(A) Signs generally. No signs shall be erected or maintained within the city, except upon application for and granting of a sign permit for the same by the City Zoning Administrator. The fee for such a permit shall be set by a fee schedule adopted by the City Council, and shall be in addition to any building permit requirements.
(B) Off-site signs and billboards. All off-premises signs and billboards shall require a conditional use permit, and shall not exceed the height and area requirements of this chapter.
(C) Highway signs. All signs along state and federal highways shall conform to state and federal sign regulations. Billboards erected along Interstate #35 (I-35) and State Highway #48 (Fire Monument Road) shall be spaced a minimum of 1,000 feet apart, as measured from the nearest signs along the same side of the roadway facing in either direction.
(D) Location of off-site signs and billboards. All permanent off-site signs and billboards shall only be located in areas conjoining a state or federal highway or county state aid highway (CSAH) zoned General Business or Industrial.
(E) Sign maintenance.
(1) Painting. The owner of any sign shall be required to have such a sign properly maintained to prevent rust, erosion or dilapidated appearance, including all parts and supports of the sign, unless such parts or supports are galvanized or otherwise treated to prevent rust.
(2) Area around signs. The owner or lessee of any sign, or the owner of the land on which the sign is located, shall keep the grass, weeds or other growth cut, and the area free from refuse, between the sign and the street, and also for a distance of six feet behind and at the ends of the sign.
(F) Unsafe or dangerous signs. Any sign that becomes structurally unsafe or endangers the safety of a building or premises, or endangers the public safety, shall be taken down and removed by the owner, agent or person having the beneficial use of the building, structure or land upon which the sign is located, within ten days after written notification from the Zoning Administrator. The city may take actions as provided in Ch. 94 of the city code, if the unsafe or dangerous sign is not removed within ten days.
(G) Sign height. All sign heights shall be measured from the adjacent grade to the top of the sign, including all borders and trim.
(H) Sign area. Sign area calculations shall include the sign face.
(Prior Code, § 153.04) (Ord. 630, passed 12-7-2004; Ord. 8-2007, passed 7-3-2007)