(A) Bulletin boards for churches, schools, community, or other public, semi-public, or nonprofit institution shall be permitted without a sign permit, provided they do not exceed 30 square feet of announcement area. A sign permit is required.
(B) No building wall shall be used to display advertising, except that pertaining to the use carried on within such building.
(C) In computing the area of any sign, all faces or panels or background areas contrasting with the face of the building on which advertising is displayed shall be considered sign area.
(D) For projecting signs or pole signs, free-standing signs, or secondary signs that are double-sided with identical copy on both sides, a sign permit is required. For signs with a combined display area on both sides of the sign of up to 50 square feet of readable surface, the sign fee shall be $10; over 50 square feet of readable surface area, the sign fee shall be $20.
(E) For signs containing open spaces or separate letters, words, and/or symbols, either free-standing or attached to a non-contrasting background, sign area shall be determined to be the smallest rectangle enclosing all such advertising.
(F) Any sign covered by this chapter that would exceed these restrictions or any additional sign requested above the number permitted shall require a variance from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(G) Permanent subdivision signs built at the entrance to a housing development, constructed of brick, stone, or other durable material and not causing any obstruction of driver vision at an intersection shall be permitted without a permit, provided that the sign is no taller than five feet. The sign may not be illuminated by anything other than landscape lighting mounted at ground level. A sign permit is required.
(H) No signs are permitted on the rear of a commercial or industrial building unless the sign is intended to direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic in the parking area while on the same premises. Rear wall directional signs can be no larger than four square feet and may only be a wall sign that extends no further than six inches from the wall.
(I) No sign shall be permitted to encroach on public right-of-way with the exception of projecting signs or wall signs which project from the wall more than six inches and are attached to a building. No portion of these signs shall hang lower than ten feet from the sidewalk or grade.
(J) Privately-owned safety, traffic control, or directional signs including but not limited to "EXIT," "ENTRANCE," "CLEARANCE," "PARKING," or "NO PARKING" signs shall not require a permit unless any of the following conditions exist:
(1) The sign is illuminated.
(2) The sign exceeds four square feet of area.
(3) The sign contains any advertising words, symbols, and the like.
(4) The sign is free-standing.
(K) All persons seeking to erect or place a sign shall require a sign permit from the Zoning Inspector, unless this chapter specifically states that the sign does not require a permit. The application process is described in § 155.2311.
(Ord. 37-02, passed 7-10-02) Penalty, see § 155.2617