1187.02 DEFINITIONS.

   (a)   "Sign" means any name, identification, description, illustration, symbol, statue or device illuminated or nonilluminated which is visible from any public place or is located on private property and exposed to the public view from outside the property where located and which directs attention to a product, service, place, activity, person, institution, business or solicitation, or any emblem, painting, banner, pennant, placard or temporary sign designed to advertise, identify or convey information, to include any landscaping wherein letters or numbers are used for the purpose of directing the public's attention to a product or location. For the purpose of removal, signs shall also include all sign structures. The entire translucent area of an internally illuminated or backlit awning, canopy or other exterior area of a building or an attachment to the building which is located outside of the enclosed building and is visible from any public street shall be included as a sign, whether or not it has lettering or other symbols or illustrations thereon.

   The word "sign" does not include: a flag or pennant of any nation, state, city or other political unit, or of any educational, charitable, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious organizations or like campaign, drive, movement or event; commmemorative plaques approved by Council; any name plate sign in residential areas or any board, sign or surface used to display any official notices issued or posted by any court or public officer in the performance of a public duty; window displays; signs within a stadium, shopping center, residential complex, arena or other use, which cannot be viewed from any public streets; any signs for control of traffic and other regulatory purposes, governmental identification and directional signs, including signs for identification and location of entryways and public facilities and events and geographic areas of the City, street signs, warning signs, railroad crossing signs and signs of public service companies for the purpose of public safety. All signs excluded herein shall meet any applicable building or structural requirements.

   The following are types of signs: (Ord. 94-16. Passed 10-24-16.)

      (1)   "Advertising signs" means billboard as defined herein.

(1.1)   “Air dancer” an inflatable device consisting of a long tube-like sleeve made of fabric attached to a powered fan blower, which causes the tube to move in a dancing or flailing motion.

(2)   "Banner" means a piece of cloth, canvas, plastic sheet or other pliable material.

(3)   "Billboard" means any sign painted on or affixed to any structure or erected as a freestanding sign, which advertises a person, product or service not located on the same parcel of record as the sign. This definition shall not include subdivision tract directional signs but does include poster panels.

(4)   "Business sign" means a sign which directs attention to a business commodity, service, industry or other activity which is sold, offered or conducted on the premises upon which such sign is located or to which it is affixed or which displays the identifying name and address of a future comparable business or industrial establishment.

(5)   "Bulletin board" means a structure containing a surface upon which is displayed the name of a religious institution, school or library, auditorium, stadium, athletic field or area of similar use for the announcement of services or activities to be held therein or at some other place.

(6)   “Cabinet sign” means a temporary/movable sign constructed with sign faces designed to install movable letters or characters and the sign faces are held by a frame. Cabinet signs include both illuminated or non- illuminated signs.

(7)   "Canopy, awning or marquee" means a sign that is mounted on or painted on or attached to a canopy, awning or marquee.

(8)   "Captive balloons" means an envelope of spherical or similar shaped gas proof fabric distended by the pressure of gas or air held internally.

(9)   "Company logo flag" means a piece of cloth or canvas attached to a flagpole and used to designate a company logo.

(10)   "Construction" means a sign indicating the names of architects, engineers, contractors, owners and similar persons involved in the design and construction of a structure or project.

(11)   "Directional" means a sign without advertising, directing vehicular or pedestrian movement onto a premises.

(12)   “Electronic message display sign” means a sign capable of displaying words, symbols, figures or images that can be electronically changed by remote or automatic means, including graphics and/or video. This definition includes light emitting diode (LED) screens. These signs must be capable of utilizing at least three colors per pixel with color capability in excess of 32,000 colors.

      (12.1)   “Feather/flutter flag” means a sign which is generally displayed vertically, primarily supported by a rod or supporting frame along one edge and constructed of a piece of cloth, canvas, plastic sheet or other pliable material. The feather/flutter flag may or may not display words or images.

(13)   "Flashing" means a sign which contains or is illuminated by lights which are intermittently on and off, scintillate, move, change color, or appear to change color, change in intensity, or which create the illusion of flashing in any manner such as by rotating a light source.

(14)   "Freestanding" means a sign suspended or supported by one or more uprights, braces, poles or other similar structural components when utilizing earth, rock, the ground or any foundation set in the ground as a primary holding base and not attached to or enclosed by any building.

(15)   "Gateway" means a sign placed by the City on a thoroughfare within 1000 feet of the City limits noting the City boundary.

(16)   "Good condition" means a sign that is maintained so as to be readable, structurally sound, mechanically working as it was designed, with no chipping, fading or other maladies and having an overall appearance similar to the original state.

(17)   "Ground" means a sign placed upon a foundation, or a slab or placed upon or attached to an ornamental wall and not supported by any uprights, braces, poles or other similar structural components taller than three feet.

(18)   "Illuminated" means a sign that is lighted by an artificial light source.

(19)   "Moving" means any sign which in part or total, rotates, revolves, oscillates, tilts or otherwise is in motion at any time. This includes, indexing, multiprism units, whose speed exceeds one complete revolution in less than twenty seconds.

(20)   "Nonconforming" means a sign which has been issued a valid permit at the time it was erected but does not now accord or comply with the requirements of this chapter and was made nonconforming by annexations, rezoning or ordinance amendment.

(21)   "On-site or accessory" means business sign as defined herein.

(22)   "Pennant" means a long, narrow, triangular or tapering cloth, canvas, plastic sheet or other pliable material.

