Signs, as accessory uses in Neighborhood Commercial, General Commercial, Broadway Corridor Overlay, and Institutional/Office Districts (designated as Business Districts for purposes of this chapter) shall be designed, erected, altered, moved and maintained, in whole or in part, in accordance with the following regulations. In addition, such signs shall conform to all applicable regulations of this chapter. For residential and community facility uses located in business districts, Section 1296.08 shall apply.
(a) Maximum Sign Face Area (Business).
(1) The maximum sign face area of all permanent signs for each building or unit thereof shall be related to the width of the building or unit thereof. Maximum sign face area shall be determined according to the measurement standards of Section 1296.04 and the following formula, where "W" is the frontage width (in feet) of the building or unit thereof
(2) Maximum sign face area = (W x 3) = square feet
(b) Permanent and Temporary Signs (Business). All signs listed are permanent unless indicated as temporary. All temporary signs shall be permitted for a period of ninety days after placement, after which time they should be removed. Temporary signs shall be permitted only in accordance with Section 1296.11.
(c) Location (Business).
(1) Compliance; intent. Signs, as permitted in business districts, shall conform to the location regulations stated in the following schedule. It is an intent of this section to prohibit freestanding identification signs on lots with street frontage insufficient to provide the required minimum distance from side lot lines.
SCHEDULE OF LOCATION REGULATIONS (BUSINESS) | |
Minimum Distance (in feet) | Freestanding Signs (feet) |
Residential District Line | 50 |
Street Right-of-Way | 5 |
(2) Wall, awning, and canopy signs. Wall, awning, and canopy signs shall not extend above the wall or surface to which they are attached. Wall signs shall be set back from the ends of the building and party wall lines a minimum distance of three feet.
(d) Supplemental Regulations (Business).
(1) Shopping center identification signs located in Neighborhood Commercial or General Commercial. A unified shopping area, occupying one lot or under common ownership and exceeding 100,000 square feet in gross floor area, shall be permitted a freestanding identification sign not exceeding 100 square feet in area per side and twenty feet in height. Such sign shall be in addition to signs and sign face area otherwise permitted. For secondary entrances, Section 1296.04(d) shall apply. However, no other freestanding identification signs shall be permitted for a shopping center identified by a sign as permitted in this paragraph.
(2) Advertising. Permanent business signs or portions of permanent business signs devoted to the advertising of brand names of specific products or services shall be limited to twenty percent of the maximum sign face area permitted in total for the building or unit thereof.
(3) Uses above the ground floor. Each business or use located on the second floor of a building shall be entitled to one wall or window identification sign. Such sign shall be in addition to signs and sign face area otherwise permitted and shall be limited in size to two percent of the floor area and a maximum of twenty-five square feet.
(4) Rear entrances. In addition to signs and sign face area otherwise permitted, each building or building unit shall be entitled to one wall, window, awning or canopy identification sign not exceeding six square feet in area and located at a rear entrance, as designated by the business owner or proprietor.
(5) Theaters. This paragraph shall apply to movie theaters (indoor and outdoor), playhouses and places of live entertainment which require signs announcing shows or performances. Such uses shall be permitted one business sign not exceeding 175 square feet, announcing current or upcoming shows or performances, and one identification sign not exceeding seventy-five square feet. The business sign may not be freestanding unless specifically permitted by a variance granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals, for drive-in theaters and places of outdoor entertainment which lack buildings appropriate for sign placement. All regulations of this chapter shall apply to theaters and other such uses, except where such regulations conflict with the sign areas permitted above.
(6) Open space uses. As used in this section, "open space use" means any use permitted in a business district for which the width of the main or principal building represents twenty percent or less of the principal frontage of its lot. For such uses, the following sign face formula applies, where "W" is the frontage width (in feet) of the lot: W x 0.75. However, such maximum sign face area shall not exceed 150 square feet for a lot.
(7) Lots bounded by certain highway or boundaries. The following special regulations shall apply to land zoned for use which is bounded on at least three sides by: an interstate highway, a State highway, a County road or an adjacent and abutting municipality.
A. Such use shall be permitted on freestanding business sign not exceeding 700 square feet in sign face area and not exceeding seventy-five feet in overall height, provided that such sign is built of structural steel in compliance with American welding standards and embedded in concrete to a depth of at least fifteen feet.
B. Such sign shall be located not closer than ten feet from an interstate right-of-way and twenty feet minimum from any lot line.
C. For purposes of this section, the signs herein provided for shall not be governed by the advertising regulations of paragraph (d)(2) hereof.
(Ord. 2001-035. Passed 10-17-01.)