When used in this sign code, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Other words and terms not defined in this section may be defined in § 19.03.
A-FRAME SIGN. A double-faced temporary sign that is comprised of two sign boards attached at the top and separate at the bottom, not permanently attached to the ground.
ABANDONED SIGN. For a period of more than one year, a sign that does not have a sign face, a sign that has a sign face that is blank or illegible, a sign that refers to a use that no longer occupies the site or a portion thereof.
ACCESS DOOR SIGN. A sign placed on or near an accessory door, typically used to identify a secondary building access point.
ADVERTISING SIGN. A sign that displays commercial speech to direct attention to a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment for business purposes.
AWNING SIGN. A building sign or graphic printed on or attached directly to an awning. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
BALLOON SIGN. A temporary sign consisting of a bag made of lightweight material supported by helium or hot or pressurized air, and greater than 24 inches in diameter. Inflatables are considered BALLOON SIGNS.
BANNER. Any temporary sign of lightweight fabric or similar material mounted to a pole or a building at one or more edges. Flags, as defined herein, shall not be considered BANNERS. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
BILLBOARD. An outdoor, off-site advertising sign with a sign area greater than 150 square feet.
BUILDING MARKER. A small sign cut into building masonry or inlaid as part of a building's surface, typically used to identify the name of a building or date of its construction.
BUILDING SIGN. A sign attached to or supported by any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.
CABINET SIGN. A sign that is not of channel construction.
CANOPY SIGN. A building sign or graphic printed on or in some fashion attached directly to a canopy. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN. A sign or portion thereof which has a readerboard for the display of text information in which each alphanumeric character, graphic or symbol is defined by objects, not consisting of an illumination device, and may be changed or re-arranged manually or mechanically with characters, letters or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged without altering the face or the surface of the sign.
CHANNEL CONSTRUCTION. Individually shaped three dimensional letters and symbols that are arranged to form a sign.
COMMERCIAL MERCHANDISE. A product in regular production that is sold in substantial quantities to the general public or industry at market prices.
COMMERCIAL SPEECH. Any sign text, wording, logo, or other representation that directs attention to a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment for business purposes.
COMPREHENSIVE SIGN PLAN. A sign criteria plan for a multi-tenant building to be established at the discretion of property owner(s) or their authorized representative(s), which may include the following components related to signage: height, location, size, number, construction type, and/or materials.
DEVELOPMENT SITE. Commercial property, industrial property, multi-family residential property, or a single-family residential property of six or more single-family residential lots.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN. A sign which serves solely to designate the direction of any place or area and is located on the same lot as said place or area. Examples include "entrance" and "exit" signs.
DWELL TIME. The time that elapses between changes in the text, images, or graphics on an electronic sign display.
DYNAMIC DISPLAY. Any characteristics of a sign that appear to have movement or change, caused by any method other than physically removing and replacing the sign face or sign structure, whether the apparent movement or change is in the display, the sign structure itself, or any other component of the sign. This includes ELECTRONIC SIGNS that incorporate a technology or method allowing the sign face to change the image without having to physically or mechanically replace the sign face or its components.
ELECTRONIC CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN. An ELECTRONIC SIGN whose display characteristics are consistent with those of a CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN.
ELECTRONIC GRAPHIC DISPLAY SIGN. An ELECTRONIC SIGN that displays static images, static graphics, or static pictures, with or without text information.
ELECTRONIC SIGN. Any type of electronic display board, electronic message board, digital, LED, programmable ink, or other sign capable of displaying words, pictures, symbols, or images, including, but not limited to, any electronic laser, digital, or projected images display, that can be changed electronically or manually by remote or automatic means.
ELEVATION. The view of the side, front or rear of a given structure.
ELEVATION AREA. The area of all walls that face any lot line.
ERECT. The activity of constructing, building, raising, assembling, placing, affixing, attaching, creating, painting, drawing or any other way of bringing into being or establishing.
EVENTS. Public or private occasions that attract gatherings of people, such as parades, concerts, festivals, open houses, races, circuses, fairs, athletic events, or celebrity appearances.
FLAG. Any fabric or similar lightweight material attached at one end of the material, usually to a staff or pole, to allow movement of the material by atmospheric changes.
FLAG, COMMERCIAL. A flag that displays commercial speech.
FLAG, NONCOMMERCIAL. A flag that is not a commercial flag.
FLASHING SIGN. A directly or indirectly illuminated sign or portion thereof that exhibits changing light or color effect by any means, to provide intermittent illumination that changes light intensity in sudden transitory bursts and creates the illusion of intermittent flashing light by streaming, graphic bursts showing movement or any mode of lighting which resembles zooming, twinkling, or sparkling.
FREESTANDING SIGN. A sign with supporting framework placed on, or anchored in, the ground and which is independent from any building or other structure.
FRONTAGE. The line of contact of a property with the public right-of-way.
GRADE. The final ground elevation after construction. Earth mounding criteria for landscaping and screening is not part of the grade for sign height computation. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations.
GRAVE MARKER. A sign made of stone or masonry and located in a cemetery.
