(A) No sign shall be placed on any lot without the written permission of the owner of the lot;
(B) No sign may resemble, simulate or conflict with the proper functioning of any official sign, or use yellow or red blinking or intermittent lights resembling danger or warning signals;
(C) Signs that produce odor, sound, smoke, flame or other emissions are prohibited;
(D) No obstruction or interference. No sign shall:
(1) Obstruct or impair access to a public sidewalk, public or private street or driveway, traffic control sign, bus stop, fire hydrant, or any other type of street furniture;
(2) Block the light and ventilation of any residence on any adjoining property which is zoned for residential use; or
(3) Mislead or confuse users of the roadway.
(E) Stacked signs are allowed if:
(1) The other requirements of this Sign Code are satisfied;
(2) The sign is integrated with the structure; and
(3) All signs on the same structure are similar in shape and material with one another, except for channel lettering.
(F) All signs shall comply with applicable provisions of all codes adopted by the Town of Florence.
(G) Except as otherwise indicated by this Sign Code, all signs shall be permanently attached to the ground, a building, or another structure by direct attachment to a rigid wall, frame or structure.
(H) All signs and sign structures shall be maintained in good, safe, structural condition and repair. All signs and display surfaces shall be neat in appearance, and neatly painted or posted, and not ripped, tattered or faded. Premises immediately surrounding freestanding signs shall be kept clean and free of rubbish, weeds and debris.
(I) All signs shall be professionally constructed and installed.
(J) All non-exempt signs are subject to design review approval.
(K) Historic District. Signs within the Historic District shall conform to the Town of Florence Historic District guidelines, except as allowed by the Historic District Advisory Commission.
(L) Under no scenarios shall the Town of Florence have content-based sign regulations via this Sign Code, the design review process or other administrative processes. Any provision of this code that imposes a limitation on freedom of speech shall be construed in a manner that is viewpoint neutral.
(1) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, no sign or sign structure shall be subject to any limitation based upon the viewpoint of the message contained on such sign or displayed on such sign structure.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, it is the policy of the town to regulate signs in a manner that does not favor commercial speech over noncommercial speech and does not regulate protected noncommercial speech by message content.
(3) Within this code, any distinction between on-site signs and off-site signs applies only to commercial messages. It does not apply to noncommercial messages.
(M) Illumination standards.
(1) Direction of light. The light source for all indirect illumination signs shall be effectively shielded to prevent beams or rays from being directed at any roadway or abutting property.
(2) Intensity. The intensity and brilliance of light shall not be so great as to interfere with the effectiveness of any official sign or impair the vision of or distract any person on any roadway.
(3) Prohibited light sources. No sign shall use a beacon, strobe light, racing/traveling or an exposed individual light source (excluding LED and neon) which exceeds 75 watts.
(N) Signs not included in computations. If the following types of signs comply with all other requirements of this Sign Code, they need not be included in any allowance computations for sign area or number of signs:
(1) Building identification signs;
(2) Building markers;
(3) Incidental signs;
(4) Directional signs;
(5) Internally located directory signs;
(6) Signs expressly permitted by the federal government and/or the Government of Arizona;
(7) Certain window signs as provided in the Sign Code;
(9) Murals; and
(10) As specifically provided in other provisions in the Sign Code.
(O) Computation of sign area of individual signs. The allowable sign area shall apply to the maximum geometric area of all sign faces. The area of a sign comprised of individual letters or elements attached to a building wall, which are without an integrated background and are not enclosed in a frame or cabinet, the area of the letter can be calculated as long as the distance between the letters and/or elements is less than the largest dimension of the largest sign letter. If such a display consists of more than one line or component, the area of each line or component may be calculated separately. Where a display is enclosed in a frame or cabinet, or has an integrated background, the entire area within the frame, cabinet or background must be included in the calculation.
(P) Computation of sign area of multi-faced signs. The sign area for a sign with more than one face shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one point. When two sign faces are placed back to back, so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than 25 degrees apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the faces. For sign faces greater than 25 degrees apart, the sign area is computed to include both faces.
(Q) Computation of number of signs. All signs contained within a single frame, structure, cabinet or integrated background shall be counted as one sign. If a display is not so contained, a single message or business name shall be counted as one sign. A business name combined with a brief slogan may be counted as one sign if the elements are visually integrated.
(R) A comprehensive sign plan (refer to § 150.101) may establish unique regulatory requirements for a project.
(Ord. 667-19, passed 11-18-2019)