(a) The property owner shall maintain all signs in a safe and attractive condition for the intended use.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, a sign is not legally maintained if any of the following occur: the appearance of rust, cracks, electrical defects, fraying, chipped paint or other materials, structural defects or other defects, or if the commercial message of the sign no longer pertains to any business activity on the site upon which the sign is located. Such factors shall cause it to be presumed that a sign has been abandoned and is not being legally maintained.
(c) The property owner of such a sign may receive notice from the City to return the sign to its original satisfactory condition within 60 days of the date of the notice. Unless the property owner complies with the notice, signs which are abandoned and are not being legally maintained in accordance with this Code or other applicable regulations of the City, are hereby declared to be a nuisance contributing to visual blight and are hereby determined to be abandoned. The property owner also has a continuing obligation to comply with all building and housing code requirements of the City.
(d) If the sign is deemed by the Zoning Commissioner to be in an unsafe or abandoned condition, the owner of the property shall be immediately notified, in writing, and shall, within 48 hours of such notification, correct such unsafe condition or remove the sign. If the correction has not been made within 48 hours, the Zoning Commissioner may remove such unsafe sign or cause such unsafe sign to be removed, repaired or maintained at the expense of the property owner. To recover the costs from the property owner, the City may certify the total cost, together with a proper description of the land, to the Defiance County Auditor to place such costs upon the tax duplicate, or the City may commence a civil action against the property owner for the costs.
(e) All lighting of signs shall be fully functional as designed or the lighting shall be turned off until such time as such non-functioning lighting has been fixed.
(f) Whenever any sign, either conforming or nonconforming to this chapter, is required to be removed for the purpose of repair, relettering or repainting, the same may be done without obtaining a zoning permit or paying fees, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) There is no alteration or remodeling to the structure or the mounting of the sign itself.
(2) There is no enlargement or increase in any of the dimensions of the sign or its structure.
(3) The sign is accessory to a legally permitted or legally nonconforming use.
(Ord. 7675. Passed 11-11-14.)