(A) Elimination of nonconforming signs. The nonconforming regulations established in the Zoning Ordinance for nonconforming structures shall not be applicable to signs which exist on the effective date of this chapter where those signs fail to comply with the provisions described herein. The village may acquire by purchase, condemnation, or other means any nonconforming sign which it deems necessary to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of the residents. The elimination of nonconforming signs is a public purpose and a public service for the following reasons:
(1) They constitute a nuisance to the village resulting from their incompatibility due to excessive size, poor location, relationship to existing structures, excessive quantity in a small geographic area;
(2) They are detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare arising from quantity, location and bulk having an adverse or detrimental impact upon police and fire protection, causing confusion for motorists; and blocking signage on adjoining lots;
(3) They are incompatible with the adopted sign regulations governing sign location, size, placement and features which have been deemed necessary for public purposes;
(4) Technological advancements in signage have created the opportunity to locate places quicker, minimize maintenance, enhance safety and decrease size requirements;
(5) Readability is limited due to the ill-proportioned nature of many older nonconforming signs; whereas technological advancements often allows instantaneous information or format enhancing readability; and
(6) Age has resulted in the physical deterioration of the signs and thus no longer represents the desired aesthetic conducive to a particular district.
(B) Nonconforming regulations. Nonconforming signs shall not be:
(1) Expanded, replaced or changed to another nonconforming sign.
(2) Relocated, or altered so as to prolong the life of the sign, or so as to change the shape, size, type, placement, or design of the sign's structural or basic parts.
(3) Enhanced with any new feature including the addition of illumination.
(4) Repaired, except if such repair brings the sign into chapter conformance, if such repair necessitates:
(a) An expense that exceeds 50% of the sign's value, as determined by the village; or
(b) The replacement of the sign's primary support pole(s), frame or other support structure.
(c) Re-established after the activity, business, or use which it represents has been discontinued for 180 consecutive days or longer, in which case the sign shall be deemed to be abandoned, per § 155.08.
(C) Permitted modifications. A nonconforming sign may be modified only by a change in the wording of the copy or routine repair to maintain the sign in a safe and aesthetically attractive condition as it existed at the time of this chapter's enactment.
(Ord. 14.21, passed 5-23-18)