§ 3-31. Statement of purpose.

(a)

Dublin, Laurens County, Georgia is a rapidly developing community. As our population here and in surrounding counties increases, many new services and businesses are locating in the city. It is important for our citizens and businesses to be able to communicate through the use of signs. This important individual right of speech must be protected and balanced against the rights of the general public. In adopting these sign regulations, it is not the intent and purpose of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Dublin to impose an outright ban on signs, or regulate their content, but instead to:

(1)

Ensure the right of individuals to convey their messages through signs;

(2)

Protect the public health, safety and general welfare;

(3)

Further the objectives of the city's comprehensive land use planning;

(4)

Reduce traffic and pedestrian hazards;

(5)

Maintain the historical and cultural heritage and image of the city;

(6)

Protect property values by minimizing the possible adverse effects and visual blight caused by signs;

(7)

Avoid the harmful aspects of the unrestricted proliferation of signs;

(8)

Promote economic development and tourism;

(9)

Protect private property values;

(10)

Promote proper sign maintenance to insure safety and appearance;

(11)

Enhance the economy and the business and industry of the city by promoting the reasonable, orderly and effective display of signs; and

(12)

Ensure the fair and consistent enforcement of sign regulations.

(b)

In assessing how to go about the above-described task, the mayor and city council have gathered information from many sources. They have received input from city staff, including the departments of engineering, planning and zoning, legal and police. Mayor and council have given considerable weight to and find the following relevant and useful as to the size, location and quantity of sign structures within the city and how to regulate them in order to achieve the above-stated intents and purposes: University of Georgia Land Use Clinic (2003, June 26); Sign Control on Rural Corridors: Model Provisions and Guidance; Wisconsin Department of Transportation (1994, December); Milwaukee County Stadium Variable Message Sign Study: Impacts of an Advertising Variable Message Sign on Freeway Traffic; Scenic America (2007); Billboards in the Digital Age: Unsafe (and Unsightly) at Any Speed; Scenic America Issue Alert; Nasar, Jack L. and Hong, Xiaodong (1999, September); Visual Preferences in Urban Signscapes; Journal of Environment and Behavior, 31(5), 671-691; Office of Safety Research and Development, Federal Highway Administration (2001, September 11); Research Review of Potential Safety Effects of Electronic Billboards on Driver Attention and Distraction, U.S. Department of Transportation; New York State Department of State, Division of Local Government Services (2006, January); Municipal Control of Signs; James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series; Weinstein, Alan C., A Study of Local Regulation of Outdoor Advertising in 268 U.S. Jurisdictions; Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Inc.; City Club of Portland (1996, September 6), Billboard Regulation in Portland; City Club of Portland Bulletin, 78(13), 1-40; Smily, Alison and Persaud, Bhagwant, et al (2005); Traffic Safety Evaluations of Video Advertising Signs; Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1937, 105-112.

(Ord. No. 08-16, § 2, 9-18-2008)