The following regulations shall apply to all signs hereinafter permitted in all districts.
(A) Except as provided in the following regulations, signs shall not be permitted within the public right-of-way or easements; except that, the Council may grant a conditional use permit for a period not to exceed one year to allow advertising on newspaper sale stands and special permits for temporary signs and decorations to be strung across the right-of-way.
(C) Signs painted on a building shall be governed by the square footage limitations specified in the appropriate zoning districts. These shall be repainted when required, to be kept in good condition and shall be repainted, removed or painted out when in the opinion of the Council they are not so maintained.
(D) No sign shall project more than four feet over a public right-of-way, except where located on edge or face of marquees or awnings and except where hanging below a covered walk or marquee in which case the sign may extend to the outer edge of the covered walk or marquee. Any sign projecting over a public right-of-way must be at least eight feet above the walk or ground grade line.
(E) No signs shall project more than 24 inches across a required front or side yard, except as allowed in this section, and except:
(1) In B-2, B-5 and B-6, Business Districts, signs shall not be subject to front yard requirements;
(2) In all classes of residence districts signs may not be located closer than 15 feet of any property line that abuts any of the classes of residence districts;
(3) In an I-1, Planned Industrial District, signs may not be located in any front yard or in any side yard or rear yard that abuts any of the classes of residence districts, and in no instance shall signs be located within 15 feet of a front, side or rear property line; and
(4) In an I-2, General Industrial District, signs may not be located within 15 feet of any property line that abuts any of the classes of residence districts.
(F) No sign shall be placed that resembles any official marker erected by a governmental agency nor shall any sign be erected in a manner as to obstruct free and clear vision; or at any location where, by reason of the position, shape or color, it may interfere with, obstruct the view of, nor be confused with any authorized traffic signs, signal or device; or which makes use of the words, stop, look, drive-in, danger or any other word, phrase, symbol or character in a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.
(G) No sign shall be permitted to obstruct any window, door, fire escape stairway or opening intended to provide light, air, ingress or egress for any building or structure.
(H) All non-commercial signs of any size may be posted in any number from 46 days before the state primary in a state general election year until ten days following the state general election.
(I) The owner, lessee or manager of the ground sign, and the owner of the land on which the same is located, shall keep grass or weeds and other growth cut and debris and rubbish cleaned up and removed from the lot on which sign is located.
(J) Signs which may be or may hereafter become rotted, unsafe or unsightly shall be repaired or removed by the sign owner or owner of the property upon which the sign stands upon notice of the Zoning Administrator.
(K) Where a sign is illuminated, the source of light shall not be directed into any part of a residence or into any of the classes of residence districts.
(L) All temporary signs, hereafter erected or maintained, shall conform with the provisions of this section.
(1) Definitions. TEMPORARY SIGNS are those signs which identify a special, unique or limited activity, service, product or sale of limited duration and are those signs that are not affixed to a permanent structure and are removed immediately after the event it is advertising, such as a grand opening, sale, lease or real estate. Includes, but not limited to, banner signs, hanging metal signs freestanding changeable text signs, signs affixed to a vehicle or trailer or any other similar sign as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
(2) Permit required. It is unlawful for any person to place, erect, construct or locate a temporary sign within the city without first obtaining an annual permit for the sign. Failure to obtain a temporary sign permit prior to sign placement shall result in a double permit fee. Permit fee shall be set by the City Council and will be reviewed annually.
(3) Guidelines.
(a) There shall be up to seven sign placements allowed per legal parcel within one calendar year.
(b) An annual temporary sign permit of $50 will be required by the sign owner/operator.
(c) A temporary sign may be erected and maintained for a period of not more than 30 days and shall be removed within three days of the cessation of the activity, service, project or sale.
(d) Signs shall be anchored or temporarily affixed in a manner to prevent being blown away or blown over.
(e) A sign shall not be larger than 40 square feet in gross service area for each exposed face area, nor more than six feet in height above grade.
(f) Temporary signs shall not be permitted in any class of residential district, except real estate signs, for the purpose of leasing or selling the property/building it is placed at and contractor signs placed at the site of an active construction project. For further exceptions, see division (L)(3)(j) below.
(g) A temporary sign is to be located in the front yard of the lot and shall not extend over any property line or be placed within 15 feet of any driveway access to a public street. No temporary sign placed within 100 feet of an area zoned for residential use, described as R-A, R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 may have blinking, flashing, rotating or fluttering lights or other illuminating device that has a change in intensity, brightness or color.
(h) A temporary sign shall not be placed on or affixed to a vehicle or trailer which is parked on a public right-of-way or public property or private property, where the sign causes the allowable square footage to be exceeded (zone specific), where the apparent sole purpose is to advertise a product or direct people to a business or activity located on the same or any other property.
