(a) General.
(1) Sign means any structure, or natural object such as a tree, bush, rock, lawn or ground itself, part thereof, or device attached thereto, or painted or represented thereon which shall be used to attract attention to any object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization, or business, or which shall display or include any letter, word, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, device or representation, used as, or which is in the nature of an announcement, direction, or advertisement. For the purposes of this Code, "sign" does not include the flag, pennant, burgee, badge or insignia of any domestic government or governmental agency.
Signs are an accessory use in all districts and thereby subject to the definition thereof in Section 1141.02. All signs must be located on the same property as the business or service advertised by any such sign, except as this Chapter allows for temporary signs, or except where the Board of Zoning Appeals finds cause for variance.
(2) Sign area or dimensions.
A. For a sign that is framed, outlined, painted or otherwise prepared and intended to provide a background for a sign display, the area dimensions shall include the entire portion within such background or frame.
B. For a sign comprised of individual letters, figures, or elements on a wall or similar surface, or a freestanding sign of irregular shape, the area of the sign shall encompass a single rectangle or regular geometric shape that encompasses the perimeter of all the elements in the display.
C. The sign area shall include the frame, but shall not include the pole or other structural support unless the pole or support is illuminated or otherwise so designated to constitute a display surface or device.
D. The height of a freestanding sign shall be measured from the average finished grade surrounding its point of attachment to the top of the highest element or point on the supporting pole or structure, whichever is higher. Determination of the average finished grade shall exclude any mounding immediately surrounding the point of attachment.
E. The height of a wall sign shall be measured from the grade defined for the building to which it is attached, as per Section 1141.22, to the top of the highest element.
F. A sign with two (2) faces shall have the display surfaces arranged back-to-back and essentially parallel with each other.
G. In the event of any dispute in determining the sign area or any sign dimension, the Zoning Inspector shall have the responsibility for making such determination.
(3) Building frontage for the purposes of sign regulation means the length of the building or unit of the building which faces the principal street or the length of the wall of the building or unit which contains the main entrance to the uses therein. In the case of an irregular wall surface, a straight line extended along such wall surface shall be used to measure the length. Only one outside wall of any business shall be considered its frontage.
(4) “Building unit” for the purposes of sign regulation means that portion of a building which is owned or leased by a single tenant. The length of unit is that portion of the building so occupied by a single activity and calculated proportionally in the same manner as building frontage.
(b) Types of Signs; Physical Characteristics.
(1) Billboard means a sign which advertises products, services or activities unrelated to the property upon which the sign or device is located, whether lawfully permitted or legally nonconforming.
(2) Freestanding sign means a sign that is supported from or by the ground or by a structure other than a building.
(3) Political sign means a temporary sign advertising a political candidacy or issue.
(4) Portable sign means a sign which is designed to be moved and is not permanently, or intended to be permanently, attached to a building, structure or the ground. Portable signs shall be regulated as Temporary Signs.
(5) Temporary sign means a sign of a restricted size, posted for a limited time, as regulated by this Chapter.
(6) Wall sign means a sign erected essentially parallel to, or painted on the surface, or on the outside wall of any building, and not extending more than twelve inches therefrom, and which does not project above the roofline or beyond the corner of the building. A sign affixed to, or near, a window for the purposes of being visible to and read from the outside of the building and containing information typically found on identification or instructional signs shall, for the purposes of these regulations, be considered a wall sign.
(c) Types of Signs; Functional.
(1) Directional sign means a sign which has as its only function the direction of vehicular or pedestrian traffic upon, to or from a premises and which contains no advertising matter other than the name or symbol for the business, project, development or activity on those premises.
(2) Security sign means a sign that identifies or warns of the security system for premises.
(3) Subdivision sign or project identification sign means a sign identifying the name and address of a completed residential subdivision, a multiple family development, or a commercial, office, industrial park or subdivision. Such sign in a commercial, office or industrial park may include a directory of business uses therein.
(4) Warning placard means a sign that alerts the general public to restrictions of activities on a particular property or advises the public on safety related issues. These include but are not limited to ''No Trespassing", ''No Hunting", "Danger", etc.
(Ord. 2016-3-2. Passed 5-10-16.)