GOVERNMENT SIGN. A sign that is constructed, placed, or maintained by the federal, state, or local government to carry out an official duty or responsibility, or a sign that is required to be constructed, placed, or maintained by a federal, state, or local government either directly or to enforce a property owner's rights. GOVERNMENT SIGNS do not include signs for events hosted by a government unless it is related to an official duty like voting.
HISTORICAL OR LANDMARK MARKER. A sign constructed in close proximity to a historic place, object, building, or other landmark recognized by an official historical resources entity, where the sign is constructed by or on behalf of the owner of the historic property.
HOME-BASED SALE. The sale of handmade goods by one or more persons made by a person residing at the premises of the sale, or the sale of personal goods no longer needed by one or more persons, which must include the sale of personal goods of a person residing at or formerly residing at the premises of the sale. HOME-BASED SALES do not include the sale of commercial merchandise.
IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign intended to announce or promote the use, activity, service, or business on the same lot or site.
ILLUMINATED SIGN. A sign which contains an internal element designed to emanate artificial light, or a sign that is illuminated by an external source of artificial light.
INCIDENTAL SIGN. A sign that has a purpose secondary to the use of the lot on which it is located, such as "telephone," "cash machine," "air" and other similar directives. See also DIRECTIONAL SIGN.
INTERIOR SIGN. A sign erected and maintained inside of a building and not visible outside of the building, including, but not limited to a sign attached to or painted on the inside of windows.
LEGALLY ESTABLISHED NONCONFORMING SIGN. A nonconforming sign or sign structure lawfully erected prior to the effective date of a city code amendment causing the sign to be a nonconforming sign.
LIGHT POLE SIGN. A sign mounted on arms affixed to a light or other decorative pole commonly used to enhance campus identity and visual character.
LOGO. A graphic depiction of any brand name, trademark, distinctive symbol or other similar device or thing, typically used to identify a particular business, institution, activity, place, person, product, or service.
MONUMENT SIGN. A freestanding sign with its sign face mounted on the ground or mounted on a base that is at minimum 75% as wide as the sign it supports. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
MULTI-TENANT SITE. Any site which has more than one tenant, and each tenant has a separate ground level exterior public entrance.
MULTI-UNIT SITE. Any site that has more than one unit for a tenant or owner, each of which is approved for separate human occupation.
NEIGHBORHOOD SIGN. A monument sign located near the entrance to a residential subdivision, typically used to identify the name of the residential subdivision.
NONCOMMERCIAL SPEECH. Speech that is not COMMERCIAL SPEECH.
NONCONFORMING SIGN. A sign that does not comply with this sign code.
OFF-SITE ADVERTISING SIGN. An advertising sign used to identify a product, service, brand, business, or activity not regularly sold, located, or conducted on the site where the sign is located.
ON-SITE ADVERTISING SIGN. An advertising sign used to identify a product, service, brand, business, or activity sold, located, or conducted on the site where the sign is located. A sponsorship agreement does not qualify a sign as an ON-SITE SIGN.
OPAQUE SIGN FACE. The non-transparent face for an internally illuminated sign. Illumination shall be emitted only for the name, trademark, logo, distinctive symbol or other similar device, thing or text used to identify a particular business, institution, activity, place, person, product, or service.
PARAPET (WALL). The portion of the building wall that rises above the roof level.
PERMANENT SIGN. A non-temporary sign designed and intended for long-term use.
PORTABLE SIGN. A sign which is manifestly designed to be transported, including by trailer or on its wheels, even though the wheels of such sign may be removed, and the remaining chassis or support is converted to another sign or attached temporarily or permanently to the ground since this characteristic is based on the design of such a sign. Banners attached to a building, a permanent sign, a permanent sign pole, or a pole mounted in the ground are not PORTABLE SIGNS. A-FRAME SIGNS are not PORTABLE SIGNS if anchored into the ground.
PROJECTING SIGN. A sign affixed to a building or wall in such a manner that its leading edge extends more than two feet beyond the surface or such building or wall face. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
PUBLIC BUILDING. A nonresidential building owned by any governmental agency, which is primarily used for public or governmental purposes.
PUBLIC SIGN. A sign erected, constructed, or placed within the public right-of-way or on public property by or with the approval of the governmental agency having authority over, control of, or ownership of the right-of-way or public property.
PUBLIC UTILITY SIGN. A sign constructed or placed by a public utility on or adjacent to a pole, pipe, or distribution facility of the utility and within the public right-of-way or utility easement.
PUMP ISLAND SIGN. A sign either affixed directly to a gasoline pump or otherwise attached to the pump or pump island.
PYLON SIGN. A freestanding sign which has its supportive structure(s) anchored in the ground and which has a sign face elevated above ground level by pole(s) or beam(s) and with the area below the sign face open. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
PYROTECHNICS. Fireworks or similar devices that ignite a combustible substance or produce an explosion.
REAL ESTATE SALE. The act of holding real property or any portion thereof, including dwelling units located thereon, out for sale or lease.
ROOF. The exterior surface and its supporting structure on the top of a building or structure. The structural make-up of which conforms to the roof structures, roof construction and roof covering sections of the Minnesota State Building Code.
