503.03 TEMPORARY SIGNS; POLITICAL SIGNS.
(a) Intent. The intent of this section, through controlling the size, duration and location of temporary signs within the City, is to promote and maintain high value residential and commercial districts and to provide measures that contribute to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Bedford Heights, including the avoidance of danger due to defective construction of the signs and the avoidance of visual blight and traffic considerations by ensuring an unimpaired line of vision and eliminating distracting signage for motorists traveling streets within the City.
It is further the intent of this section to regulate, restrict and control the display of political signs as to size, duration and location. It is further not the intent of this section to prohibit or discourage political signs; rather, to enhance the appearance of the community before, during and after a political election as well as to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City who may be endangered due to defective construction and location of the signs.
(b) Noninterference with Other Codes. The provisions of this section shall not amend or in any way interfere with any other code, rule or regulation governing traffic or other signs erected either by the public authority or by permit from the public authority
within the City, provided that temporary signs regulated herein shall be in addition to the permitted signs authorized in Residential Districts pursuant to Section 1179.09 of the Codified Ordinances.
(c) Definitions that Apply in this Section.
(1) "Person" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
(2) “Temporary Sign" means any sign made of lightweight wood and cardboard, wire frame and plastic or other similar materials having a tendency to deteriorate in a short period of time generally pertaining to special occurrences or one-time events including, but not limited to, yard sales, charitable fundraisers, political comment or election campaigns.
(3) "Political sign" means a temporary sign advocating action on a public issue or indicating a candidate for public office. Temporary signs expressing a general political opinion or belief are not considered political signs herein.
(4) "Public property" means all publicly owned property including, but not limited to, streets, tree lawns, rights-of-way, easements and everything afffixed thereto and thereover located in the City.
(5) "Public Service Department" means the Director of Public Service or his authorized agents responsible for the maintenance of the City roads and public properties.
(d) Posting Time Limitation. Temporary signs, as defined in this section with the exception of political signs advocating action on a public issue or indicating a candidate for public office as stated herein, may be erected for no longer than 30 days. Except as otherwise stated in this section for such political signs, temporary signs may be posted no more than four times per year for a 30-day period on any lot or property within the City, provided that there is a minimum 30-day period between the posting of signs during which time no signs are posted on the lot or property.
Political signs advocating action on a public issue or indicating a candidate for public offce may be posted 30 days before the election where the issue is to be considered or the candidate is running and must be removed within 48 hours after the election. This will include all regular, primary and special elections. However, if a primary municipal election is held in the City of Bedford Heights on the last Tuesday in September prior to a regular municipal election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd numbered years as permitted under Section 5.03 of the Bedford Heights City Charter, a temporary political sign for a candidate running in the primary election and winning a spot in the regular municipal election may be left up after the primary election until the regular municipal election and then must be removed within 48 hours after the general municipal election.
(e) Size. The size of a temporary sign shall not exceed four square feet per one side and not to exceed a total of eight square feet per two-sided signs.
(f) Prohibited Language. Signs visible from the sight lines within street lines shall not contain an arrow or words such as "stop”, "go" or "slow" or otherwise resemble highway traffic signs.
(g) Prohibition on Public Property, Private Property Creating a Sight Restriction to Pedestrians and Vehicular Traffic, and other Specific Places. No temporary sign shall be posted or erected on or over any public property as defined in this section. No temporary sign shall be placed at an intersection on private property in such a manner as to create a sight restriction to pedestrians and vehicular traffic. No temporary sign shall be erected so as to prevent free ingress to, or egress from, any door, window, fire escape or ventilating equipment, nor shall any sign be attached to any standpipe or fire escape. No temporary sign shall be attached to a public utility pole, tree, house, garage or other building.
(h) Setback Restrictions. A temporary sign may be posted no closer than three feet back from a sidewalk in a residential or commercial zoned district. Where there is no sidewalk on the premises, the temporary sign may be posted no closer than ten feet from the edge of the street abutting the premises.
(i) Limitations as to Number of Political Signs on any Lot. No more than one political sign for each separate candidate or separate issue may be erected on any lot.
(j) Nuisance. Temporary signs in violation of this section are hereby declared to be public nuisances, and may be abated as such by the City. Any sign illegally posted upon any public property is hereby determined to be a nuisance and shall be summarily removed by the Police Division, Building Division or the Public Service Department. Any sign illegally posted upon any private property in violation of subsections (d) as to posting time limitation, (e) as to size, (f) as to prohibited language, (g) as to prohibited places, (h) as to setback restrictions, and (i) as to number of political signs on any lot hereof is hereby determined to be a nuisance and shall be removed by the Police Division, the Building Division or the Public Service Department pursuant to subsection (k) hereof. The collection of removal fees shall not preclude the City from prosecuting any person for violating this section.
(k) (1) Enforcement. Any Police Officer, Public Service Department employee, Building Division employee, or other City employee shall report discovery of temporary signs that are posted in accordance with the requirements of this section to the Housing Clerk or Building Division on a form prepared for such purpose. The Housing Clerk or Building Division shall maintain a list of such temporary signs posted throughout the community and on or before the expiration date notify the Police Department of the expiration date for purposes of insuring prompt and proper removal of the sign at the expiration of the 30-day time limit or other time limit allowed for political signs under subsection (d) hereof. Upon notification to the Police Department from the Housing Clerk or Building Division, the Police Department shall enforce the removal requirements pursuant to this section.
(2) Removal. The Public Service Department, Building Division or Police Department shall use reasonable efforts to orally notify or notify by telephone the person responsible for posting of any sign found within the corporate limits of the City in violation of this section. If it is not possible to notify the responsible person in person or by telephone at the time the violation is discovered or if such responsible person fails to forthwith remove such sign in violation of this section, the Public Service Department, Building Division, or Police Department are hereby authorized to remove such signs, at the expense of the person responsible.
(i) Storage. The Public Service Department shall store all removed signs and use reasonable efforts to notify the person responsible for the posting of the sign indicating the location of such storage. The Public Service Department shall store the sign for at least 10 days or until the person responsible for its posting retrieves the sign and pays the fee set forth in subsection (m) hereof. After the 10-day period, the signs not recovered shall be destroyed.
(m) Fee for Removal and Storage. The City shall be entitled to receive the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for every temporary sign removed by the Police Department, Building Division or Public Service Department to cover the expense of removal, notice and storage.
(n) Persons Responsible. In a campaign for political office, the candidate or campaign committee for such candidate for office or the local sponsor who is shown to have been responsible for the dissemination, distribution and location of the sign shall be responsible for the posting and removal of political campaign signs. In a campaign regarding a ballot issue, the president, chairman or other responsible person in the committee supporting or opposing such an issue or the local sponsor who is shown to have been responsible for the dissemination, distribution and location of the sign shall be responsible for the posting and removal of such political signs. The property owner and/or the person or persons placing the sign or signs for display shall be responsible for the posting and removal of all temporary signs other than political signs.
(o) Unauthorized Removal. No person shall, without privilege to do so, knowingly move, remove, deface, damage, destroy or otherwise improperly tamper with any temporary sign lawfully posted on the property of another so as to destroy or diminish its effectiveness or availability for its intended purpose.
(p) Penalty. Whoever violates subsection (g) or subsection (o) hereof of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. Whoever violates any other provision of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. (Ord. 2007-186. Passed 10-2-07.)