(A) When the product, business, or service that is advertised on a sign is abandoned or altered, or when the event or purpose advertised by the sign has passed or no longer exists, the sign and its structural elements must be removed or altered within 30 days to depict an existing product, person, business, service, or event, or to communicate an existing purpose. The owner and tenant of the land are equally responsible for removal or alteration of the sign and its structural elements.
(B) If copy is not displayed for a period exceeding 60 days, the permit for a sign may be revoked and the sign and structure may be removed, or required to be removed, pursuant to this section.
(C) Except in the case of a face change of a sign or as otherwise provided in this section, prior to the alteration of a sign or the erection of a previously removed or abandoned sign, an improvement location permit and compliance with this chapter are required.
(D) Every sign shall be maintained in a safe, presentable, and good structural condition at all times including the replacement of defective parts, painting, re-painting, cleaning, and other acts required for maintenance of the sign. Compliance shall be required with all standards of this chapter and with all standards in this code that are applicable to signs.
(E) A sign is considered not functional when any of the following conditions exist:
(1) Its essential elements are no longer readable or recognizable;
(2) It is physically obstructed from view;
(3) A condition of dilapidation or danger exists;
(4) The area that is leased for or within 25 feet of a sign is not kept free of weeds, debris, or refuse; or
(5) Copy is not displayed for a period of 60 days.
(F) The Executive Director of the Planning Department, or a designee of such official, has the right of entry to inspect signs to determine whether they are functional.
(G) If a sign is not made to comply with adequate safety standards, not kept in a presentable or good structural condition, is not functional, has been abandoned, or is not removed or altered as required under division (A) above, its removal will be required as follows:
(1) The Executive Director of the Planning Department or designee(s) thereof shall provide a 10-day written notice to the owner or lessee of the sign in violation to either remove the sign or to bring it into compliance.
(2) Upon failure to comply with the written notice of violation, the Executive Director of the Planning Department, or the respective designee, may do either or both of the following:
(a) Remove the sign, its structure, or both, with all cost of removal to be borne by all owner(s) or lessee(s) of the sign, jointly and severally;
(b) Issue a notice of violation with fines pursuant to this code.
(3) The Executive Director or designee(s) may remove a sign, its structure, or both, immediately and without notice and with all cost of removal to be borne by the owner(s) and lessee(s) of the sign, jointly and severally, if in the opinion of the Executive Director or designee the condition of the sign is such as to present an immediate threat to the safety of the public.
(H) When relocation or removal of a sign becomes necessary, and documentation is provided from the owner of the site that the relocation of the sign is necessary due to construction, expansion, or other development planned for the site where the sign is located, the sign may be moved by the sign owner to another location on that same site within 20 feet of the original location of the sign, providing the location within 20 feet of the original sign does not create nonconformity of the sign. Once the sign has been removed from its original location, it may remain removed for a period of up to 90 days without requiring a permit, and will be considered to remain in existence at its original location or within 20 feet thereof during that period for purposes of locating other signs. At or before the expiration of the 90-day period, a new sign permit must be obtained for the sign being relocated or replaced. Permit fees may be waived if the sign structure is the same configuration and erected in the same manner as the original sign and is of the same or smaller size than the original sign. Removal or relocation of a sign under this division (I) does not waive or alter the need for permits required by the Planning Department or any other agency.
(I) When replacement of a sign becomes necessary, and documentation is provided from the Executive Director, OSHA, or other governmental agency of competent jurisdiction that replacement of the sign is necessary due to the unsafe or dangerous condition of the sign, a safety upgrade by the sign owner is allowed on that same site within 20 feet of the original location of the sign, provided the safety upgrade or the location within 20 feet of the original location does not create nonconformity of the sign. Once the sign has been removed from its original location, it may remain removed for a period of up to 90 days without requiring a permit, and will be considered to remain in its existence at its original location or within 20 feet thereof during that period for purposes of locating other signs. At or before the expiration of the 90-day period, a new sign permit must be obtained for the sign being relocated or replaced. Permit fees may be waived if the sign structure is the same configuration and erected in the same manner as the original sign, is of the same or smaller size as the original structure, and documentation is provided from the Executive Director, OSHA, or other governmental agency of competent jurisdiction that replacement of the sign is necessary due to the unsafe or dangerous condition of the sign. Removal or relocation of a sign under this division (I) does not waive or alter the need for permits required by the Planning Department, Executive Director, or any other agency.
(J) When a legal nonconforming sign is removed, no permit may be issued to replace the sign.
(K) Electronic message signs shall be immediately turned off in the event of a malfunction.
(Ord. 2017-02, passed 2-20-2018) Penalty, see § 175.99