The following specifications for signs shall apply in the town.
(A) Projection.
(1) Parallel signs. All exterior signs attached to buildings and which are parallel or substantially parallel to the wall of the building shall extend no more than 18 inches horizontally from the wall of the building. No message may be contained on any portion of the sign supports.
(2) Non-parallel signs. All exterior signs attached to buildings and which are not parallel or substantially parallel to the wall of the building shall project no more than 42 inches horizontally from the wall of the building. Notwithstanding the foregoing limitation, exterior signs attached to buildings and which are not parallel or substantially parallel to the wall of the building shall not be subject to the 42-inch limitation so long as the sign is 35 feet or more from the centerline of a public right-of-way. No message may be contained on any portion of the sign supports of a non-parallel sign.
(3) All signs. Signs shall not project across property lines and shall not project more than 36 inches into a public right-of-way. Such signs may be subject to the control, regulation and jurisdiction of other authorities.
(B) Clearance. All exterior signs attached to the wall of a building must provide a minimum of seven feet, six inches clearance above grade.
(C) Height. No sign shall extend above the height of the building to which it is attached.
(D) Size limitation for signs attached to buildings.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, signs may be attached to buildings in accordance with the following limitations.
(a) For buildings having building frontages of 50 feet or less, the surface area of all exterior signs attached to the building shall not exceed two square feet per lineal foot of building frontage or 75 square feet, whichever is less, for each frontage on a public right-of-way; provided, however, that the surface area of all such signs shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 75 square feet on any single building.
(b) For buildings having building frontages in excess of 50 feet, the surface area of all exterior signs attached to the building shall not exceed one and one-half square feet per lineal foot of building frontage or 125 square feet, whichever is less, for each frontage on a public right-of-way; provided, however, that the surface area of all such signs shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 125 square feet on any single building.
(2) The total amount of all signage available for a building shall be allocated among the persons or firms occupying the building in proportion to the total square footage of floor space that the person or firm occupies in proportion to the total square footage of floor space in the entire building.
(E) Limitations for signs not attached to buildings. Subject to the provisions of this chapter, signs which are not attached to a building shall be permitted in addition to the signs permitted under division (D) above in accordance with the following limitations.
(1) Signs not attached to a building shall be located a minimum of ten feet from any building or other structure on the property.
(2) Signs not attached to a building shall be located a minimum of ten feet from the curb line of all public streets, highways and alleys.
(3) Signs located within ten feet of the curb line of any intersection shall be less than 30 inches high or shall provide a minimum of ten feet clearance above grade. In determining clearance, the frames and structural members of the sign shall not be considered.
(4) The surface area of signs which are not attached to a building shall be limited in accordance with the following.
(a) For each lineal foot of lot frontage, a tract of real estate shall have three-fourths of a square foot of permissible signage area.
(b) The maximum surface area of any sign which is not attached to a building shall be 250 square feet.
(c) The total amount of signage available for a tract of real estate shall be allocated among the persons or firms occupying the real estate in accordance with the percentage of the real estate that the person or firm occupies.
(5) Signs not attached to a building shall have a minimum area of landscape treatment encircling the base at least equal in square footage to one-half the surface area of the sign. All such signs existing and in place upon the effective date of this chapter are exempt from this requirement.
(F) Window signs. Subject to the provisions of this chapter, permanent window signs shall be permitted in accordance with the following limitations.
(1) No window sign shall occupy more than 35% of the total area of the window in which the sign is located.
(2) Window signs shall consist of letters or numerals on the window surface not more than six inches high in any color except “fluorescent” or “neon” colors.
(3) The surface area of window signs shall not be included in the overall computation of allowable signage as determined by the provisions of divisions (D) and (E) above.
(G) Letters on signs. Except as provided otherwise in this chapter, lettering and numerals on signs shall not exceed 18 inches in height, provided, however, that where a sign is located more than 180 feet from the centerline of all public highways, lettering and numerals may be but shall not exceed 24 inches in height.
(H) Moving parts. No sign or any part of a sign which is visible from public property or a public right-of-way shall move or create the illusion of movement in any manner. This provision shall not be interpreted to include hour and minute hands of a clock.
(I) Illumination. Any illuminated sign or lighting devices visible from public property or a public right-of-way shall employ only lights of constant intensity, shall not be illuminated by or contain flashing, intermittent, rotating or moving lights, or lights creating the illusion of movement.
(J) Intensity of light. No sign shall be illuminated with such intensity as to adversely affect the use and enjoyment of nearby public or private property.
(K) Awnings. Awnings in compliance with the Building Code and zoning ordinance in force for the town shall be permitted. If the awning is used as a sign, only the surface area of the awning shall be counted as part of the total surface area allowed for the building under division (D) above.
(L) Painted wall signs. Signs painted or applied directly on the surface of an exterior wall of a building are prohibited.
(Ord. 250A, passed 9-4-2001)