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Wherever a sign with a commercial message is allowed or permitted under this chapter, an owner may replace the message with a noncommercial message, subject to the time, place and manner provisions of this chapter, without applying for a permit and/or paying a fee that otherwise would be required for the placement of a commercial message sign on the lot; provided, that the sign structure or mounting device is legal without consideration of message content. This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this chapter. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a lot or parcel, nor does it affect the requirement that a sign structure or mounting device be properly permitted.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
If the type of any sign that legally existed prior to the effective date of this amendment is reclassified by this amendment, such sign shall be classified as the sign type defined in this chapter and Chapter 1246: Definitions, and shall be subject to the applicable standards for such sign type from the effective date of this amendment. Such reclassification shall be regardless of any variances that were approved prior to the effective date of this amendment.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
(a) No person shall erect, place, relocate, expand, modify, maintain or otherwise alter a sign, or cause a sign to be erected, placed, relocated, expanded, modified, maintained, or otherwise altered unless all provisions of this code have been met.
(b) Unless otherwise provided, this chapter shall apply to any sign, in any zoning district, that is visible from a public right-of-way or from an adjacent property.
(c) Any sign legally established prior to the effective date of this chapter, and which sign is rendered nonconforming by the provisions herein, shall be subject to the nonconforming sign regulations of § 1236.12: Nonconforming Signs.
(d) Any person installing, structurally altering and/or relocating a sign for which a permit has been issued shall be responsible for the scheduling of necessary inspections, including, but not limited to, an inspection of footings on a freestanding sign, building, and electrical inspections and the like, during the course of the work.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
(a) Permit generally. To ensure compliance with these regulations, a zoning permit shall be required to be issued unless specifically exempted in this chapter.
(b) Historic district. Zoning permits for signs in a historic district or on a landmark site shall not be considered until a COA has been approved.
(c) Design criteria. Signage requests not related to a use or development that requires site plan approval may be approved administratively by the Code Administrator, provided that such request(s) adheres to all the applicable code requirements listed in this section. The Code Administrator shall have the option to defer the signage request to the Planning Commission for approval. All permanent signs related to a use or development that requires a site plan review approval (see § 1214.06: Site Plans) shall be required to be reviewed as part of the site plan review application prior to issuance of a zoning permit. During such review, the Planning Commission shall consider the following design criteria, without consideration of the message, in addition to the numerical standards of this chapter:
(1) The lettering shall be large enough to be easily read but not overly large or out of scale with the building or site;
(2) The number of items, letters, symbols and shapes shall be consistent with the amount of information which can be comprehended by the viewer; reflect simplicity; avoid visual clutter; and improve legibility;
(3) The shape of the sign shall be simple and not create visual clutter, and the sign should be consolidated to a minimum number of elements;
(4) The size, style and location of the sign shall be appropriate to the activity of the site;
(5) The sign shall compliment the building and adjacent buildings by being designed and placed to enhance the architecture;
(6) Signs shall have an appropriate contrast and be designed with a limited number of, and harmonious use of, colors;
(7) Extraneous elements, by virtue of inappropriate remodeling, and which exist at the time a new sign is proposed, shall be removed to improve the clarity and design of the proposed sign and restore the intended character of the building;
(8) Signs, if seen in series, shall have a continuity of design with the style of sign generally consistent throughout the building or block;
(9) Visible frames or supports for projecting signs shall be artistic in nature; and
(10) A sign should be constructed with a minimum of different types of material so as to provide a consistent overall appearance.
(d) Zoning permit exemptions for signs. The following signs are subject to the requirements of this chapter but do not require a zoning permit. Permit-exempt signs may still be subject to building code or other applicable code requirements:
(1) Signs and/or notices issued by any court, officer or other person in performance of a public duty. Any such sign shall be removed no later than seven days after the last day it is required to be displayed;
(2) Whenever any sign, either conforming or nonconforming, is required to be removed for the purpose of repair, relettering or repainting, the same may be done without a zoning permit or any payment of fees provided that all of the following conditions are met:
