The following principles shall control the computations of sign area and sign height.
(A) Computation of area of individual signs.
(1) The area of a sign face, which is also the sign area of a wall sign or other sign with only one face, shall be computed by means of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but not including any supporting framework, bracing or decorative fence or wall when such fence or wall is clearly incidental to the display itself.
(2) Signs, which are comprised of individual letters, shall have the total area of the sign calculated by adding the computed area of all individual letters together, and shall be computed by means of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle or combination thereof, that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem or other display, but not including any supporting framework, bracing or decorative fence or wall when such fence or wall is clearly incidental to the display itself.
(B) Computation of area of multi-faced sign. 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.
(C) Computation of height.
(1) The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the lower of:
(a) Existing grade prior to construction; or
(b) The newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign.
(2) In cases in which the normal grade cannot reasonably be determined, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal to elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public street or the grade of the land at the principal entrance to the principal structure on the lot, whichever is lower. When a sign is within the building setback, the calculation for the sign may use either the base elevation or the elevation of the roadway.
(Ord. 8, passed 10-23-1987, § 11.15)