(A) Sign Area Calculations
(1) Area Computation of Individual Signs
The allowable sign area for permanent signs shall be calculated as provided below:
(a) General Requirements
The area of a sign face (which is also the sign area of a wall sign or other sign with only one (1) face) shall be computed by encompassing the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, into no more than two (2) abutting rectangles, one (1) of which shall encompass a minimum of seventy-five percent (75%) of the total sign area. The area of sign face of distinct individual signs shall be separately measured in accordance with the above methodology.
(b) Exceptions to General Requirements
(i) Suspended and projecting signs shall be calculated separately from other wall signs.
(ii) The square footage of wall signs associated with theaters shall be counted against the total wall sign area allotment. However, each sign shall be measured separately rather than placed together inside a rectangle.
(iii) Poster boxes shall be measured individually without regard for the spaces between the individual boxes.
(2) Area Computation of Multi-Faced Signs
Where the sign faces of a double-faced sign are parallel or the interior angle formed by the faces is sixty (60) degrees or less, only one (1) display face shall be measured in computing sign area. The areas of all faces of a multi-faced sign shall be added together to compute the area of the sign. Sign area of multi-faced signs is calculated based on the principle that all sign elements that can be seen at one (1) time or from one (1) vantage point should be considered in measuring that side of the sign. Double-faced signs that are displayed on gateway entry monuments within Town approved area plans, may be displayed on walls with an interior angle of up to ninety (90) degrees.
(B) Sign Height Computation
The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign. In cases where the normal grade is below grade at street level, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal to the elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public or private street.
(C) Building Frontage
Building frontage shall mean the horizontal length of a building on the side with its principal entrance. If that side is a straight wall, then the building frontage shall be the length of the wall. If the side is not a straight wall, the building frontage shall be the horizontal distance from the corner at one (1) end of the side of the building with the principal entrance to the other corner on the same side of the building; where that side of the building is concave, then the measurement shall be made in a straight line from corner to corner; where the side of the building is convex or has one (1) or more sections that project in front of the front corners, then the measurement shall be made as the shortest distance between two (2) lines projected from the two (2) front corners of the building, with such lines parallel to each other and as close as practicable to perpendicular to the front of the building.
(D) Roofing Elements
Roofing elements that are within thirty (30) degrees of vertical (sometimes loosely called a "mansard roof") will be considered part of the wall for purposes of sign placement. Signage shall not be located on portions of other architectural design features that extend above the predominate roofline of the building.