10-5-7: ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER (EMC) OR CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN:
   A.   EMCs are permitted only for gas stations and institutional uses;
   B.   An EMC or Changeable Copy Sign may not comprise more than 50% of the permitted sign area for a given sign;
   C.   EMC’s are permitted by right only for gas stations and institutional uses; all other EMC’s are subject to the Conditional Uses process in Section 10.6.12. Amendment recommended by staff after the Planning Board hearing.
   D.   Any electronic message center that is located within 300 feet of any residential use must automatically turn off between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily;
   E.   An electronic message sequence must be accomplished by means of fading or dissolving but shall not scroll, travel or flash. A transition sequence must be completed in no more than two (2) seconds;
   F.   No portion of any sign may change its message or background in a manner or by a method of display characterized by motion, other than fading or dissolving, or pictorial imagery or depicts action or a special effect to imitate movement, or the presentation of pictorials or graphics displayed in a progression of frames that give the illusion of motion or the illusion of moving objects, moving patterns, bands of light, or expanding or contracting shapes;
   G.   EMCs shall be designed to display a full black screen, or turn off in the event of a malfunction;
   H.   Portable electronic message signs are prohibited except for instances of construction or road projects;
   I.   The EMC shall come equipped with an automatic dimming photocell, which automatically adjusts the display’s brightness based on ambient light conditions;
   J.   No EMC shall be permitted to be included as part of any limited duration sign;
   K.   The brightness level shall not increase by more than 0.3 foot candles over ambient levels (or 3.23 lumens per square meter or lux) as measured using a foot candle meter at a pre-set distance; and
   L.   The procedure and distances for measurement of brightness shall be as established by the International Sign Association’s Recommend Nighttime Brightness Levels for On-Premise EMCs. (Ord. 2023-7, 7-17-2023; amd. Ord. 2023-9, 12-18-2023)