(A) General. Signs or canopies may be erected and maintained only when in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and any and all other ordinances and regulations of the city relating to the erection, alteration or maintenance of signs and similar devices. Signs or canopies may be erected for the following purposes and no other.
(B) R-1 Districts.
(1) Signs advertising the sale, lease, rental or development of the property on which the signs are placed, providing the area of the sign does not exceed four square feet in area. Signs advertising the sale of lots in new major subdivisions shall not exceed 96 square feet in area and, unless approved by the Board, shall not remain on the property for more than two years; and shall not be closer to the street right-of-way than 25 feet.
(2) Signs erected by churches, schools, educational facilities, hospitals, funeral homes or similar institutions, provided the area of the sign does not exceed 36 square feet.
(3) Small announcement or professional signs designating home occupations, home professional offices or agricultural uses, providing such sign or announcement does not exceed two square feet in area.
(4) The bottom-most part of a sign not attached to a building shall not exceed the height of six feet above ground level.
(5) The top-most part of a sign attached to a building shall not exceed a height of ten feet above ground level.
(6) Signs shall be located a minimum distance of five feet from the street right-of-way line or property edge of sidewalk, whichever is farther from the street centerline.
(7) No sign in this district shall be illuminated in any way, except for incidental illumination from ornamental light sources which are not installed for sign illumination, or as part of the sign.
(8) No more than one sign may be erected on one property. A double-faced (front and back) sign may be considered as a single sign.
(C) R-2 and R-3 Districts.
(1) The provisions for the erection of signs in R-1 Districts shall also apply in the R-2 and R-3 Districts, with the following additional signs and requirements being permitted.
(2) Signs erected by rooming houses, housing projects, apartments, mobile home courts, clubs, day care schools operated for profit, and similar uses, providing the area of the sign does not exceed 12 square feet.
(3) Signs in this district may be indirectly illuminated by a hooded light source constructed in such a way that the light source itself is not visible from the street, or with interior illumination, but no sign or display may be made of gaseous discharge (neon and the like) tubing.
(4) No more than one sign may be erected on one property.
(D) C-1 and C-2 Districts, and I-1 and I-2 Districts.
(1) Signs advertising an activity or business pursuit, but only if such signs are located on the premises of the activity or business advertised, and providing such signs do not exceed four square feet in size for each foot of width of the principal building. On corner lots, the width of the principal building facing each street shall be included. The combined total area of all signs on the premises shall not exceed the permitted area stated herein.
(2) Signs, parking areas and buildings may be illuminated providing the use of such illumination does not confuse, blind or distract vehicle operators on the highways or streets. No sign shall be permitted which is a nuisance to adjacent property owners.
(3) Except in C-1 Districts, signs shall be located a minimum distance of 18 inches from the street right-of-way line or property edge of the sidewalk, whichever is farther from the centerline of the street.
(E) C-3 Districts.
(1) The provisions for the erection of signs in R-2 and R-3 Districts shall also apply in C-3 Districts, except that two signs will be permitted per property, with said two signs not exceeding the following sizes and mounting heights.
Main sign | 50 square feet |
Maximum height to top of sign | 15 feet |
Secondary sign | 20 square feet |
(F) P Districts. No signs will be permitted in these districts, except for identity and directional signs which do not exceed 50 square feet in area and which are designed to conform to the recreational and park atmosphere of development. Undeveloped land in P Districts shall have no signs.
(G) Additional sign requirements.
(1) No sign or display shall make use of blinking or intermittent lights, animation or moving parts, except that portion of a sign which displays the time, temperature, humidity, weather or similar information will be permitted in C-1, C-2, I-1 and I-2 Districts, this requirement shall not apply to interior commercial displays in C-1, C-2, I-1 or I-2 Districts, provided such lights or moving displays do not create a distraction to motorists.
(2) No sign shall be installed with any portion of the foundation, post or mounting hardware within any street, walk or alley right-of-way of the city.
(3) No sign shall project into any public right-of-way, except that signs in C-1 Districts, if required, may project up to two feet into such right-of-way if authorized by permit, and if such signs are mounted to read horizontally and are attached to the face of a building in such a manner as to be visible and readable from the front of the building. Permits for such projecting signs shall be issued only when such projection is required for proper sign installation because of limited mounting area.
(4) Any existing sign which has not been installed in accordance with regulations in effect at the time of installation, including the securing of the proper permit or permits, shall be immediately removed.
