Setbacks | |||||||||
On-Premises Sign Type | District(s) Where Permitted | Permit Required? | Max. Number | Maximum Area | From ROW | Side & Rear | Max. Height | Sign Lighting? | Other Regulations |
BUILDING SIGNS: | |||||||||
Incidental Signs | All Districts | N | 2 per lot, or as approved by Zoning Inspector | 1 s.f. | -- | -- | -- | No | |
Nameplate Signs | All Districts | N | 1 per dwelling | 1 s.f. | -- | -- | -- | No | |
Recognition Signs | All Districts | N | |||||||
Projecting Signs | B District | Y | 1 per frontage | 20 s.f. | -- | -- | -- | Only externally lighted signs | Projecting signs are only permitted on building frontage where no front yard setbacks are required, or for pedestrian- oriented signs |
Wall Signs | B District | Y | 1 per frontage No building shall have more than 3 wall signs | 1 s.f. per foot of building frontage up to 300 s.f. | -- | -- | -- | Yes | A “secondary” wall sign is permitted for public side or rear entrances leading from a third building frontage or a parking lot open to the public. The area of a “secondary” wall sign shall not exceed 25% of the primary frontage sign(s). |
Window Signs | All Districts | N | -- | 25% of the window surface | -- | -- | -- | Only Neon Signs in non-residential districts | |
FREESTANDING SIGNS: | |||||||||
Incidental Signs | All Districts | N | 2 per lot | 1 s.f. | 2 ft. | 5 ft. | 3 ft. | No | Additional incidental signs are permitted as needed with the approval of the Zoning Inspector |
Setbacks | |||||||||
On-Premises Sign Type | District(s) Where Permitted | Permit Required? | Max. Number | Maximum Area | From ROW | Side & Rear | Max. Height | Sign Lighting? | Other Regulations |
Low Profile Sign for use by a church, school, cemetery, park, community center or other public, quasi-public or institutional building. A part of the sign may also be a Bulletin Board type sign with changeable copy | All Districts | Y | 1 per frontage | 30 s.f. | 10 s.f. | 15 s.f. | 6 ft. | Y, except in R Districts where subject to Conditional Use Review | Such signs shall not interfere with pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Low profile signs may not exceed an 8 ft. sign width. |
Low Profile Sign (only if no pole sign) | B and I Districts | Y | 1 per frontage | 30 s.f. | 5 ft. | 15 ft. | 6 ft. | Y, except in R Districts where subject to Conditional Use Review | Such signs shall not interfere with pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Low profile signs may not exceed and 8 ft. sign width. |
Setbacks | |||||||||
On-Premises Sign Type | District(s) Where Permitted | Permit Required? | Max. Number | Maximum Area | From ROW | Side & Rear | Max. Height | Sign Lighting? | Other Regulations |
Pole Signs (Only if no low profile sign) | B and I Districts | Y | 1 per frontage Note: There shall be 1 frontage for all businesses sharing a sign or located within a shopping center or mini- mall complex | 20 s.f. for 1 business 48 s.f. when used to advertise 2 adjacent Businesses. 20 s.f. plus 10 s.f. for each individual business name when used to advertise 3 or more businesses which have different ownership, or shopping centers or mini-malls. | 5 ft. | 15 ft. | 20 ft. | Y | Pole signs may have a maximum of 2 signs per pole; however, the total sign area of both signs shall not exceed the allowable maximum sign area. When two signs are employed, the signs shall be of the same width, made of similar materials and harmonious in appearance. Pole Signs for 3 or more businesses, shopping centers, or mini-malls are subject to approval of the Planning Commission. Upon the termination of joint signage plans between 2 businesses, the sign area must be reduced to the maximum allowed for 1 business. |
Pole Sign on lots adjacent to SR 62 (in addition to low profile sign) | B-5 District | Y | 1 per SR 62 frontage | 160 s.f. | 15 ft. and is located within 100 ft. SR 62 | 36 ft. | Y | ||
Electronic Message Board | Only in B and PGMI Districts | Y | 1 per site | 75% of total sign area otherwise permitted. Electronic message boards shall be incorporated as a compliementary part of signage and shall not wholly replac traditional fixed signage. | As permitted in this matrix with the following addition: | 6 ft. | Y | Electronic message boards are prohibited on pole signs. | |
In B-3 Districts, where zero setback for buildings is not employed, the minimum setback from the street right-of-way for signs shall be as required in this permanent sign matrix.
(a) Sign Bonuses. The following area and height sign bonuses may be awarded by the Planning Director when enhanced signage is proposed which meets the following aesthetic standards. The Planning Director may seek the advice of the Planning Commission before rendering a decision on a sign bonus. When sign area bonuses are awarded, the maximum area of electronic message board components may also increase but shall not exceed 75% of the permitted sign area, including bonus area.
On-Premises Signs | Qualifying Action Taken | Sign Area Bonus | Sign Height Bonus |
All Signs | Sign is custom-designed by a design professional in the sign industry for readability, size, scale, color, contrast and letter style | 15% of maximum sign area allowed | 10% of maximum height allowed |
Wall Signs | Sign consists of individual characters without internal illumination mounted directly on the wall surface | 25% of maximum sign area allowed | -- |
Pole and Low Profile Signs | Low profile sign is proposed instead of pole sign | 25% of maximum sign area allowed | -- |
Pole sign is limited to 60% or less of sign area allowed | -- | 25% of maximum height allowed | |
Proposed pole sign setback is 300% or greater than required setback | 15% of maximum sign area allowed | -- | |
Landscaped area is provided that is no less than 3 times the sign area at the base of the sign | 25% of maximum sign area allowed | 15% of maximum height allowed |
(2) Bonuses may not be used for:
A. Increasing sign area beyond seventy-five (75) square feet;
B. Signs not requiring a Sign Permit;
C. Signs for individual single- or two-family residences; or
D. Signs consisting of periodically changed bills or posters.
(3) Bonuses are added to maximums otherwise allowed. All computations shall be based on the sign area or sign height allowed before any bonuses have been applied.
