For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. The singular number includes the plural and the plural includes the singular. The present tense includes the past and future tenses and the future the present. The word “must” is mandatory and the word “may” is permissive. The masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter genders. Whenever a word or term defined hereinafter appears in the text of this chapter, its meaning is construed as set forth in such definition thereof. All measured distances must be expressed in feet and inches.
ADVERTISEMENT. Displayed information that calls public attention to a business, product, service, political or non-profit organization, idea, or event.
ADMINISTRATOR. The officer charged by the City Manager with the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
ALTERATION. This refers to any alteration to a sign excluding routine maintenance, painting, or change of copy of an existing sign.
AREA IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign which identifies a development such as a shopping center consisting of three or more separate business concerns, a singular free-standing commercial or institutional building 50,000 square feet or larger, an industrial building in excess of 100,000 square feet, an industrial area, an office or institutional complex consisting of three or more buildings or any combination of the above. An area identification sign must not contain advertisement, except on a reader board.
AWNING. A temporary roof like structure or cover which projects from the wall of a building or projects over any entrance and can be retracted, folded or collapsed against the face of a supporting building.
BANNER. Refers to temporary sign such as used to announce open houses, grand openings or special announcements or sales.
BENCH SIGN. A sign which is affixed to or painted on a bench, such as at a public transit terminal or stop.
BILLBOARD SIGN. A sign which is erected and used for the purpose of selling or leasing advertising space or for the purpose of selling goods and/or services other than those offered on the premises.
BUILDING. Any structure having a roof which may provide shelter or enclosure for persons, animals or chattel, and when the structure is divided by party walls without openings, each portion of such building so separated is deemed a separate building.
BUILDING FACADE. That area of any exterior elevation of a building extending from grade to the top of the exterior wall and the entire width of the building elevation, including parapets, awnings, canopies, mansards or other appendages or architectural treatments to the wall. The facade does not include flat roof sections of multi-level buildings nor the shingled faces of hip roofs or gable roofs.
CANOPY/WALKWAY. A permanent roof-like structure or cover which projects from the wall of a building, or projects over any entrance or walkway.
CANOPY/VEHICULAR SERVICE. A permanent roof-like structure, either attached or detached from a permitted building, designed to provide cover for off-street vehicle service areas, (such as gasoline station pump islands, drive-in establishments, truck loading berths, and the like).
CONSTRUCTION SIGN. A sign placed at a construction site identifying the project or the name of the architect, engineer, contractor, developer, financier or other involved parties.
DIRECTIONAL SIGNS. A sign which bears only directional arrows or information on location plus the address and/or name of a business, institution, or other use activity, provided the primary message and purpose is to provide directional information.
DISTRICT. Refers to a specific zoning district as defined in the Brooklyn Park Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 152.
DWELLING. A building of one or more portions thereof occupied or intended to be occupied for residential purposes; but not including rooms in motels, hotels, nursing hones, boarding houses, trailers, tents, cabins or trailer coaches.
DWELLING UNIT. A single-family dwelling.
EVENT. For the purposes of this chapter, an event is defined as an organized function, which occurs on two consecutive weekends or over a period of no more than ten consecutive days, that serves to advertise and/or promote a non-profit agency or organization as defined by the State of Minnesota. Section 150.06(A)(1) regulates those events that use banners or mobile reader boards.
FEATHER FLAG. A free-standing, temporary sign constructed of a singular vertical pole, tube, or post supporting one edge of a single sheet of weather resistant cloth, vinyl, or similar material printed with advertising, graphics, or other messages on each opposing side, incorporating movement only as provided by surrounding winds or other unassisted ambient air movement.
FLASHING SIGN. A sign which contains rotating, flashing, or intermittent lights, animation, or exhibits noticeable changes in color, intensity, texture, shape, pattern or light intensity.
FREE-STANDING SIGN.
Any stationary, self-supporting sign not affixed to any other structure and supported by a pole(s). A reader board or electronic message center may be attached to the free-standing sign structure, but the reader board must not exceed 30% of the area containing the sign copy. The reader board must be included in calculating the allowable sign square foot area as required in the individual district.
