1141.09 SIGNS PERMITTED IN BUSINESS DISTRICTS.
   The following signs are permitted in the following business districts: Professional Office Business; Neighborhood Business; General Business; Planned Business Park; and Central Business.
   (a)   Signs within the business districts must identify and advertise bonafide businesses that offer merchandise, products, and services conducted on the premises.
   (b)   Fascia or wall signs shall not project more than two (2) feet from the nearest part of the building except as specifically permitted within certain districts.
   (c)   Fascia or wall signs located on corner buildings may have two (2) such signs one (1) for each street side.
   (d)   Projecting signs shall be permitted in the General Business District with the following provisions:
      (1)   Projection signs overhanging into the public right-of-way must be within three (3) feet of the curb line.
      (2)   No projection signs, with the exception of marquee signs and canopies providing shelter, shall overhang more than one-third (1/3) of the sidewalk width.
   (e)   The sign area for permanent signs shall be limited to an area not to exceed one and one-half (1½) square feet per one (1) lineal foot of building width, but not to exceed two-hundred (200) square feet. Any wall signage allowance that will be placed on a canopy or awning shall not cover more than fifty percent (50%) of any awning or canopy.
   (f)   Free standing signs serving an individual business, or a group of businesses shall be permitted as long as the total sign area does not exceed one-hundred (100) square feet. A free standing sign shall not be over thirty (30) feet in height from grade. Additionally, the sign must be located at least twenty (20) feet, or the height of the sign, which ever is greater, from any street, right-of-way or adjoining lot line.
   (g)   Free standing or pole signs used for vehicle service stations shall be permitted in the General Business district with the following provisions:
      (1)   No part of the sign shall project into the right-of-way of any street or highway.
      (2)   The support structure of such a sign shall be setback at least twenty (20) feet from any public right-of-way.
      (3)   The maximum area of any one (1) face of such sign located within the front yard shall not exceed fifty (50) square feet.
      (4)   The pole/support of the sign shall not be less than fifty (50) feet from any lot in any residential district.
   (h)   A business may opt to install a digital/electronic message center sign in lieu of a free standing sign with the following stipulations:
      (1)   The digital/electronic message center must be constructed monument style.
      (2)   Electronic messages shall be static and can only change once every five (5) seconds.
      (3)   The electronic message center shall come equipped with an automatic dimming photocell, which automatically adjusts the display's brightness based on ambient light conditions.
      (4)   The brightness level shall not increase by more than 0.3 foot candles (or 3.23 lumens per square meter or lux over ambient levels) as measured using foot candle meter at a pre-set distance.
      (5)   The procedure and distances for measurements of brightness shall be established by the International Sign Association's "Recommended Night-time Brightness Levels for On-premise Electronic Message Centers."
      (6)   The owners of such signs shall include a signed letter accompanying their sign permit application certifying that they will comply with the prescribed brightness limitations set by this ordinance.
      (7)   All electronic message centers shall contain a default mechanism that will cause the sign to revert immediately to a black screen if the sign malfunctions.
      (8)   No digital/electronic message center shall be permitted within one-hundred (100) feet of and facing the front lot line of a residentially zoned lot.
      (9)   No digital/electronic message center shall exceed twenty-four (24) square feet of sign space, exclusive of the monument structure and the overall structure cannot exceed ten (10) feet in height.
   (i)   Sandwich board signs as delineated in Section 1141.04 (f).
(Ord. 30-22. Passed 12-12-22.)