It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect, construct, or alter any sign in the City except in conformance with the provisions of this Ordinance, subject to issuance of a permit, unless specifically exempted below. All temporary ground signs and banner signs except ideological signs shall be registered with the Administrative Official. Furthermore the following signs and displays shall be specifically exempted from and not regulated by this Ordinance:
(a) Official traffic signs, government, school or utility signs; or flags of any nation, government or noncommercial organization.
(b) Signs not intended to be viewed from the public right-of-way or scoreboards on athletic fields.
(c) Cornerstone inscriptions, commemorative plaques or other signs that are part of masonry facades.
(d) Gravestones, religious symbols or monuments in cemeteries or monument sales lots.
(e) Signs of less than one square foot in sign area such as street numbers on buildings, security system signs or stickers, identification of store hours, emblems of credit cards accepted, seals indicating membership in business or trade associations, and the like.
(f) Signs accessory to juvenile activities, such as a child’s lemonade stand or temporary play-related sidewalk markings.
(g) Temporary signs used for charity or nonprofit fundraising and not for private gain, or civic or community affairs of a public or semipublic nature.
(h) Holiday or other temporary decorations.
(i) Other signs similar in nature in the judgment of the Administrative Official to the above signs.