Definitions: The following words, terms and phrases when used in this Title shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
ABANDONED SIGN: Any sign and/or its supporting sign structure that remains without a message or whose display surface remains blank for more than one year or that pertains to a time, event, or purpose that no longer applies. Abandoned signs are not legally established nonconforming signs.
ADDRESS SIGN: A sign on a building displaying numbers only, whether written or in numeric form, used for proper identification of the location of the building.
ALTERATION: Any major change to a sign excluding routine maintenance, painting, or changing of copy of an existing sign.
AWNING: A roof like cover, often of fabric, plastic, metal, or glass, designed and intended for protection from the weather or as a decorative embellishment that projects from a wall or roof of any structure primarily over a window, door, wall, or the like.
BANNER: A temporary sign made of lightweight fabric or similar material either securely fastened to poles or on the exterior of a building.
BEACON/SPOTLIGHT: Any light with one or more beams directed into the atmosphere or directed at one or more points not on the same lot as the light source; also, any light with one or more beams that rotate or move.
BENCH SIGN: A sign which is affixed or painted to a bench.
BUILDING HEIGHT: The vertical distance from the average elevation of the adjoining ground level, or the established grade adjacent to the building, whichever is lower, to the top of the cornice of a flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, to a point of the roof directly above the highest wall of a shed roof, the uppermost point on a round or other arch type roof, or to the highest gable on a pitched or hip roof.
BUILDING MARKER: Any sign indicating the name of a building and date and incidental information about its construction, which sign is cut into a masonry surface or made of bronze or other permanent material.
BUSINESS: Any establishment, occupation, employment, or enterprise wherein merchandise is manufactured, exhibited, or sold or which occupies time, attention, labor, and materials or where services are offered for compensation.
CANOPY: A roof like structure projecting over a doorway.
CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN: A sign or portion thereof with characters, letters, or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged without altering the face or the surface of the sign. A "changeable copy sign" shall also include reader board signs.
COMMEMORATIVE OR MEMORIAL SIGN: A sign, tablet, or plaque commemorating or memorializing a person, event, structure, or site.
COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL BUILDING COMPLEX: A development of industrial or commercial buildings, tenants, or uses, in close proximity that are intended to function in a joint manner, regardless of sequence of build-out. Characteristics of a shopping area or building complex may include, but are not limited to, shared parking facilities, joint access, and common building design. A shopping area or building complex may include multiple tenants or multiple owners, freestanding pad buildings', and may be situated on one or more lots or parcels or other factors as determined by City Staff.
COMMERCIAL SPEECH: Speech that is advertising a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment.
COPY AND GRAPHIC: The wording and other display messages such as logos or symbols on a sign.
COPY AND GRAPHIC AREA: The area contained within a rectangle or square drawn completely around the display surface which encloses the copy and graphic of a sign.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN: A sign erected on public or private property which is designated to guide vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
DISTRICT: A specific zoning district as defined in City Code Title 11.
DYNAMIC DISPLAY: Any characteristics of a sign that appear to have movement or that appear to change, caused by any method other than physically removing and replacing the sign or its components, whether the apparent movement or change is in the display, the sign structure itself, or any other component of the sign. This includes a display that incorporates a technology or method allowing the sign face to change the image without having to physically or mechanically replace the sign face or its components. This also includes any rotating, revolving, moving, flashing, blinking, or animated display and any display that incorporates rotating panels, LED lights manipulated through digital input, "digital ink", video display, or any other method or technology that allows the sign face to present a series of images or displays.
ENTRANCE MONUMENT SIGN: A sign which identifies the name of a neighborhood, a residential subdivision, a multi- family complex consisting of three (3) or more structures or ten (10) or more units, a commercial development consisting of three (3) or more separate structures, a shopping center area, an industrial area consisting of three (3) or more structures or any combination of the above, which does not specifically identify the individual business therein.
ERECT: The activity of constructing, building, raising, assembling, placing, affixing, attaching, creating, painting, drawing, or any other way of bringing in to being or establishing.
FACADE: Is a portion of any exterior elevation of a building extending from grade to the top of the parapet wall or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation.