A. There is no alteration or remodeling to the structure or the mounting of the sign itself;
B. There is no enlargement or increase in any of the dimensions of the sign or its structure; and
C. The sign is accessory to a legally permitted or legally nonconforming use.
(3) This shall include the exchange of sign panels when a sign is designed to have replaceable sign faces unless a zoning permit or site plan review is required for simultaneous work on the applicable lot, in which case, the sign panel change shall be reviewed as part of the zoning permit or site plan review application, as applicable;
(4) Signs that are an integral part of the original construction of vending or similar machines, fuel pumps, automated teller machines or similar devices that are not of a size or design as to be visible from a street or by any person other than those using the machine or device;
(5) Any sign that is located completely inside a building that is not visible from the exterior (see also definition of window sign);
(6) Signs that are located within a stadium, open-air theater, park, arena or other outdoor use that are not visible from a public right-of-way or adjacent property, and can be viewed only by persons within such stadium, open-air theater, park, arena or other outdoor use;
(7) Certain temporary signs as established in § 1236.11: Temporary Signs;
(8) No more than four flags located on flagpoles or on wall-mounted posts provided that the following shall apply:
A. The maximum height of flag poles shall not exceed the maximum building height for structures in the subject zoning district, and a maximum sign area of area of 40 square feet for any individual flag attached to the pole; and
B. The maximum projection for wall-mounted flag post is six feet and a maximum sign area of 15 square feet per flag.
(9) A single wall sign placed on the facade of an individual dwelling unit that is not illuminated and does not exceed two square feet in area;
(10) Signs that are an integral part of the historic character of a structure that has been designated an official landmark or historic structure by any agency or body of the governments of the United States, state, Lorain County or city;
(11) Any signs located on umbrellas, seating or similar patio furniture provided they are located outside of the right-of-way;
(12) Ground signs and markings located completely within the interior of a lot used for a cemetery where such signs are not designed to be visible from a public street;
(13) Signs that are part of a public art installation;
(14) Any sign on a truck, bus or other vehicle that is used in the normal course of a business (e.g., deliveries or fleet vehicles for contractors) for transportation (see also § 1236.06(p)), or signage required by the state or federal government;
(15) Signs installed or required by a governmental agency including the city, Lorain County, state and United States, including local and regional transit agencies;
(16) Any warning signs or traffic safety signs required by public utility providers;
(17) Hand-held signs not set on or affixed to the ground;
(18) Any address numbers required by the city, Lorain County or the state;
(19) Changes of copy on signs with changeable copy;
(20) Any signs, including illuminated signs, or related decorations erected in observance of religious, national or state holidays which are not intended to be permanent in nature and which contain no advertising material; and
(21) General maintenance, painting, repainting, cleaning and other normal maintenance and repair of a sign or any sign structure unless a structural change is made.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021; Ord. 22-195, passed 12-19-2022)
The following types of signs are specifically prohibited within the city:
(a) Any sign that copies or imitates a sign installed by any governmental agency or purports to have been authorized by a governmental agency;
(b) Signs that interfere with, obstruct the view of, or are similar in appearance to any authorized traffic sign, signal or device because of its position, shape, use of words or color;
(c) Signs that constitute a hazard to safety or health by reason of inadequate or inappropriate design, construction, repair or maintenance, as determined by the building official;
(d) Signs that employ any parts or elements which revolve, rotate, whirl, spin or otherwise make use of motion to attract attention. This shall not include electronic message centers as allowed in this chapter;
(e) Signs with moving or flashing lights except for electronic message centers as allowed in this chapter;
(f) Feather signs;
(g) Beacons and searchlights, except for emergency purposes;
(h) Windblown devices, pennants, streamers, and similar signs that are designed to move by atmospheric, mechanical, electrical or other means, whether containing words or numerals or containing no message.
(i) Air-activated graphics;
(j) Balloon signs;
(k) Roof signs;
(l) Signs that are applied to trees, bus shelters, utility poles, benches, trash receptacles, newspaper
vending machines or boxes, or any other unapproved supporting structure, or otherwise placed in the public right-of-way except as otherwise specifically provided for in this code;
(m) Signs that obstruct or substantially interfere with any window, door, fire escape, stairway, ladder or opening intended to provide light, air, ingress or egress to any building;
(n) Signs which are not securely affixed to the ground or otherwise affixed in a permanent manner to an approved supporting structure unless specifically permitted as a temporary sign;
(o) Portable signs;
(p) Vehicle signs viewed from a public road with the primary purpose of providing signage not otherwise allowed by this chapter. A vehicle sign shall be considered to be used for the primary purpose of advertising if the vehicle fails to display current license plates, inspection sticker, or municipal decal; if the vehicle is inoperable; if evidence of paid-to-date local taxes cannot be made available; or if the sign alters the standard design of such vehicle. Vehicle signs include those attached to or placed on a vehicle or trailer. Vehicles or trailers shall not be parked continuously in one location to be used primarily as additional signage. This does not apply to a vehicle parked at a driver’s residence and is the primary means of transportation to and from his or her place of employment. See also § 1236.05(d)(14); and
(q) Any sign not specifically allowed by this chapter.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
(a) Sign setback. All required setbacks for signs shall be measured as the distance in feet from the lot line or right-of-way, whichever is applicable, to the closest point on the sign structure.
