A. Limitations On Location Of Signs:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. No person 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.
4. No sign shall be allowed or maintained if the sign shall, in any way, violate the Illinois highway advertising control act of 1971, as amended. Signs controlled by the provisions of the act, shall be in compliance therewith and no such sign shall exceed a height of thirty five feet (35') above ground level.
5. 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.
B. 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 fifteen inches (15") 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 twelve inches (12") 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 one hundred (100) foot-candles 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.
3. Signs Adjacent To Residential Areas: Signs located on a lot abutting a residential district or a sign within one hundred feet (100') 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.
C. Sign Area Computation: The following principles 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 (2) 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 forty two inches (42") apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the faces.
D. Construction And Design Standards: All signs shall meet the construction and design standards set forth for signs in the city's building code.
E. 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.
F. Maintenance: Every sign established in the city shall, at all times, be maintained in good structural condition, and be painted at least once every two (2) 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 section 12-11-9, "Enforcement", of this chapter and order any remedial action authorized thereunder.
G. Landscaping Requirement: Pole and monument signs shall be required to provide and maintain landscaping at the base of the sign. The landscaping provided shall consist of a square, rectangle, oval or circle, whose area shall be three feet (3') in width on each side of the sign's base.
H. 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 the city's building code.
I. 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. Z-24-05, 8-29-2005)