The following statement of purpose and intent is hereby adopted:
(A) The purpose of this part is to:
(1) Establish a comprehensive system of sign regulation which accommodates and balances the need for a well-maintained, safe and attractive community with the need for effective communication and business identification within the village as an important means by which to preserve the village as a desirable community in which to live and do business.
(2) Encourage high quality and excellence in the design of signs throughout the village so as to promote and enhance the beauty and aesthetic character of the residential neighborhoods and protect residential property values.
(3) Encourage high quality and excellence in the design of signs in the “B” Business District to promote and enhance the village’s ability to attract new sources of economic development and protect property values in the “B” Business District.
(4) Promote the public health, safety and general welfare through reasonable, consistent and non-discriminatory sign regulations.
(B) This part is further and more specifically intended to:
(1) Protect, conserve and enhance the natural beauty of village landscape, parks and beaches and the aesthetic quality of the village’s tranquil and historic residential neighborhoods, so as to preserve the unique character of the community and to protect property values within the village.
(2) Establish standards relating to the time, manner, placement and physical characteristics of signs within the village to ensure that they are adequate to meet essential communication needs within the village while safeguarding the rights of the public and individual residents to a safe, healthful and attractive environment free of visual clutter or litter.
(3) Encourage and allow signs that are appropriate to the zoning district in which they are located and consistent with the category of use and function to which they pertain.
(4) Protect community aesthetics and property values by ensuring that signs are in harmony with nearby buildings, neighborhoods and conforming signs and by precluding signs that create a nuisance to the nearby properties or neighborhoods as a result of their size, height, illumination, brightness or movement.
(5) Encourage the pedestrian-friendly nature of the village’s single, small business district and enhance the aesthetics of the business district by curtailing the size, height and number of signs and regulating the design, quality and quantity of graphic sign elements to the minimum necessary to identify business locations and the nature of the businesses.
(6) Restrict signs which distract or obstruct the vision of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians in the “B” Business District, so as to minimize unsafe visual or auditory distractions that might otherwise arise from the unnecessary or confusing proliferation or placement of signs or from the excessive illumination, height, size, movement or noise of signs competing for the attention of motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.
(7) Ensure that all signs in the “B” Business District are proportioned to the scale of, and are architecturally compatible with, existing land use, buildings and nearby residential neighborhoods.
(8) Protect property values by precluding, to the maximum extent possible, signs that create a nuisance to the occupancy or use of adjacent properties as a result of their size, height, illumination, brightness or movement.
(9) Preserve the historically subtle and understated lighting present throughout the village by regulating sign illumination.
(10) Protect the right to express non-commercial opinions in all zoning districts, subject to balanced and reasonable restrictions on the size, height, location, timing and number of signs so as to safeguard the right of all residents to a safe, healthful and attractive environment free of visual clutter.
(11) Regulate the secondary effects of speech insofar as they adversely affect community aesthetics and traffic, and bicycle and pedestrian safety, rather than to censor speech or regulate viewpoints.
(12) Assure that all signs in the village are designed, constructed, installed, and maintained in safe condition, and that portable, disposable temporary signs do not become unsightly litter or pose a hazard to traffic or pedestrians.
(Ord. 1057, passed 2-22-2011)