(b) Sign height. The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding or excavating solely undertaken for the purpose of locating or increasing the height of sign.
(c) Sign area. The surface of a sign to be included when computing maximum allowable square footage of sign area shall be calculated as established in this section. For the purposes of calculating sign area, any of the following regular geometric shapes may be used: circle, ellipse, triangle, square, rectangle, trapezoid, pentagon or hexagon.
(1) The calculation of sign area shall not include any supporting framework, bracing or decorative fence or wall unless such structural support is determined to constitute an integral part of the sign design by means of text or other message, as determined by the Code Administrator. See Figure 1236-A.
(2) For sign copy mounted or painted on a background panel, cabinet or surface distinctively painted, textured, lighted or constructed to serve as the background for the sign copy, the sign area shall be computed by means of the smallest permitted shape, or combination of permitted shapes, that encompasses the extreme limits of the background panel, cabinet or surface. See Figure 1236-A and Figure 1236-B.
Figure 1236-A: Illustration of sign area calculation for a ground sign with a copy on a distinct, rectangular cabinet. The brick structural support is not included in the sign area calculation.
Figure 1236-B: Illustration of computing the sign area for wall signs with a background panel or cabinet.
(3) For sign copy where individual letters or elements are mounted on a building facade or window where there is no background panel, cabinet or surface distinctively painted, textured, lighted or constructed to serve as the background for the sign copy, the sign area shall be computed by means of the smallest permitted shape, or combination of permitted shapes, that encloses all the letters or elements associated with the sign. See Figure 1236-C.
Figure 1236-C: Illustration of sign area calculation for wall signs with individual letters.
(4) In cases where there are multiple sign elements of sign copy on the same surface, any areas of sign copy that are within two feet of one another shall be calculated as a single sign area that shall be computed by means of the smallest permitted shape, or combination of permitted shapes, that encloses all sign copy within two feet of one another, otherwise the sign area shall be computed for each separate piece of sign copy. See Figure 1236-D.
Figure 1236-D: Illustration of sign area calculations for multiple sign areas on a window sign.
(5) Decorative edging or other window treatments that are not an integral part of the sign copy shall not be considered a part of the sign for the purposes of this chapter. See Figure 1236-D.
(6) Except for three-dimensional signs, the sign area for a sign with more than one face (multifaced signs) shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces when the interior angle is greater than 45 degrees.
(7) When two identically sized, flat sign faces are placed back-to-back or at angles of 45 degrees or less, so that both faces cannot be viewed from any one point at the same time, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the sign faces. If the two faces are unequal, the sign area shall be calculated based on the larger of the two faces.
(8) In the case of a three-dimensional sign where the sign faces are not mounted back-to-back, the sign area shall be calculated by the smallest permitted shape, or combination of permitted shapes, that encompasses the profile of the sign message. The profile used shall be the largest area of the sign message visible from any one point. See Figure 1236-E.
Figure 1236-E: Illustration of sign area calculations for three-dimensional sign.
(d) Facade measurements.
(1) When calculating the permitted sign area based on the width of any facade, such calculation shall be based on viewing the facade from a 90-degree angle (i.e., straight on), regardless of facade insets, offsets or angles. See Figure 1236-F.
Figure 1236-F: Illustration of facade width measurement on varied facade shapes.
(2) The primary facade shall be the portion of a frontage that serves as the main access point to a building or building unit. A site or building will be considered to have secondary facades when any of the following site/building characteristics are present (see Figure 1236-G):
A. The subject site is a corner lot;
B. The primary parking area is not located adjacent to a public street; or
C. The building or unit has walls with public or customer entrance points that do not face the public street.
Figure 1236-G: Common examples of the location of primary and secondary facades.
(3) When a site has primary and secondary facade as defined herein, the Code Administrator shall determine which wall shall be the primary building facade and which wall(s) shall be the secondary building facade. Only one outside wall of any business shall be considered its primary facade.
(4) For multi-tenant buildings, the portion of a building that is owned or leased by a single occupant or tenant shall be considered a building unit. The facade width for a building unit shall be measured from the centerline of the party walls defining the building unit.
(5) The Code Administrator shall have the authority to make the determination of what facades are primary facades and secondary facades for the purposes of this chapter.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
Unless otherwise specifically stated, the following regulations shall apply to all signs within the city.
(a) Permanent signs are considered accessory uses and shall be accessory to a principal use provided for in this code. Temporary signs may be permitted on all lots, regardless of the presence of a principal use, provided the temporary signs are in compliance with this chapter.
(b) All signs shall be constructed in compliance with the applicable building and electrical codes as well as any other city regulations.
