(A) Purpose. This section provides standards for off-site signs and on-site signs within the Highway Overlay District.
(B) Applicability. A sign permit shall be required for the establishment of any sign allowed under the provisions of this section.
(C) Approval authority. The Planning Commission and City Council shall have the authority to approve billboards through the conditional use permit process. The Director or his or her designee may approve all other signs.
(D) On-site signs and billboards. On-site signs located within the Highway Overlay District shall have a height restriction of 90 feet and maximum size of 300 square feet.
(E) Billboards. A billboard may be approved in compliance with this section. The following regulations are intended to encourage billboards that make a positive visual contribution to the overall image of the city.
(1) Applicability. An applicant may request the approval of a sign permit for a billboard only within the Highway Overlay Zoning District.
(2) Highway Overlay District established. A Highway Overlay District shall be established by this division. Off-premises signs shall only be permitted within the Highway Overlay District as defined as:
(a) Seven hundred and fifty linear feet from the center line of U.S. Highway 69/75;
(b) Seven hundred and fifty linear feet of center line of U.S. Highway 70 west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and U.S. Highway 69/75;
(c) Seven hundred and fifty linear feet of the center line of U.S. Highway 70 east of Sawmill Road; and
(d) One thousand two hundred feet north of the center line of U.S. Highway 70 between U.S. Highway 69/75 and 250 linear feet west of the center line of University Place.
(E) Off-premises signs. Off-premises signs will only be permitted in commercial and industrial zoned districts, billboards only in the Highway Overlay District.
(F) On-premises signs and billboards. On-premises signs located within the Highway Overlay District shall have a height restriction of 90 feet and maximum size of 300 square feet. Billboards shall have a height restriction of 60 feet and maximum size of 750 square feet. The Highway Overlay District only takes precedence on sign height and billboards, all other district restrictions apply. All off-premises signs shall conform to the rules and regulation established by the state for outdoor advertising signs.
(G) On-premises advertising. Animated or moving, electronic reader board, or electronic graphics signs used for identifying a use, facility, service, or product that is not located, sold, or manufactured on the same premises shall have a height restriction of 60 feet and maximum size of 32 square feet. The Community Development Director may approve on-premises animated or moving electronic reader board or electronic graphics signs only in the C-2 District. Any other location must be approved by the Planning Commission.
(H) Billboard location. Billboards shall not be located within 500 feet of any of the following sites which are adjacent to any road (on the same side):
(1) Public park;
(2) Public forest;
(3) Playground;
(4) Cemetery;
(5) Church;
(6) School;
(7) Historical battlefield; or
(8) Rest area.
(I) Planning Commission review required. All signs that measure more than 100 square feet in size or more than 45 feet in height, measured from the ground elevation to the highest portion of the actual sign, within 300 feet of a residential district shall be first reviewed by the Planning Commission. All owners of real property located within a 300-foot radius of the proposed sign shall be given written notice and a notice shall be published in a local newspaper of general circulation at least 15 days and not more than 30 days prior to such public hearing. The notice shall contain a legal description of the actual site of the proposed sign, a street address of the property on which the proposed sign shall set upon, general design details (including height, size, and lighting placement) of the proposed sign, and date, time, and place of the public hearing. In addition to the permit fee, a petition and other applicable fees as adopted by the City Council by motion or resolution, shall be paid by the applicant.
(J) Height exceptions for monument ground signs. On-premises signs located in the Highway Overlay District may petition the Planning Commission for an exception from the height requirements for a monument ground sign. Under no circumstance shall a monument ground sign exceed 20 feet in height as measured from the base of the sign. The Planning Commission shall take into consideration the setting and appearance of the sign in relation to the site and surrounding development. The Planning Commission may impose additional reasonable requirements and restrictions as a condition of approval. Approval may also be granted to allow signage for more than one tenant within a unified development to be located on the monument ground sign. In addition to the permit fee, a petition and other applicable fees as adopted by the City Council by motion or resolution, shall be paid by the applicant.
(K) Welcome identification signs. A welcome identification sign is an off-site sign for the identification of a specific church or civic organization. Welcome identification signs shall not:
(1) Interfere with pedestrian or vehicular safety;
(2) Detract from the pedestrian quality of the surrounding area; or
(3) Add to an over proliferation of signs on one property or in an area.
(L) Maintenance required. The owner of the sign shall keep ongoing cleaning, maintenance, and repair of the sign.
(Prior Code, § 159.09) (Ord. 1870, passed 12-11-2018; Ord. O-2021-04, passed 2-9-2021)