(4) Where a landscaping bonus is authorized, the landscaped area shall be comprised of a variety of natural materials, such as shrubbery, hedges, trees and other plants, earth mounds, flowers and groundcover. Ground cover shall be limited to fifty (50) percent of the total landscaped area. The use of evergreen plantings is strongly recommended. All plantings shall be well maintained, properly installed, weeded, mulched and kept free of trash and debris and irrigation system.
(b) Supplemental Permanent Sign Requirements. The following permanent signs shall only be permitted in districts where such signs are permitted.
(1) Awning, canopy, or marquee signs. Awnings, canopies, and marquees are permitted for public convenience in all business and industrial zoning districts.
A. Signs may be attached to roof-like awning, marquee, and canopy structures extending from a building wall or covering a fuel service island provided such signs are made a part of the awning, marquee, or canopy and do not extend above the vertical surface of the awning, marquee, or canopy.
B. Any advertising placed on an awning, canopy or marquee shall be limited to the name of the owner and the business, industry, or pursuit conducted within the premises.
C. Awnings and canopies may be painted or otherwise permanently placed in a space not exceeding eight (8) inches in height on the front and sides.
D. Internal illumination of an awning or canopy shall not be permitted.
E. An awning sign shall have a minimum vertical clearance of eight (8) feet from a sidewalk, private drive, or parking area
F. Awning, marquee, and canopy signs may not encroach upon a public right-of-way, except in a district without a front setback requirement where an ordinance authorizing such encroachment has been enacted by City Council, the awning may extend from a building over a sidewalk a distance not to exceed one-third (1/3) the width of the sidewalk.
(2) Building identification signs. Building identification signs may only contain the name and address of the occupant on the sign.
(3) Incidental signs. Incidental signs shall contain no commercial message legible from any location off the lot on which located.
(4) Low profile signs. Low profile signs near intersections and driveways may be prohibited within an intersection sight triangle, pursuant to Section 1160.06
(d).
(5) Indexing signs. The rate of change of the sign face on a multi-prism indexing sign shall not be more frequent than one (1) display change per minute.
(6) Pole signs. A pole sign may not have less than ten (10) feet clearance at its lowest point and shall be protected from possible interference with pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The setback for a pole sign shall apply to the entire sign. Pole signs that advertise three (3) or more businesses that have different ownership shall be considered as a shopping center or mini-mall sign and shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Commission.
(7) Projecting signs. A projecting sign may be permitted from a building frontage where the building has a zero setback from the right-of-way. Such signs shall have a vertical clearance of nine (9) feet from a public sidewalk, private drive, or parking area and shall not extend over one-third (1/3) the width of the sidewalk. Projecting signs may not project over a public street or above the roof line. Projecting signs shall have no internal illumination.
(8) Wall signs. All wall signs shall be securely attached to the building wall. No wall sign shall project beyond the ends or top of the building wall to which it is attached, nor shall the face of a wall sign be set out more than one (1) foot from the face of the building. Permanent Facade Signs shall not cover or overlap cornices, eaves, columns, window and doorframes, wall corners, and decorative elements of the architecture of the building.
(9) Window signs. No sign erected or maintained in the window of a building, visible from any public or private street or highway, shall occupy more than twenty-five (25) percent of the window surface in which the sign is located.
(c) Community Event Sign.
(1) Purpose: The purpose of a community event sign is to permit local government or a civic organization the ability to inform the public of community events and meetings. A community event sign is not intended for commercial use or personal gain.
(2) Sign Compliance and Restriction: Upon the issuance of a permit, a civic oriented organization as part of an otherwise permissible sign shall be permitted to maintain a community event notice sign. The community event sign shall only display the event, the location of the event, its date and time, and event sponsor if any. As indicated, the community event notice sign shall be maintained in lieu of any other permissible sign or part of an otherwise permissible sign and must comply with all other sign regulations, zoning restrictions, and laws of the City of Louisville, Ohio, and the United States of America. If an electronic message board is employed and is otherwise permissible, it must comply with all other laws, regulations and restrictions applicable to the use and operation of an electronic message board or sign. The community event sign designation or the holding of such a permit shall not prohibit the use of the available sign or an electronic message board from being used in the capacity of an otherwise permissible commercial sign for an onsite business or other onsite entity.
(3) Permit: The application forms for the permit shall be supplied by the City of Louisville. The applicant must be able to demonstrate that all commercial sign requirements and regulations have been met, and that the applicant understands the purpose, restrictions, and responsibility of utilizing and maintaining a community event sign. The permit may be conditionally issued in order for the applicant to comply with other sign requirements. There shall be no fee for this permit.
(4) Responsibility of the permit holder: The Permit Holder shall be the owner, operator or designated agent for the organization or entity that owns or operates the sign and is responsible for maintaining compliance with the terms and conditions of the applicable laws and regulations. If transfer of the permit is necessary, the new permit holder shall execute a new application. The permit holder agrees that it is absolutely responsible for the content and operation of the sign.
(5) Violation of Permit or Sign Usage: In addition to the enforcement provisions of Chapter 1139 of the UDO, the issued permit is subject to termination upon failure to undertake remedial action within a reasonable time after notice has been provided.
(Ord. 09-20. Passed 6-22-09; Ord. 11-54. Passed 12-19-11; Ord. 14-05. Passed 2-3-14; Ord. 17-02. Passed 1-23-17.)