(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to permit signs that will not, by reason of their size, location, construction or manner of display, endanger the public safety of individuals, confuse, mislead or obstruct the vision necessary for traffic safety, or otherwise endanger public health, and morals; and to permit and regulate signs in such a way as to support and complement land-use objectives set forth in this chapter.
(B) Exempt signs. The following types of signs shall be exempted from the requirements of this section:
(1) Signs not exceeding one square foot in area and bearing only property numbers, post box numbers, names of occupants of premises;
(2) Flags and insignia of any government, college, university or veterans organization, except for the height of the structure;
(3) Signs erected by or by order of governmental bodies;
(4) Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, logos, moving parts, moving or flashing lights; and
(5) Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property, but bearing no advertising matter.
(C) On-premise signs.
(1) In any district, except as noted, the provisions of this division shall be applied to effect the safety of motorists and facilitate traffic movement.
(a) No sign shall be erected or maintained at any location where, by reason of its position, wording, illumination, size, shape or color, it may obstruct, impair, obscure, interfere with the view of, or be confused with any authorized traffic control sign, signal or device.
(b) No sign shall contain or make use of any phrase, symbol, shape, form or character in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead, or confuse moving traffic.
(c) No exterior sign shall be permitted to display flashing, intermittent, revolving, rotating or animated lighting or illumination, nor any illumination which simulates or displays motion.
(d) Except as permitted in division (C)(7) below, portable signs are prohibited.
(e) All signs not expressly exempted or permitted by this chapter are prohibited.
(2) In all districts, the provisions of this division (C)(2) shall apply.
(a) No part of any sign which is attached to the exterior wall of a building shall be erected to a height above the roof or parapet line of the building.
(b) No illuminated sign shall be permitted in or within 50 feet of property in any residence district.
(c) No sign shall extend beyond or overhang any exterior wall of the building upon which they are secured.
(d) The minimum setback of free-standing signs from street rights-of-way shall not be less than those given below. Setback shall be measured to the nearest point of the sign to the edge of the right-of-way.
Minimum Sign Setbacks | |
Area of Sign per Face | Minimum Setback |
5 square feet or less | 2 feet |
5 to 14.9 square feet | 10 feet |
15 to 49.9 square feet | 20 feet |
50 to 99.9 square feet | 50 feet |
100 or more square feet | 80 feet |
(e) The area of a sign shall be determined by the smallest circle, triangle or rectangle that can be used to enclose the sign, exclusive of supporting members that bear no message.
(f) No free-standing sign shall be erected or maintained on or within any easement or right-of-way, public or private.
(3) In any residence district, the provisions of this section shall apply.
(a) Multi-family developments may display identification signs. The sign shall not exceed nine square feet in area.
(b) Nonresidential uses are permitted one bulletin board or identification sign. The sign shall not be erected to a height greater than four feet high and shall not exceed 12 square feet in area unless erected along an abutting street or road having a speed limit in excess of 45 mph; then the area of the sign shall not exceed 30 square feet.
(c) For each use listed in divisions (C)(3)(a) and (b) above eligible to display a sign, only one sign per street frontage shall be permitted, except that uses occupying extended frontages shall be permitted one such sign per 500 feet of frontage.
(4) In any business district, except as herein provided, the provisions of this section shall apply.
(a) Multi-family developments shall be subject to the provisions of division (C)(3) above.
(b) Signs shall be permitted as accessory uses for nonresidential uses according to the number and net area of signs set forth below:
Business Use Signs and Sign Area | ||
District | Number of Signs | Net Sign Area (Each Sign) |
GB and CB | 3 | 40 square feet |
(5) In any industrial district, each business or industrial use shall be permitted identification signs on the lot only as incidental uses, not to exceed two such signs or a total net area of 300 square feet.
(6) In any agriculture district, the provisions of this section shall apply:
(a) Agricultural uses shall be permitted one sign not to exceed 30 square feet.
(b) Industrial uses shall be permitted a maximum of two signs not to exceed a combined area of 100 square feet.
(c) Business uses shall be permitted two signs not to exceed 30 square feet each.
(d) Other nonresidential uses shall be permitted, one bulletin board or identification sign, indicating nothing other than name and/or address of the premises, and schedule of services or other information relevant to the operation of the premises. The sign shall not exceed 12 square feet in area unless erected along an abutting street or road having a speed limit in excess of 45 mph; then the area of the sign shall not exceed 30 square feet. Only one sign per street frontage shall be permitted, except that uses occupying extended frontages shall be permitted one such sign per 500 feet of frontage,
(e) Residential uses are subject to the provisions of division (C)(3) above.
(7) The signs permitted by this section shall be allowed in any district.
(a) One "For Sale" or "For Rent" sign not more than nine square feet in area for each dwelling unit, garage or other quarters where appropriate.
(b) One sign, not more than nine square feet in area, for construction and development, giving the name of the contractors, engineers or architects, shall be permitted but only during the time that construction or development is actively underway. Also, one portable sign on premise, not in excess of the number or size provisions of division (C)(4)(b) may be permitted by the Administrator up to, but not to exceed 30 days, if the portable sign is being used in lieu of a permanent sign, or during the period while commercial construction or remodeling is actively underway, to be removed when the permanent sign is erected in the first case, or when construction is completed under that improvement location permit in the second case. In no case shall a portable sign be permitted beyond 30 days.
(c) For an event of public interest sponsored by a church, governmental agency, school, political organization or charitable organization, one portable sign not over 50 square feet in area, on the premises on which the event will take place, shall be permitted; the sign shall not be erected more than 30 days before the event in question and shall be removed immediately after the event. Also, directional signs, may be permitted not more than three square feet in area, showing only a directional arrow and the name of the event of public interest; the signs shall not be erected more than 14 days before the event in question and shall be removed immediately after the event.
(d) For each real estate subdivision that has been recorded in accordance with the subdivision regulations, one sign, not over 50 square feet in area, advertising the sale of property in the subdivision shall be permitted, but only when located in some portion of the subdivision being advertised for exclusive of any border, trim, ornamental base, apron, supports, embellishments and other structural members, if the exclusions do not exceed 20% of the sign area. The area shall be measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle, circle or combination thereof which will encompass the area affected.
(D) All signs not expressly exempted or permitted by this chapter are prohibited.
(Ord. 614, passed 2-22-1999)