GOVERNMENTAL SIGN. A sign which, is erected by a governmental unit for the purpose of identification, direction, and/or guiding traffic.
GRADE. The main elevation of curb along public street frontage closest to the sign to which reference is made, or center line of street-if no curb is available.
HOME OCCUPATION SIGN. A sign directing attention to a home occupation as defined in the city's zoning ordinance, Chapter 152.
IDENTIFICATION SIGN (NAME PLATE). Any sign which states the name and/or address of the business or occupant of the lot or building where the sign is placed or may be a directory listing the names, addresses and/or businesses of occupants. IDENTIFICATION SIGNS must contain no advertisement.
ILLUMINATED SIGN. Any sign which is designed to be and/or is lighted by an artificial light source either directed upon it or illuminated from an interior source. All illuminated signs must have light sources shielded to confine direct illumination to the face area of the sign.
INSTITUTIONAL SIGN. A sign and/or reader board which identifies the name and other characteristics of an institutional use located within any zoning district and allowed by zoning code. Institutional signs must not contain advertisement (examples: churches, schools, sanitariums, hospitals, government buildings, nursing homes).
INTEGRAL SIGN. A sign carrying the name of a building, its date of erection, monumental citations, commemorative tablets and the like when carved into stone, concrete or similar material or made of bronze, aluminum or other permanent type of construction and made an integral part of the building walls.
MONUMENT SIGN.
A sign which is attached to or supported by a monument structure which bears entirely on the ground, extending horizontally for a minimum of 80% of the entire length of the sign face. The sign base must be constructed of any one or combination of the following materials: brick, stone, decorative masonry, plastic, aluminum, colored metals, or decay resistive wood. The base and supporting material must constitute at least 25% of the total allowable sign square footage. A reader board or electronic message center may be attached to the monument sign but must not exceed 30% of the area. The sign copy, reader board or message must have a minimum clearance of three feet above grade. The area containing sign copy, including reader board, and the area of the monument structure itself must be combined for determining the total square footage and height. A sign attached to a retaining wall is considered to be a monument sign provided the message or copy does not exceed the allowable sign area as specified for the applicable zoning district, and all other provisions for a monument sign are met.
An example of a 100 square foot monument sign.
MOTION SIGN. Any sign which revolves, rotates, has any moving parts or gives the illusion of motion, electronically or otherwise.
NON-CONFORMING SIGN. A sign which was lawfully constructed prior to the time of the passage of this chapter or amendment thereto, but which does not conform with the regulations of this chapter.
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
An incorporated organization organized under the laws of the state for civic, fraternal, social, or business purposes, for intellectual improvement, or for the promotion of sports, a congressionally chartered veterans' organization, or religious institution. For the purposes of this chapter, this definition includes the governments of the City of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin County, State of Minnesota, United States of America, and any school district within the city limits.
OFF-SITE DIRECTIONAL SIGN.
A sign that is located on the same pole and beneath an existing street name sign for the purpose of providing directional information for a public or institutional use that is located on a local street. The City Engineer may determine whether a sign or signs are warranted to direct traffic in this manner on a case by case basis. No more than one off-site directional sign may be located on a single pole, the sign must have same color, size and font as the accompanying street name sign and must contain only the name of the use and a directional arrow and must be constructed and maintained by the city at the expense of the benefitting property.
PEDESTRIAN SIGN. A temporary sign, which is constructed of durable materials and is designed to be readily moved from one location to another (ex. sandwich board sign or any item containing a message). For purposes of this chapter, any sign mounted to, or conveyed by means of, a vehicle shall not be considered a pedestrian sign.
PENNANT. Attention getting devices (such as streamers) constructed of paper, cloth, plastic or similar materials, (excluding banners and flags).
PERMANENT SIGN. Any sign which is not a temporary sign.
PORTABLE SIGN. A temporary sign and/or reader board so designed as to be movable from one location to another and which is not permanently attached to the ground, or any permanent structure.
PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION SIGNS. A sign that is not necessary to identify a business and identifies a product or service either sold on or off the premises on which the sign is located.