FARM IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign which identifies or otherwise describes the name, ownership and/or type of agricultural operation of the lot or parcel of land upon which it is situated.
FLAG: Any fabric or similar lightweight material attached at one end of the material, usually to a staff or pole, so as to allow movement of the material by atmospheric changes and that contains distinctive colors, patterns, symbols, emblems, insignia, or other symbolic devices.
FLASHING SIGN: A directly or indirectly illuminated sign or portion thereof that exhibits changing light or color effect by any means, to provide intermittent illumination that changes light intensity in sudden transitory bursts and creates the illusion of intermittent flashing light by streaming, graphic bursts showing movement or any mode of lighting which resembles zooming, twinkling, or sparkling.
FREESTANDING SIGN: A sign that is placed in the ground and not affixed to any part of a structure or building.
FRONTAGE: For purposes of this Chapter, the front side of a building or tenant space facing the public right of way.
GOVERNMENTAL SIGN: A sign which is erected by a governmental unit for the purposes of identification, information, or directing or guiding traffic.
GRADE: For the purposes of this Chapter, the elevation or level of the ground at the place the sign is to be erected.
GROSS SIGN AREA CALCULATION: The method of calculating the allowable square footage of signs shall be as follows:
1. Individual Letters or Figures: When attached onto a surface such as a building, canopy, wall, or awning, the area shall be the smallest rectangle that encompasses all of the letters or symbols unless the letters and/or symbols are separated by two feet (2') or more in length, in which case the letter(s) and symbol(s) area shall be calculated separately and added together.
2. Monument Signs: The smallest rectangle, square, circle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass the entire area of the sign face, including all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs and symbols, together with all the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed and in no case passing through or between elements of such sign. The area shall not include the main supporting sign structure but shall include other ornamental attachments that are not a part of the main support of the sign.
3. Wall Signs: The smallest rectangle, square, circle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass the entire area of the frame, including all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs and symbols, together with all the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed and in no case passing through or between elements of such sign. The area shall not include the main supporting sign structure but shall include other ornamental attachments that are not a part of the main support of the sign. Letter(s) and symbol(s) separated by two feet (21) or more in length shall be calculated separately and added together.
HEIGHT: The vertical distance measured from the base of the sign at grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign.
IDENTIFICATION SIGN: Any sign which states the name or address or both of identifies the business or occupant of the lot or building where the sign is placed and may be a directory business or occupants.
ILLEGAL SIGN: A sign that is erected without first complying with all City ordinances and regulations in effect at the time of its construction and erection or use.
ILLUMINATED SIGN: Any sign that contains an element designated to emanate artificial light internally or externally.
INCIDENTAL SIGN: Incidental signs or signs within a building provided that the sign is not readily visible from the public right-of-way, adjacent properties, and are not illuminated.
INFLATABLE SIGN: An inflatable sign means any object enlarged or inflated over 24 inches that floats, is tethered in the air, or is located on the ground or on a building with or without copy or other graphics.
INFORMATIONAL SIGN: Any sign erected for the safety or convenience of the public to provide information or wayfinding and other signs that do not promote or contain advertising or identification of a business, property, or product.
LEGAL NONCONFORMING SIGN: A sign which lawfully existed prior to the passage of the ordinance codified in this Chapter or amendments thereto but which does not conform to this Chapter.
LEGALLY ESTABLISHED NONCONFORMING SIGNS: Any sign and its support structure lawfully erected prior to the effective date of any provision of this Chapter that fails to conform to the requirements of this Chapter.
LOGO: A symbol, image, insignia, word, word abbreviation, or initials which are designed for easy recognition, and which represents or identifies in graphic form, a nation or organization of nation; businesses; states or cities; or fraternal, religious and civic organizations or any educational institutions, irrespective of whether they are made of permanent, semipermanent, or temporary materials.
MENU BOARD SIGN: A freestanding exterior sign adjacent to the drive-through lane at a drive-through facility that identifies items for sale at the facility and their associated prices for customers.
MERCHANDISE SIGN: A temporary A-frame or sandwich board style sign advertising merchandise or services displayed outside an enclosed building.