(c) Signs shall be structurally designed to withstand wind pressure of 30 pounds per square foot in any direction.
(d) Signs shall be fabricated on and of materials which are of good quality, good durability and are complimentary to the building of which they become a part.
(e) No sign shall be erected, relocated or maintained so as to prevent free ingress or egress, or block any light or ventilation openings.
(f) No sign shall obstruct or interfere with fire ingress or egress from any door, window or fire escape, nor shall it obstruct or interfere with traffic or traffic visibility, or resemble or imitate signs or signals erected by the city or other governmental agency for the regulation of traffic or parking.
(g) All signs shall be secured in such a manner as to prevent swinging or other significant noticeable movement, not including movement related to permitted electronic message centers.
(h) Signs supported by or suspended from a building shall hang so as to maintain a minimum clear height of eight feet above a pedestrian path and 15 feet above a vehicular path.
(i) All signs shall comply with the vision clearance requirements of § 1226.05: Intersection Visibility.
(j) Signs in rights-of-way.
(1) Signs shall be prohibited in the right-of-way with the exception of:
A. Signs installed by the city, Lorain County, state or United States, including local and regional transit agencies;
B. Permanent monument signs if approved by the Code Administrator and where a homeowners’ or property owners’ association agreement or covenants provide for the maintenance of the sign; or
C. Any warning signs or traffic safety signs required by public utility providers.
(2) The building official may remove or cause to be removed any unlawful sign in the public right-of-way.
(k) Landscaping permanent freestanding signs.
(1) All permanent freestanding signs shall be located in a landscaped area equal to or larger than the total sign area of the applicable sign. Such landscaped area may be an area that fulfills any landscaping requirements of this code.
(2) The landscaped area shall include all points where sign structural supports attach to the ground.
(3) Exposed sign foundations shall be constructed with a finished material such as brick, stone or wood, or be screened with evergreens to the top of the anchor bolts.
(l) Maintenance.
(1) Every sign shall be maintained in a safe, presentable and good structural condition at all times, including the replacement of a defective part, painting, cleaning and other acts required for the maintenance of the sign so as not to show evidence of deterioration, including peeling, rust, dirt, fading, damage, discoloration or holes.
(2) Whenever a sign is to be removed pursuant to the requirements of this section, all parts of the sign and supporting structure (e.g., pole, foundation, cabinet structure and the like), excluding buildings for wall, projecting or similar signage, shall be removed in its entirety. This section shall not require the removal of a raceway if mounted to such structure on a building.
(3) The building official or Code Administrator may order the removal or repair of any sign that, has become insecure, in danger of falling or otherwise unsafe, or presents a threat to the public safety.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
All signs, unless otherwise stated in this chapter, may be illuminated by internal or external light sources, provided that such illumination complies with the following.
(a) Illuminated signs shall not have any flashing or blinking lights or rotating beacons, nor shall any beam of light be projected through a mechanism which periodically changes the color of the light reaching the sign.
(b) All illumination shall be oriented so as to prevent glare onto traffic or onto adjacent property or structures.
(c) All electrical illumination devices shall be designed to be weather-resistant and shatterproof.
(d) Electronic message centers: all electronic message centers shall be subject to the following requirements.
(1) The maximum brightness of the electronic message center shall be:
A. The electronic message center shall come equipped with an automatic dimming photocell, which automatically adjusts the display’s brightness based on ambient light conditions;
B. The brightness level shall not increase by more than 0.3-foot candles (or 3.23 lumens per square meter or lux) (over ambient levels) as measured using a foot candle meter at a pre-set distance;
C. The procedure and distances for measurement of brightness shall be as established by the International Sign Association’s Recommend Night-time Brightness Levels for On-Premise Electronic Message Centers; and
D. The owners of such signs shall include specifications accompanying their zoning permit application, demonstrating that they will comply with the prescribed brightness limitations set by this code.
(2) Electronic message centers shall have a pixel pitch of not more than 16 millimeters.
(3) Electronic message centers shall be designed and equipped to freeze the device in one position if a malfunction occurs. The displays must also be equipped with a measure to immediately discontinue the display if it malfunctions.
(4) Any message change shall be a static, instant message change meaning the sign shall not include animation, full motion video, flashing, scrolling, strobing, racing, blinking, changes in color, fade in or fade out in any manner imitating movement, or any other means not providing constant illumination.
(5) Messages can only change once every ten seconds.
(6) Only Light Emitting Diodes (LED) technology or similar quality signs shall be permitted for electronic message centers.
(7) Wherever an electronic message center is permitted, a manual changeable copy sign shall also be permitted. A zoning permit shall be required to change between each type of sign.
(Ord. 21-161, passed 12-13-2021)
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