9-15-3: LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE:
A. The town council finds and determines as follows:
1. The town is widely known for its high mountain setting, its natural beauty, and its aesthetic charm.
2. The town's economy is tourist-based, and it is essential to the continued economic vitality of the town that the aesthetic appeal of the town be preserved and enhanced.
3. If not properly regulated, signs can create a distraction for motorists and pedestrians, impede traffic circulation, and contribute to accidents.
B. The primary purpose of this chapter is to create a legal framework for a comprehensive and balanced system of signage in the town. These regulations are intended to provide an easy and pleasant communication between people and their environment, and to avoid visual clutter that is potentially harmful to traffic and pedestrian safety, property values, business opportunities, and community appearance.
C. This chapter is adopted specifically to serve the public interest by:
1. Encouraging signs that maintain and enhance the unique aesthetics, beauty, and charm of the town.
2. Protecting and enhancing the economic viability of the town's commercial areas by attempting to assure the town's continued aesthetic appeal to the residents and the many tourists who annually visit the town.
3. Promoting the use of aesthetically pleasing sign materials, colors, designs, and types.
4. Encouraging signs that are architecturally and cosmetically compatible with the surrounding area, and that are of a quality design and character that do not detract from the overall appearance of the town.
5. Enhancing traffic and pedestrian safety by attempting to ensure that signage does not distract motorists or pedestrians, or obstruct or otherwise impede traffic circulation.
6. Protecting the town's Historic District, including that portion of the town designated by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic District, by avoiding damage to the town's sense of history, and by reinforcing the character of the town's Historic District and its visual elements.
7. Assisting in wayfinding, and promoting the efficient communication of messages.
8. Enhancing the overall property values in the town by discouraging signs that contribute to the visual clutter of the streetscape.
9. Implementing the town of Breckenridge Comprehensive Plan, one goal of which is to protect the unique and highly valuable aesthetic character of the town, as well as protecting the public by encouraging traffic safety.
10. Providing fair and consistent enforcement of this chapter.
D. In adopting this chapter it is the intent of the town to address problems caused by signs wholly apart from any message conveyed by signs, and to protect and promote the town's compelling governmental interests in a way that is unrelated to the topic discussed, the idea or message conveyed, the speaker's viewpoint, or any other content of the message displayed on a sign. It is neither the purpose nor the intent of this chapter to stymie any sign because of the town's disagreement with the message or idea it conveys. (Ord. 3, Series 2019)