MONUMENT SIGN: A freestanding sign independent from any building or other structure that is mounted on the ground or mounted on a base that is at least as wide as the sign, but in no event shall the base exceed one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the greatest width of the sign. A monument sign is typically solid from grade to the top of the structure; however, a monument sign may include open area below the face of the sign if the sign complies with the monument sign supporting sign structure design criteria.
MOTION SIGN: Any sign which revolves, rotates, has any moving parts, or gives the illusion of motion including animated or flashing signs.
MURAL: A work of graphic art painted on a building wall, which contains no commercial advertising or logos and which does not serve to advertise or promote any business, product, activity, service, interest, or entertainment.
NONCOMMERCIAL FLAG: Any flag other than a business or commercial flag, including, without limitation, a flag of any governmental, religious, charitable, fraternal, or political organization or cause.
NONCOMMERCIAL SPEECH: A sign that does not contain commercial speech but promotes a message concerning political, religious, social, ideological, public service, or informational topics.
OBSOLETE SIGN: Any sign which no longer advertises a bona fide business conducted or products sold at that location or premises where the sign is located.
OFF PREMISES SIGN: A sign bearing commercial speech that is located on a property that is not the premises, property, or site of the use identified or advertised on the sign.
ON PREMISES SIGN: A sign bearing commercial speech that is located on the premises, property, or site of the use identified or advertised on the sign.
PARAPET: The portion of the building wall that rises above the roof level.
PENNANT: Pieces of cloth, paper, or plastic intended to be individually supported or attached to each other by means of rope, string or other material, and intended to be hung on buildings or other structures or between poles that does not include any company logo or other form of corporate identity.
PERMANENT SIGN: Any sign which is not a temporary sign.
PROJECTING SIGN: A sign other than a wall sign which is affixed to a building, and which extends perpendicular from the building wall.
PYLON SIGN: A sign supported by a post or posts so that the sign and supports are finished to grade and the post or posts are encased in a material consistent with the sign.
READER BOARD: A sign where the message is changeable but does not change automatically.
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT SIGN: A sign placed on the premises of a subdivision or other real estate development related to the subdivision or real estate development.
REAL ESTATE SIGN: A sign placed upon a property advertising that particular property for sale, rent, or lease.
RIGHT OF WAY: A public right of way, intended for vehicular traffic, including freeways, expressways, arterials, parkways, thoroughfares, collector streets, local streets, cul-de-sacs, access streets, avenues, boulevards, lanes, and other public ways, as now or hereafter designated.
ROOF SIGN: A sign erected on the roof or above the roof line of a building or a sign painted on or attached directly to the roof.
ROOFLINE: The uppermost line of the roof of a building or in the case of an extended facade, the uppermost height of such facade.
SIGN: Any letter, word, symbol, device, poster, picture, reading matter, or representation in an advertisement, announcement, message, or visual communication, whether painted, posted, printed, affixed, or constructed, which is displayed outdoors for informational, corporate identification, or communicative attention-getting purposes and is visible to the general public.
SIGN STRUCTURE: The supports, uprights, raceway, bracing, and framework for a sign, including the sign area.
STREET FRONTAGE: The proximity of a parcel of land to one or more streets. An interior lot has one street frontage, and a corner lot has two (2) frontages.
TEMPORARY SIGN: Any sign which is erected or displayed for a limited period of time, including signs affixed or attached to vehicles, including trailers, and capable of being readily removable.
TEMPORARY EVENT SIGN: Any activity having a specific duration or the end of which is related to a specific action. Temporary events include such activities as: festivals, open houses, garage sales, sales and athletic events.
TOTAL SIGNAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE CALCULATION: The square footage of every sign on the exterior of any building on the property, or visible from public property, unless explicitly exempted by this Section, shall count towards the total signage square footage calculation.
UNSAFE SIGN: Any sign that is out of order, in disrepair, rotten, hazardous, or in any other manner unsafe.
WALL SIGN: A sign which is affixed to the exterior wall of a building, and which is parallel to the building wall, and which does not project more than twelve inches (12") from the surface to which it is attached, nor extend beyond the top of the parapet wall.
WINDOW SIGN: Any sign, pictures, symbol, attention-getting device or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service, that is placed inside a window or upon the windowpanes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window. (Ord. 1082, 5-1-2024)
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