(i) The city must grant permission (no permit required) to install any banner (unless the banner is to be installed for less than 24 hours). Banners may not be installed on a property if the banner causes other allowable square footage of signage to be exceeded (zone specific). Banners are allowed to be installed on a property for a maximum of two weeks and must be removed within three days of cessation of the event. The banner must be placed on private property with the property owner’s consent.
(j) If the city has determined that a temporary sign is for a community-wide event, a non-profit event, or a business use conditionally allowed in a residential zone, a temporary sign that has been issued a permit may be placed for a maximum of two weeks and must be removed within three days of cessation of the event. The sign must be placed on private property with the property owner’s consent. Temporary signs, having been issued a permit, advertising a community-wide event or sponsored by a non-profit agency may be located in the Van Dyk and Triangle Parks. No more than two signs will be permitted at either park at any one time. The temporary signs may be located for a maximum of 14 days and must be removed with three days of cessation of event, permission required.
(k) No temporary sign may be placed upon or project into the public right-of-way, except by permission from the city (no permit is required) sandwich type or sidewalk signs may be placed in front of a business located in a B-3 (General Business District). Placement must be at least six feet out from the building where the advertised event is occurring. Size may not exceed six square feet per side. Signs must be temporarily affixed or anchored in a manner to prevent them from blown away or blown over. Signs must be brought into the place of business at the close of the business day.
(l) All temporary signs must be kept in good repair and in a proper state of maintenance, including, but not limited to, replacing lamps, replacing or repairing the sign face, replacing the trim and the like. If the city determines a sign is in significant need of repair, the city may after 30 day of written notification, revoke the annual permit of that sign until it is repaired.
(m) Signs which have been placed within any portion of any right-of-way may be confiscated after a five business day written notification by any city employee or agent under the direction of the city’s Zoning Administrator. Signs may be recovered by the owner upon payment of a fine (double permit fee as set by the City Council). Except: a conditional use permit request may be made if extenuating circumstances exist and the issue is referred to the Planning Commission for review. Circumstances may include extra wide right-of-way, blockage of view of sign, blockage of view of all types of traffic and construction obstructions. Concerns about approval may include utility interference, safety hazards, health hazards and obstruction of traffic views. Conditions would include that the permit is not permanent and the sign will be removed upon 30-day notice.
(M) Building and zoning staff shall approve a permit for an electronic message center sign if all applicable regulations pertaining to the sign on which they are placed are satisfied, including but not limited to placement, anchoring, location and height. Additionally, building and zoning staff shall ensure that the following limitations are met.
(1) Electronic message center signs shall be permitted in non-residential zoning districts subject to the following limitations.
(a) Electronic message center signs may be located within 400 feet of any residential zoning district, by conditional use permit only.
(b) One electronic message center sign shall be permitted per property.
(c) Electronic message centers shall display their messages for at least six seconds at a time. The messages may display animation and frame effects, so long as flashing, blinking and strobing are not utilized.
(d) The use of flashing, blinking and strobing shall be specifically prohibited on all electronic message center signs.
(e) The permit fee for staff review shall be established by the City Council.
(2) Multiple electronic message center signs on a single property may be permitted by obtaining a conditional use permit (CUP) through the city’s Planning Commission.
(3) Electronic message center signs may be located within 400 feet of or within a residential zoning district only upon approval of a conditional use permit (CUP) issued by the city’s Planning Commission, subject to the following:
(a) The applicant demonstrates that the impact of adjacent residential properties will be minimal in nature;
(b) The applicant agrees to turn off the electronic message center sign between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless the applicant can demonstrate that the sign in question will not be visible from any residentially-zoned property; and
(c) The Planning Commission may require additional restrictions on the usage of the sign so as to minimize potential impacts on adjacent residential properties.
(4) All electronic message center signs, regardless of the zoning district in which they are placed shall come equipped with automatic dimming technology that automatically adjusts the sign’s brightness in direct correlation with ambient light conditions.
(5) No electronic message center sign shall exceed a brightness level of 0.3 footcandle above ambient light as measured using a foot candle meter at a preset distance depending on sign size. Measuring distance is calculated using the following: the square root of the product of the sign area and 100. Example using a 12-square-foot sign:
v(12x100) = 34.6 feet measuring distance
(6) The use of traffic signal and/or emergency vehicle signal colors may be proscribed on an electronic message center if land use, road proximity or terrain consideration indicate a potential problem.
(2002 Code, § 7.40) (Ord. 324, effective 11-20-1965; Ord. 106, Second Series, effective 3-15-1977; Ord. 156, Second Series, effective 1-1-1979; Ord. 9, Third Series, effective 7-15-1979; Ord. 123, Sixth Series, effective 8-26-2010; Ord. 146, Sixth Series, effective 5-25-2013; Ord. 150, Sixth Series, effective 7-20-2013; Ord. 14, Seventh Series, effective 9-20-2014) Penalty, see § 154.999