As used in this chapter unless the context otherwise indicates:
(a) "Sign" shall mean any writing, pictorial representation, logo, illustration, emblem, symbol, design, or other figure of similar character that is a structure or a part thereof, or is attached to or in any manner represented on a building, vehicle, or other structure, and is visible from any public right-of-way or any other lot or parcel, and is used for purposes of advertisement, announcement, declaration, demonstration, identification or expression. This shall include any frameworks, supporting structure, poles and/or posts.
(b) "Illuminated Sign" shall mean any sign which has characters, letters, figures, designs, or outlines illuminated externally or internally by any light source other than non-reflected natural daylight, including electric discharge by lighting.
(c) “Ground Sign" shall mean any sign, excluding a billboard, supported by uprights, braces, or base or stem of any material, placed upon the ground and not attached to any building.
(d) "Wall Sign" shall mean any sign applied or attached to, or painted onto, any exterior wall surface of any building or structure.
(e) "Canopy Sign" shall mean any sign attached to the soffit or fascia of a canopy, marquee, awning, covered entrance, covered walkway, arbor, pergola or other similar structure.
(f) “Billboard" shall mean any sign advertising, identifying or directing attention to any product, service, entertainment or commercial activity not offered upon the lot on which the sign is located.
(g) "Pole Sign" shall mean any sign, other than a flag as herein defined, that is supported by a pole, poles, columns or other base or structure, and designed either:
(1) To allow pedestrian or vehicular clearance beneath any of the sign's message area, or
(2) To allow the sign's message area to overhang the pole, poles, columns or other base or structure in total by more than twenty percent (20%) of the sign message area's breadth.
(h) "Flag" shall mean any sign of cloth or similar material, anchored along one side, displayed from a single pole, either freestanding or attached to a building.
(i) "Window Sign" shall mean any sign in view of the general public appearing on a window surface or within up to twenty-four (24) inches of the window surface.
(j) "Roof Sign" shall mean any sign erected, constructed and maintained wholly upon or over the roof or parapet wall of any building with the principal support on the roof structure.
(k) "Vehicular Sign" shall mean any sign attached or applied to a vehicle of any type and used primarily to identify, advertise or promote, excluding any signs on vehicles normally and regularly used and operated in the course of business.
(l) "Temporary Sign" shall mean any sign, banner, flag, pennant, or other display of cloth, canvas, wallboard, board, plastic or other such material, including inflatable signs or balloons, designed to be displayed for a limited period of time.
(m) "Portable Sign" shall mean any sign, illuminated or non-illuminated, which is portable in nature including, but not limited to, A-frame signs, pedestal stands, portable bulletin boards. This includes vehicle trailers used as signs, etc.
(n) "Nonconforming Sign" shall mean any existing sign which does not conform to this Planning and Zoning Code in its entirety.
(o) "Facing" or "Surface" or "Surface Area" or "Sign Face Area" shall mean the surface of the sign upon, against, or through which the message is displayed or illustrated on the sign. The sign face area shall be the area of the smallest of these regular polygons- circle, ellipse, triangle, rectangle, trapezoid, pentagon or hexagon - that completely contains the sign message, background of the message and contiguous trims, or frames. Any sign supports or structure other than exposed steel framing, which is clad in finished wood, stone, masonry, stucco, or metals, and which does not bear any sign copy, art or message shall not be included in the sign face area.
(p) "Frontage" or "Lot Frontage" shall mean the lot or property dimension along the principal street.
(q) "Building Frontage" shall mean the linear dimension of the width of the widest portion of the building face including all appurtenant overhangs or other structures, either:
(1) Closest to parallel to the principal street or
(2) Containing the primary building entrance, of any building on any lot.
(r) "Building Unit" or "Unit of a Building" shall mean, in any building subdivided into separate units or spaces, any interior space occupying any portion of the ground floor of any building, and having its own exterior entrance, and separated from other such spaces by a party wall or walls.
(s) "Unit Frontage" or "Building Unit Frontage" shall mean the linear dimension of the width of the widest portion of the building unit face including all appurtenant overhangs or other structures, either:
(1) Closest to parallel to the principal street or
(2) Containing the primary building unit entrance, of any building on any lot.
Where a building unit is bounded by a party wall or walls, the measurement of width shall be to the centerline(s) of such wall or walls.
(t) "Alter" shall mean to change in any way, including but not limited to reconstruction, redesign, reillumination that changes the lighting design, sign face replacement that changes the sign face design, sign face change, and painting in a different color than the present color, excluding changes in changeable copy on signs.
(u) "Other Advertising Structure" shall mean any marquee, canopy, awning, campanile, gazebo, kiosk or street clock serving to image, identify or promote a commercial enterprise.
(v) "Permittee" shall mean a person receiving an erection permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(w) "Person" shall be mean any individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, or other association.
(x) "Erect" shall mean to build, construct, alter, relocate, modify, attach, hang, place, suspend, or affix, and shall also include the painting of signs.