(5) Any existing legally installed sign which projects into a public right-of-way more than two feet or otherwise is in non-conformance with the requirements of this chapter shall be removed, and/or reinstalled in such a manner as to conform to said requirements, prior to April 1, 1994. Existing marquees and time and temperature signs shall be exempted from this requirement, but may not be replaced within the public right-of-way. City approved business identification signs under sidewalk canopies may be permitted.
(6) In addition to the other requirements of this chapter, all signs must be constructed of durable materials, kept in good condition and repair and not allowed to become dilapidated.
(7) All signs shall be removed when the circumstances leading to their erection no longer apply.
(8) Billboards are prohibited in all districts.
(9) No signs or other advertising displays shall be permitted except those specifically pertaining to the property or use of the property on which they are located.
(10) All lighting and illumination of signs shall conform to regulations regarding hazards to traffic in accordance with state and local laws and regulations.
(11) Signs maintained pursuant to and in conformance with any law, ordinance, governmental regulation of function shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter, including official “City of Corry” name and/or “Welcome to Corry” signs and Corry Industrial Park signs.
(a) No trespassing, no soliciting and similar regulatory signs will be permitted but shall not exceed two square feet in area and shall not be spaced closer than 25 feet between signs, and shall not be more than ten feet above ground. Installation, size and location of such signs shall conform as close as possible to these regulations.
(b) Signs posted on the premises of schools, hospitals or other emergency care centers which regulate the movement of traffic or identify special facilities on said premises shall not exceed eight square feet in area per sign.
(c) Hospitals, schools with 50 or more students and industries located in the city with 100 or more employees may place not more than two signs, on state routes where possible, indicating the direction to their facilities. Such signs shall be for directional purposes only and shall include only the name of the facility with arrows. Each sign shall not exceed 150 square inches in area (six inches by twenty-five inches) Additional signs may be permitted if approved as a conditional use.
(12) Portable signs, whether illuminated or non-illuminated with wheels attached or not, exceeding 200 pounds in weight are prohibited in the city.
(13) Political signs are permitted one month before an election date, but must be removed no more than two weeks following the election, and are subject to the following restrictions:
(a) No such signs are permitted on utility poles or trees, whether in or out of public rights-of-way;
(b) Political signs in R-1, R-2, R-3 and C-3 are limited to a maximum of two square feet in area;
(c) Political signs are not permitted in P Districts;
(d) Exterior political signs in C-1, C-2, I-1 and I-2 Districts are limited to a maximum of 25 square feet in area; and
(e) The cost of removal of political signs which are not in conformance with this chapter may be charged against the party responsible for installing the sign.
(14) All exterior signs ten square feet or larger, and all exterior signs mounted in such a manner that any portion of the sign is within five feet of a public right-a-way, except paper or cloth signs, shall require a permit. Fees for all sign permits will be in accordance with a schedule of fees established from time to time by City Council.
(15) Special signs for public purposes may be approved by City Council, but shall be temporary, installed for a specified period of time and may include signing for public events, fund raising and the like.
(H) Projections into the public right-of-way.
(1) Signs constructed as a canopy or sign and canopy combinations, with plastic translucent faces which are detachable, not permanent part of the building, may be permitted to project into the public right-of-way in C-1 Districts, provided that they extend not more than four feet from the building and the bottom most portion shall be minimum of nine feet above sidewalk grade. The sign portion shall face the street and be approximately parallel with the street. Only a back lit type of illumination shall be permitted.
(2) Permanent canopies of extended features on facades which are an integral non-detachable part of the building may be permitted to project into the public right-of-way from existing structures in areas zoned C-1, provided that they extend not more 18 inches from the building and the bottom most portion shall be a minimum of nine feet above sidewalk grade.
(3) On existing structures only, in I-1 or I-2 Districts, canopies or sign and canopy combinations, with plastic translucent faces which are detachable, not a permanent part of the building, may be permitted to project into the public right-of-way; provided, that they extend not more than three feet from the building and the bottom most portion shall be a minimum of nine feet above sidewalk grade. The sign portion shall face the street and be approximately parallel with the street. Only a back lit type of illumination shall be permitted.
(4) In C-1 Districts, no door shall be mounted in such a manner that the door, when opened, may enter into or interfere with any public right-of-way.
(Ord. 1347, passed 3-18-1991) Penalty, see § 156.999