The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
ABANDONED SIGN. A sign which, for at least six continuous months, does not identify or advertise a bona fide business, establishment, lessor, service, owner, product, or activity; for which no legal owner can be found; or which pertains to a time, event or purpose which no longer applies.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGN STRUCTURE. A detached, free-standing structure that is not a building but has the appearance of a building or building component (such as a tower) in which a sign(s) is displayed.
ARCHITECTURALLY ENCLOSED SIGN. A detached sign where the sign space is mounted on and framed by architectural features.
AWNING. A structure made of cloth with metal/ other material for support and affixed to a building in such a manner that the structure is permanent or can be raised or retracted. Signs painted on, printed on or mounted on are called AWNING SIGNS.
BUILDING ENVELOPE. A horizontal envelope engaging the vertical walls of the building and the structures attached thereto.
CANOPY. A structure made of metal or other material with frame affixed to a building and carried by a frame that is permanently supported by the ground or cantilevered from the building façade.
CITY PROPERTY. Any parcel of land, or separately leasable space, over which the city (or any of its owned or controlled entities) holds the present right of possession and control, regardless of who may hold legal fee title, or that is within the public right-of-way.
CURB LINE. An imaginary line drawn along and parallel to the outermost part or back of the curb and gutter on either side of a public street; or, if there is no curb and gutter, along and parallel to the outermost portion of the paved street; or, if there is no paved street, along and parallel to the outermost edge of the traveled portion of the street.
DIGITAL DISPLAY. Image display methods utilizing LED (light emitting diode), LCD (liquid crystal display), plasma display, projected images, or any functionally equivalent technology, and which is capable of automated, remote or computer control to change the image, either in a "slide show" manner (series of still images), or full motion animation, or any combination of them.
DILAPIDATED OR DETERIORATED SIGN. A sign:
(1) Where any portion of the finished material, surface or message portion of the sign is visibly faded, flaked, broken off, missing, cracked, splintered, defective, or is otherwise visibly deteriorated or in a state of disrepair so as not to substantially appear as it was intended or designed to appear when originally constructed; or
(2) Whose elements or the structural support or frame members are visibly bent, broken, dented or torn, twisted, leaning or at angles other than those at which it was originally erected, such as may result from being blown or by the failure of a structural support.
DISPLAY FACE. The portion of a sign that is available for displaying sign copy, together with any frame, color, panel, ornamental molding, or condition which forms an integral part of the sign copy and which is used to differentiate such sign copy from any wall or background against which it may be placed. Those portions of the supports, uprights or base of a sign that do not function as a sign shall not be considered as part of the display face.
ESTABLISHMENT. Any legal use of land, other than long-term residential, which involves the use of structures subject to the Building Code. By way of example and not limitation, this definition includes businesses, factories, farms, schools, hospitals, hotels and motels, offices and libraries, but does not
include single-family homes, mobile homes, residential apartments, residential care facilities, or residential condominiums. Multi-unit housing developments are considered establishments during the time of construction; individual units are not within the meaning of establishment once a certificate of occupancy has been issued or once a full-time residency begins.
EXISTING SIGN. A permanent sign displayed in the city on and before the effective date of this chapter.
EXTERNAL ILLUMINATION. Illumination of a sign which is produced by an artificial source of light which is not contained within the sign itself.
FLAG. A piece of fabric or other flexible material, usually rectangular, of distinctive design, used as a symbol of any state, nation, political subdivision or entity, or any non-profit group, corporation, or entity, or containing any non-commercial message.
HORIZONTAL ENVELOPE. The distance between the street right-of-way and the sign. There are three sign setback envelopes: STREETSCAPE ENVELOPE, INTERNAL ENVELOPE, and BUILDING ENVELOPE.
INTERNAL ENVELOPE. A HORIZONTAL ENVELOPE engaging the space between the STREETSCAPE ENVELOPE and the BUILDING ENVELOPE (varies by street type).
MOBILE BILLBOARD. A motorized vehicle with sign display area that is used for general advertising for hire. MOBILE BILLBOARD advertising includes any vehicle, or wheeled conveyance which carries, conveys, pulls, or transports any sign or billboard.
NEON OR OTHER GAS TUBE ILLUMINATION. Illumination produced by a light source consisting of a neon or other gas tube which is bent to form letters, symbols, or other shapes.
ON-PREMISE SIGN ENVELOPE. Define the placement of a sign on the premises. They include the HORIZONTAL ENVELOPE, the VERTICAL ENVELOPE and the STRUCTURAL ENVELOPE.
(1) HORIZONTAL ENVELOPE. The horizontal placement of a sign on a property, in relation to the street fronting right-of-way line.
(2) VERTICAL ENVELOPE. The height for a particular sign.
(3) STRUCTURAL ENVELOPE. The location on or within a structure that can be occupied by the permitted sign space.
