The purpose of prohibiting the following signage is to address the Town’s substantial public safety and welfare concerns, including aesthetic concerns and protecting property values, associated with certain types of signage. In addition to signs prohibited elsewhere in this code or by applicable state or federal law, the following signs are prohibited:
(a) General Prohibitions.
(1) Signs that violate any state or federal law relating to outdoor advertising or in violation of this code.
(2) Signs attached to natural vegetation.
(3) Signs simulating, or which are likely to be confused with, a traffic control sign or any other sign displayed by a public authority. Any such sign is subject to immediate removal and disposal by an authorized town official as a nuisance.
(4) Vehicle or trailer signs.
(5) Freestanding signs more than twenty-five (25) feet in height or with less than eight (8) feet of clearance beneath the sign face.
(6) Signs hanging from supports, except against the face of a building.
(7) Animated signs, except where animated sign features as part of an electronic message display are expressly permitted.
(8) Flashing signs or other signs displaying flashing, scrolling, or intermittent lights or lights of changing degrees of intensity, except where such signs are expressly permitted.
(9) Partially animated and fully animated electronic message displays.
(10) Feather signs more than ten (10) feet in height. No more than two (2) feather signs may be placed per fifty (50) square feet of frontage.
(b) Prohibitions Based on Materials.
(1) Signs painted directly on a building, except where expressly permitted by this article.
(2) Signs consisting of illuminated tubing or strings of lights outlining property lines or open sales areas, rooflines, doors, windows or wall edges of any building, except for temporary decorations not to exceed three months per year.
(3) Signs that emit smoke, flame, scent, mist, aerosol, liquid, or gas.
(4) Signs that emit sound.
(5) Any electronic sign that is generated by a series of moving images, such as an LED, digital display, or other video technology, whether displayed on a building, vehicle, or mobile unit.
(6) Pennants or strings of flags visible from, and within fifty (50) feet of, any public right-of-way.
(7) Neon signs, except in windows where expressly permitted.
(c) Prohibitions Based on Location.
(1) Off-premises signs, unless specifically permitted by this article.
(2) Signs erected on public land other than those approved by an authorized Town official in writing, required by law without such approval, or permitted under West Virginia law. Any sign not so authorized is subject to immediate removal and disposal by any authorized official. Removal of the sign under this provision does not preclude prosecution of the person responsible for the sign.
(3) Roof signs. Signs on the roof surface or extending above the roofline of a building or its parapet wall.
(4) Any sign located in the vision triangle formed by any two (2) or more intersecting streets.
(Passed 7-7-22.)