ROOF LINE. The upper-most edge of the roof or, in the case of an extended facade or parapet, the upper-most height of said facade.
ROOF SIGN. A sign erected and constructed wholly on and above the roof of a building, supported by the roof structure, and extending vertically above the highest portion of the roof. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types. Individual letters mounted on canopies are considered ROOF SIGNS only if they extend above the uppermost roof of the principal building served by the canopy.
ROOF SIGN, INTEGRAL. A building sign erected or constructed as an integral or essentially integral part of a normal roof structure of any design, so that no part of the sign extends vertically above the highest portion of the roof and so that no part of the sign is separated from the rest of the roof by a space of more than six inches. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
ROTATING SIGN. A sign or portion of a sign which in any physical part or in total turns about on an axis, rotates, revolves or is otherwise in motion, including without limitation a multi-vision sign.
SERVICE AREA CANOPY. Any structural protective cover that is not enclosed on any of its four sides and is provided for the service area designated for the dispensing or installation of gasoline, oil, antifreeze, headlights, wiper blades and other similar products and the performance of minor services for customers as related to said dispensing or installation.
SERVICE AREA CANOPY SIGN. A sign that is part of or attached to the service area canopy. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
SHIMMERING SIGNS. A sign that reflects an oscillating or distorted visual image.
SIGN. A display, illustration, structure, or device with a visual display designed to identify, announce, direct, or inform. The scope of the term SIGN does not depend on the content of the message, the ideas expressed, or the image being conveyed.
SIGN FACE. The surface of the sign upon, against or through which the sign's message is exhibited.
SIGN HEIGHT. Computed as the vertical distance measured from the base of the sign at natural grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. See § 21.304.08(d) for graphic illustration.
SIGN STRUCTURE. Any structure, including the supports, uprights, bracing and framework which supports a sign.
STRINGER. A line of string, rope, cording or an equivalent to which is attached a number of pennants.
SUSPENDED SIGN. A building sign that is suspended from the underside of a horizontal plane surface and is connected to this surface. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
TEMPORARY SIGN. A sign or sign structure that is not permanently affixed or installed and is intended to be displayed for a limited time period only.
TOTAL SITE SIGNAGE. The maximum permitted combined area of all freestanding and building signs allowed on a specific property.
TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE. A sign or flagger, signal, marking, or other device used to regulate, warn or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or, in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction.
UNLAWFUL SIGN. A sign not erected in conformance with this sign code, or a sign that does not conform to the regulations of this sign code and is not a legally established nonconforming sign.
VEHICLE SIGN. Any sign painted, placed on, attached or affixed to a trailer, watercraft, truck, automobile, or other form of motor vehicle so parked or placed so that the sign thereon is discernable from a public street or right-of-way as a means of communication and which by its location, size and manner of display is reasonably calculated to exhibit commercial speech identifying an on-site business or supplying directional information to an off-site business. A VEHICLE SIGN may be so defined when on a vehicle that functions primarily as a sign rather than as a transportation device, as determined by consideration of any combination of the following factors:
(A) The absence of a current, lawful license plate affixed to the vehicle on which the sign is displayed;
(B) The vehicle on which the sign is displayed is inoperable as defined by this city code;
(C) The vehicle on which the sign is displayed is not parked in a lawful or authorized location or is on blocks or other supports or is parked in a manner that is not in conformity with the identified parking space on the lot;
(D) The vehicle on which the sign is displayed is not regularly used for transportation associated with the use it advertises;
(E) The vehicle remains parked on the premises after normal business hours when customers and employees are not normally present on the premises; or
(F) The vehicle remains parked in the same vicinity on the property in a location which maximizes its visibility from the public street or right-of-way on a regular basis.
VIDEO SIGN. A sign that displays its contents in both a horizontal and vertical format (as opposed to linear), through the use of pixel and sub-pixel technology, having the capacity to create continuously changing sign copy in a full spectrum of colors and light intensities. A VIDEO SIGN is not an ELECTRONIC SIGN. VIDEO SIGNS include projected images or messages with these characteristics onto buildings or other objects.
VISIBLE. Capable of being seen by a person of what is commonly described as 20/20 or “normal visual acuity” (whether legible or not) without visual aid.
WALL. Any structure that defines the exterior boundaries or courts of a building or structure has a slope of 60 degrees or greater with the horizontal plane.
WALL GRAPHIC. A graphic image attached to an exterior building wall or window that displays static images with no more than 25% of the graphic area comprised of text or logos. WALL GRAPHICS may be illuminated internally or externally but are not electronic signs.
WALL SIGN. Any building sign attached parallel to, but within two feet of a wall, painted on the wall surface of, or erected and confined within the limits of an outside wall of any building or structure, which is supported by such wall or building, and which displays only one sign surface. See § 21.304.27 for graphic illustrations of sign types.
WINDOW SIGN. A building sign or pictures, symbols, or a combination thereof, placed inside a window or upon the window glass or door (including garage doors) and be primarily visible from the building or structure's exterior.
(Ord. 2024-4, passed 2-26-2024)