(A) General limitations on sign location.
(1) All signs requiring a permit shall be located on the premises they serve.
(2) No sign shall be erected or maintained at the intersection of any streets in such a manner as to obstruct the free and clear vision of a driver of a vehicle or a pedestrian.
(3) No sign shall be erected or maintained so as to prevent the free ingress or egress from any door, window, or fire escape, and no signs shall be attached to a standpipe or fire escape.
(4) No sign shall have more than two sign faces.
(5) No persons shall permit, maintain, or display any sign painted directly on an exterior wall, fascia, or parapet of a building, fence, or chimney, except however, existing signs advertising a business operating on the same premises may be retained, provided the sign receives regular maintenance. In the HCB District wall signs may be permitted as a special exception provided that they are in character with the historic nature of the district and similar to the painted type of sign found on center town buildings a century ago.
(6) No sign shall be allowed or maintained if the sign shall, in any way, violate existing state or federal regulations governing such signs. Signs controlled by these provisions shall be in compliance therewith and no such sign shall exceed a height of 35 feet above ground-level.
(7) No person shall place, paste, print, or affix, in any manner, a handbill, sign, poster, advertisement, or notice of any kind in any public right-of-way on any trees, light standards, telephone poles, or other supporting structure.
(8) Except as otherwise permitted in this section, no sign shall be located so as to project above the top edge of the roof or the top of the parapet, whichever forms the top line of the building silhouette and in no case exceed a height of 20 feet, whichever is lower.
(9) Signs shall be permitted on awnings, canopies, and marquees. However, such signs shall not exceed a height of 20 feet above the average surrounding grade. The area of such signs shall be counted against the maximum sign surface area permitted by this section.
(B) Specific limitations on sign location.
(1) Residential districts. In the residential districts, permitted signs may be located anywhere on the property, provided they are no closer than ten feet to any lot line and are not located in the public right-of-way.
(2) Commercial districts.
(a) No sign shall be placed or project into the public right-of-way, nor shall a sign attached to a building extend more than 24 inches from the face of the building or be less than eight feet above grade.
(b) Except as otherwise noted in this section, no building-mounted sign shall extend above the top line of the face of the building or exceed a height of 20 feet, whichever is lower.
(c) Pole or monument signs, as permitted herein, shall be set back from every lot line one foot for each foot in height above average surrounding grade.
(3) Office and industrial districts.
(a) No sign shall be placed or project into the public right-of-way nor shall a sign attached to a building extend more than 12 inches from the face of the building.
(b) Except as otherwise permitted by this section, no building-mounted sign shall extend above the top line of the face of the building or exceed a height of 20 feet, whichever is lower.
(c) Freestanding or ground signs, as permitted herein, shall be set back from every lot line one-half foot for each foot in height above average surrounding grade.
(C) Illumination.
(1) Location and design of light source. Whenever an external artificial light source is used to illuminate a sign, such source shall be located, shielded, and directed so as to not be visible from any public street or private residence. No receptacle or device housing a permitted light source which is attached to the sign itself shall protrude more than 12 inches from the face of the sign or building to which it is attached. If ground lighting is used to illuminate a sign, the receptacle or device should not protrude more than 12 inches and must be fully screened from view by landscaping.
(2) Level of illumination. In no event shall the illumination of any sign, resulting from any internal or external artificial light source exceed 100 footlamberts at the sign face. All artificial illumination shall be so designed, located, shielded, and directed as to prevent the casting of direct light upon adjacent property or streets. No exposed reflective type bulb or incandescent lamp, which exceeds 15 watts, shall be used on the exterior surface of any sign so as to expose the face of the bulb, light, or lamp to any public street or adjacent property. All sources of light, whether by direct exposure, surface reflection, or transmission, having an intrinsic brightness greater than two foot-candles shall be shielded so that the source of light cannot be seen at any point within a residential district.
(3) Signs adjacent to residential areas. Signs located on a lot abutting a residential district or a sign within 100 feet of any residentially zoned area shall be so designed, located, shielded, and directed so as to prevent the casting of direct light upon adjacent properties or streets.
(D) Sign area computation. The following principals shall control the computation of sign area.
(1) Computation of area of individual signs. The area of a sign face shall be computed by means of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem, color, or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background or the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but not including any supporting framework or bracing unless such framework or bracing is made part of the message or face of the sign.
(2) Computation of area of multiple-faced signs. The sign area for a sign with more than one face shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one point. When two identical sign faces are placed back to back, so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than 42 inches apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the faces.
(E) Construction and design standards. All signs shall meet the construction and design standards set forth for signs in Chapter 155 of this code of ordinances.
(F) Litter control. All signs and the premises surrounding the sign shall be maintained in a clean, sanitary, and inoffensive condition, and free and clear of all obnoxious substances, rubbish, and weeds.
(G) Maintenance. Every sign established in the town shall, at all times, be maintained in good structural condition, and be painted at least once every two years, including all metal parts and supports thereof that are not galvanized or of rust resistant metals. The Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to inspect any sign pursuant to § 156.198, and order any remedial action authorized thereunder.
(H) Landscaping requirements. Every permit application for a monument sign shall be accompanied by a landscape plan meeting the standards hereinafter specified.
(1) For every square foot of sign surface area, there shall be provided one and one-half square feet of landscape area.
(2) Any monument sign constructed or erected to a height in excess of eight feet above the average surrounding grade shall be required to be improved with an additional one and one-half square feet of landscaped area for each foot of height or portion thereof that said sign is constructed or erected above said eight feet in height.
(3) Sod or seeded areas shall not qualify as a landscaped area.
(4) The required landscaped areas shall be improved with such plantings as hedges, conifers, flowering plants, evergreens, and the like, of a size and in quantity proportionate to the size and height of the sign as judged by the Zoning Administrator.
(5) In addition to the plantings herein described, the landscaped areas shall also include ground protection such as, but not limited to, ground cover plants, landscaping bark, decorative stone, or landscape timbers.
(6) It shall be the duty of each party owning any lot or parcel improved with the landscaping required herein to maintain said landscaping including, but not by way of limitation, the replacement of any dead or diseased vegetation, the trimming of any overgrown vegetation, and the maintenance of any groundcover or protection provided in accordance with the terms hereof.
(I) Wind pressure and dead load requirements. All signs and sign structures shall be designed and constructed to withstand wind pressures and dead loads as required by Chapter 155 of this code of ordinances.
(J) Identification and marking. Each sign hereafter erected or remodeled shall bear in a prominent position thereon a clearly legible identification plate, stating the name of the person responsible for its construction and erection. Electrical signs shall be marked with input amperes at full load input.
(Ord. 2014-26, passed 9- -2014) Penalty, see § 156.999