PERMANENT SIGN. A sign that is solidly attached to a building, structure, or the ground by means of mounting brackets, bolts, welds, or other combination of attachment methods, thereby rendering the sign non-moveable or difficult to reposition without the use of machinery, cutting devices, or mechanical devices. See also TEMPORARY SIGN.
PORTABLE SIGN, ELECTRICAL. Any portable sign that is directly connected to an AC/DC power source whether is a cord or cable laid upon the ground, above ground, or underground.
PREMISES. A PREMISE is either of the following:
(1) For any developed property, the lot or contiguous area of real property which encompasses all the buildings, structures, appurtenances and land devoted to a common use, such as a shopping center or a business occupying and using multiple contiguous lots; or
(2) For undeveloped property, the area of real property designated as a lot on a plat approved in accordance with law and filed with the County Clerk's office, or an unplatted tract of land as conveyed by deed or operation of law and recorded in the deed records of the county.
SIGN. The display of any visually communicative image placed on public display and visible from the exterior of any portion of the public right-of-way or place open to passage by the public. The definition does not include the following enumerated items:
(1) Aerial banners towed behind aircraft;
(2) Decorative or architectural features of buildings (not including lettering, trademarks or moving parts), which do not perform a communicative function (examples include color stripes around an office building or retail store);
(3) Messages on automated teller machines (ATMs);
(4) Permanent inscriptions on cornerstones and foundation stones;
(5) The legal use of fireworks, candles and artificial lighting not otherwise regulated by this
chapter;
(6) Permanent inscriptions on grave markers, gravestones, headstones, mausoleums, shrines, and other markers of the deceased;
(7) Permanent inscriptions on historical monuments, plaques and tablets;
(8) Seasonal decorations, including inflatable objects, on private residential property which are on display for not more than 45 consecutive calendar days per year and which do not include commercial messages;
(9) Inflatable, temporary, and moveable gymnasium devices, commonly used for children's birthday parties, and similar devices (also called "party jumps" or "bounce houses"), located for not more than three consecutive days on private residential property;
(10) Visual communicative devices that are located entirely within a building or other enclosed structure and are not visible from the exterior;
(11) Marks on tangible products, placed by the manufacturer of the product, which customarily remain attached to the product even after sale;
(12) Graphic images mounted on duly licensed and authorized mass transit vehicles that legally pass through the city;
(13) Permanent messages or images on news racks, newspaper vending devices and newsstands;
(14) Any aspect of an individual’s personal appearance, including makeup, masks, wigs, costumes, jewelry, and apparel;
(15) Safety warnings on motorized or electrified equipment;
(16) Searchlights used as part of a search and rescue or other emergency service operation (this exclusion does not apply to searchlights used as attention attracting devices for commercial or special events);
(17) Permanent messages or images on shopping carts, golf carts, horse drawn carriages, and similar devices (any motorized vehicle which may be legally operated upon a public right- of-way is not within this exclusion);
(18) Symbols of non-commercial organizations or concepts including, but not limited to, religious or political symbols, when such are permanently integrated into the architecture of a permanent building which is otherwise legal, by way of example and not limitation, such symbols include stained glass windows on churches, carved or bas relief doors or walls, bells and statuary;
(19) Messages or images on street legal vehicles and properly licensed watercraft, including but not limited to license plates, license plate frames, registration insignia, bumper stickers, any non-commercial messages, messages relating to the business of which the vehicle or vessel is an instrument or tool and messages relating to the proposed sale, lease or exchange of the vehicle or vessel;
(20) Flags;
(21) Information placed on merchandise for sale in retail yards; or
(22) Words or images depicted on pickets, posters, signs or other items that are carried or held by one or more persons that are not attached to, placed into, or rested on the ground.
SIGN SPACE. The area enclosed by the smallest imaginary regular shape (e.g., parallelogram, triangle, circle, trapezoid) or combination of regular shapes that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem, or other display, or combination thereof, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed. Sign area includes such features as decorative or ornamental
elements or features, borders, trims, but not including the architectural enclosure or supporting structure which is used solely for support of the sign, such as poles columns and cables, pylons, or architectural enclosures.
SIGN STRUCTURE. The architectural enclosure, supporting structure or accessory structure upon or within which approved sign space is located.
STREETSCAPE ENVELOPE. A horizontal envelope engaging the space between the curb line and the edge of the internal envelope (varies by street type).
SUPPORTING STRUCTURE. Any pole, pylon, post, frame, cable, foundation, or other supporting structural materials or fixtures arranged, designed or used to hold, secure or support a sign, abandoned sign, or part thereof.
VERTICAL ENVELOPE. The height range within which certain sign types occur.
VISIBILITY POINT. The viewing locations, at a height of six feet, determined by extending the side yard setback lines of the property so as to intersect the curb line of the public street fronting the property, then measuring from the intersecting points along the curb line away from the property in each direction for a distance of 100 feet. If the street fronting the property is one-way, the visibility point in the direction from which traffic approaches the property shall be used to determine the visibility requirement.
(Ord. 01-2016-07, passed 1-26-16)