PROJECTING SIGN. A sign, other than a wall sign, which is affixed to a building and which has sign faces extending perpendicular from the building wall.
READER BOARD (ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER).
That portion of the sign used for removable or electronically changeable graphics, letters, and/or numbers to convey messages.
REAL ESTATE SIGN. A business sign placed upon a property advertising that particular property for sale, rent or lease.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SIGN.
A sign that identifies the name of a neighborhood, a residential subdivision, or a multiple residential complex.
ROOF SIGN. Any sign which is erected, constructed or attached wholly or in part upon or above the roof of a building.
RUMMAGE OR GARAGE SALE. The infrequent, temporary display and sale of used personal property by a tenant or owner on the tenant's or owner's residential premises.
SEARCHLIGHT. An apparatus containing a source of light and a reflector that projects the light produced in a concentrated, far-reaching beam for the purpose of advertisement.
SETBACK. The minimum horizontal distance from the closest part of a sign to the property line, or public street easement or right-of-way.
SIGN. Any structure, device, advertisement, or visual representation intended to advertise, identify, or communicate information, or attract the attention of the public for any purpose; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing includes: any symbols, letters, figures, illustrations, or wall graphics painted or otherwise affixed to a building or structure.
SIGN AREA. That area measured within the perimeter lines of the sign which bears the advertisement; or in the case of messages, figures, or symbols, including those attached directly to any part of a building. That area which is included in the smallest rectangle which can be made to circumscribe the message, figure, or symbol displayed for the purpose of advertisement. The specified maximum sign area for a free-standing or monument sign refers to a single facing and not to the aggregate area of both faces. The sign area for a monument sign includes the sign structure.
SIGN, MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF. The vertical distance measured from grade or other reference elevation as herein specified to the upper limit of such a sign.
SIGN, MINIMUM HEIGHT OF. The vertical distance measured from grade or other reference elevation as herein specified to the lower limit of such sign.
SIGN STRUCTURE. The base, supports, uprights, bracing and framework for a sign including the sign area.
STREET. Refers to a public highway, road, or thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to adjacent lots.
STREET FRONTAGE. The linear length in feet of the property line adjacent to public street(s). An interior lot has one street frontage and a corner lot has two street frontages.
TEMPORARY SIGN. Any sign which is erected or displayed with or without a permit for a specified period of time (such as banners, portable signs, searchlights, window signs, and the like).
UNLAWFUL SIGN. A sign which exists prior to or after the passage of this chapter or amendments thereto, which does not conform with the regulations of this chapter and is not an existing legal, or is not a legal nonconforming sign, or is not a sign erected with a sign permit, is an unlawful sign.
WALL. The building facade area that defines the front of the building. The front is the continuous line of a building that connects side wall to side wall and faces one public right-of-way. For a multi-tenant building on a corner lot, the front is the continuous line of a building which faces either a public right-of-way or a private road in a planned unit development.
WALL SIGN. A sign with permanent lettering which is affixed to the exterior wall of a building and has a sign face which is parallel to the building wall. A wall sign must not project more than 12 inches from the surface to which it is attached, nor may it extend beyond the top of the building wall.
WALL GRAPHICS. A graphic design or decorative mural not intended for identification or advertising purposes, which is painted directly on or affixed to an exterior wall surface.
WINDOW SIGN. A temporary sign affixed to the interior of a window in view of the general public. This does not include merchandise that is for sale and on display.
('72 Code, §§ 356:10 - 356:15) (Ord. 1988-602(A), passed 8-22-88; Am. Ord. 1992-694, passed 5-11-92; Am. Ord. 1994-766, passed - -94; Am. Ord. 1999-900, passed 5-24-99; Am. Ord. 1999-914, passed - -99; Am. Ord. 2000-935, passed 11-13-00; Am. Ord. 2000-939, passed 11-13-00; Am. Ord. 2003-1002, passed 8-25-03; Am. Ord. 2004-1026, passed 12-13-04; Am. Ord. 2012-1152, passed 10-22-12; Am. Ord. 2014-1165, passed 2-3-14; Am. Ord. 2014-1186, passed 12-15-14)