1737, § 1; Ord. No. G-2157, § 1; Ord. No. G-2704, § 1; Ord. No. G-3026, § 1; Ord. No. G-3230, § 1; Ord. No. G-3420, § 1; Ord. No. G-3511, § 1; Ord. No. G-4872, § 3, 2007; Ord. No. G-6066, 2015)