(23)   "Portable" means any sign which is not permanently affixed to the ground or a building in accordance with the provisions of the Building Code of the City or any sign which is intended to be moveable or capable of being moved from place to place, whether or not wheels or other special supports are provided. This definition includes searchlights, but excludes banners, pennants, streamers, captive balloons and company logo flags.

(24)   "Poster panel" means an advertising structure on which posters are displayed. See Billboard.

(25)   "Projecting" means a sign suspended from or supported by a building, structure or building column and extending horizontally therefrom, more than fifteen inches.

(26)   "Property improvement sign" means a sign as defined in Section 1187.05(i).

(27)   "Real estate" means a sign pertaining to the sale or lease of the lot or tract of land on which the sign is located or to the sale or lease of one or more structures or a portion thereof located on such lot or tract of land.

(28)   "Roof" means any sign which is erected over the roof or parapet above the roof line and/or receives any or all of its support from the roof structure.

   (Ord. 47-08. Passed 4-28-08.)

(28.1)   "Rope lights" means fiber optic cable lighting, LED lights or other continuous or connected series of lights that may be encased in flexible plastic tubing, tape or other material typically used to outline or decorate a structure, including window and door frames whether located inside or outside the structure. This does not include seasonal lighting.

   (Ord. 94-16. Passed 10-24-16.)

(29)   "Special event sign" means a portable sign which is not internally lit or capable of being internally lit and does not exceed twenty-four square feet.

(30)   "Streamer" means a series of banners, pennants or other shaped cloth, canvas, plastic sheet or other pliable material attached to a line such as a rope or wire. This definition includes tinsel.

(31)   "Temporary" means a feather/flutter banner, pennant, paper or cardboard sign, streamer, portable sign, or captive balloon which is affixed to or painted upon or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or piece of land and which directs attention to an object, product, place, person, institution, organization or business.

      (32)   "“Variable message reader board” means a permanent sign which is displayed in a series of monochromatic lights that can be changed electronically by remote or automatic means. No message, graphic, display or part thereof shall be visible for less than seven (7) seconds. The entire message shall be text only and shall not be traveling, scrolling, flashing, scintillating, animating or changing in color or light intensity or visibly changing in any other manner for the minimum seven (7) second interval.

      (33)   "Wall" means a sign which is affixed, painted on or attached to the wall of the building or other wall or structure and which extends not more than fifteen inches from the face of the fence or wall.

      (34)   "Warning" means any sign indicating danger or a situation which is potentially dangerous.
(Ord. 47-08. Passed 4-28-08.)

      (35)   "Window" means any sign printed, painted on, attached, glued or otherwise affixed to the interior or exterior side of a window and designed to be viewed from adjoining streets, walkways, malls or parking lots available for public use. Electronic message display signs, flashing signs and variable message reader boards are not included in this definition and are subject to regulation and/or restriction as provided in this chapter irrespective of whether they are placed on the inside or outside of a window. Window signs placed on the exterior of windows may not project further than one-half inch beyond the window exterior surface. Signs placed on the exterior of a window and projecting further than one-half inch from the window surface are excluded from this definition and shall be included as building or wall signage and regulated and/or restricted as provided in this chapter.
(Ord. 108-17. Passed 10-23-17.)

   (b)   "Building frontage" means that building side or sides which face upon a public street or parking area between such building and the street where access to the building is provided from such frontage. If a building is curved or triangular, the building frontage shall be the shortest distance between the points on the outside extremity of the building measured parallel to the public street or parking area upon which the building fronts.

   (c)   "Parcel of property or parcel" means any separate parcel of property as shown on the latest available County Tax Map, provided that when structures on separate parcels are abutting and/or have common walls, such parcels shall be considered as one parcel of property and provided further that where one tenant, business or enterprise occupies two or more contiguous parcels, it shall be considered as one parcel of property.

   (d)   "Principal street" means that single public street which provides the most access and/or predominent business exposure for a particular business.

   (e)   "Shopping center" means a group of at least three businesses which function as an integral unit on a single parcel or on contiguous parcels under the same ownership and which utilizes common off-street parking and access.

   (f)   "Sign area" means the entire area within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of writing, representation, emblem, internally illuminated signs as defined in Section 1187.02(a) or any other figure of similar character together with any frame or other material or color forming an integral part of the display or used to differentiate such sign from the background against which it is placed. In the case of a double faced sign, where both faces are on opposite sides of a single flat surface, the area formula shall apply to the dimensions of one side only. The area of a sign having more than two display surfaces shall be computed as the total of the exposed exterior display surface areas. In the event a sign is of irregular shape, calculations of sign area shall be made by superimposing a single imaginary regular geometric figure: square, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, circle or ellipse, large enough to enclose the entire sign, over the sign and measuring the appropriate dimensions and making the necessary calculations. The necessary supports or uprights on which such sign is placed, not being advertising matter shall not be included in computation of surface area.

   (g)   "Sign face" means the surface of the sign upon, against or through which the message of the sign is exhibited.

   (h)   "Sign height" shall be measured from the lowest horizontal surface grade immediately within ten feet of the base of the sign to the top of its highest element, including any structure element.

   (i)   "Sign structure" shall be the supports, uprights, bracing, poles or framework for signs.

   (j)   "Street frontage" means the linear frontage of a parcel of property abutting the principal street.
(Ord. 47-08. Passed 4-28-08.)