The following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth in this section when they are used in this Chapter:
(a) Accessory Sign: A sign which pertains to the principal use of the premises upon which such sign is located.
(b) Appendage Sign: A sign that is intended to draw attention to one or more of various services, items for sale, contests, etc., and is attached as an appendage to an accessory sign, sign support or any part of a sign structure or light structure. Appendage signs are prohibited throughout the Village of Montpelier.
(c) Banner Sign: A sign on paper, cloth, fabric or other combustible material of any kind, either with or without frames.
(d) Billboard: A non-accessory sign which makes anything known to the general public, and on which a display can be posted, painted or otherwise affixed in a manner which is readily changed. Billboards are prohibited in the Village of Montpelier.
(e) Building Frontage: The length of the portion of a building facing a street abutting to the premises on which a business is located.
(f) Bulletin Board: A sign with temporary or replaceable letters or characters, used to announce dates of functions or activities.
(g) Business: Any legal use of a building, other than for a religious institution, school, home occupation, or residence by a person, firm or corporation. Although contained in the same building as another business and owned by the same person, an activity may be treated as a separate business if it is physically separated from, uses different personnel than, and provides different products or services than such other related business.
(h) Canopy: A suspended covering, often movable, placed above a door, window, or other entranceway. Canopies can be constructed of vinyl, cloth, metal, wood, or other materials.
(i) Canopy Sign: A sign, displayed and affixed flat against the surface of a canopy, which does not extend vertically or horizontally beyond the limits of the canopy. Canopy signs shall conform to projecting sign requirements.
(j) Construction Sign: A sign advertising a project under development, erected for the period of construction, identifying its developers, contractors, engineers, brokers and architects.
(k) Development Entry Sign: A permanent sign which identifies the name of a residential development or developer or the type of residential structures included in the development, and which is harmonious in appearance with the character or intended character of the area.
(l) Directional Sign: A sign, the primary purpose of which is to expedite the flow of vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic to, from and within a site.
(m) Electronic Message Board: A sign that uses lights to display messages, such as, but not limited to, the current time, temperature, and/or date of the immediate environment.
(n) Flag: A banner of distinctive design used as a symbol of a nation, state or other governmental entity or a non-profit organization.
(o) Flashing Sign: A sign that is intermittently illuminated or reflects light intermittently from either an artificial source or from the sun.
(p) Free-standing Sign: A sign supported by one or more uprights, poles, pylons or braces placed in or upon the ground and not attached to any building or other structure. Free-standing signs include pole signs, pedestal signs, ground signs, and vending devices when located outside of a building and having more than two (2) square feet of advertising area.
(q) Grade: The average elevation of an area within a radius (of the sign base) equal to two times the height of the sign.
(r) Ground Mounted Sign: A free-standing advertising structure supported by one or more uprights, poles, pylons or braces located in or upon the ground and not attached to any building or structure. The bottom edge of the display or advertising area of said sign shall be no more than twenty-four (24) inches above the adjacent grade.
(s) Handicapped Sign: A sign limited to indicating that off-street parking is reserved for the physically handicapped, or a sign which is limited to indicating facilities for the physically handicapped.
(t) Illuminated Sign: A sign which has characters, letters, figures, or designs which are illuminated either internally or with external shielded lights.
(u) Illumination, Direct: Lighting by means of an unshielded light source, which is effectively visible as a part of the sign where light travels directly from the source to the viewers eye.
(v) Illumination, Indirect: Lighting by means of a light source which is directed at a reflecting surface in such a way as to illuminate the sign from the front, or a light source which is primarily designed to illuminate the entire building facade upon which a sign is displayed. “Indirect illumination” does not include lighting which is primarily used for purposes other than sign illumination, e.g. parking lot lights, or lights inside a building which may silhouette a window sign, but which are primarily installed to provide inside illumination.
(w) Illumination, Internal: Lighting by means of light source which is within a sign having an opaque background or silhouetting opaque letters or designs, or within letters or designs which are themselves made of translucent material.
(x) Institutional Sign: A sign containing a surface area upon which is displayed the name of a religious institution, school, library, community center, charitable organizations or similar institutions, and the announcement of its services or activities.
(y) Interior Sign: A sign which is visible from any public street, sidewalk, alley, park or public property and located within a building.
(z) Marquee Sign: A sign attached to or hung from a marquee, canopy or other covered structure projecting from and supported by the building.
(aa) Maximum Sign Height: Shall be measured from grade or sidewalk to the highest edge of the sign surface or its projecting structure.
(bb) Minimum Sign Height: Shall be measured from grade or sidewalk to the lowest edge of the sign surface or its projecting structure.
(cc) Moving Sign: A sign that has motion either constantly or at intervals or that gives the impression of movement through intermittent, flashing, twinkling, or varying intensities of illumination.
(dd) Non-Accessory Sign: A sign which does not pertain to the principal use of the premises on which such sign is located.
(ee) Occupational Sign: A sign denoting only the name and profession of an occupant in a commercial building or public institutional building.
(ff) On-Premise Sign: A sign which advertises only goods, services, facilities, events or attractions available on the premises, or identifies the owner or occupant, or directs traffic on the premises where a sign is located. All other signs are considered off-premises.
(gg) Portable Sign: A sign, sign board, or banner which is not permanently anchored or secured to either a building, structure or the ground; such as but not limited to, so called “A” frame, “T” shaped stand, or any sign attached to a trailer or other vehicle not accessory to the vehicle or its use, but used with the express intent of advertising including freestanding yellow and white back lighted changeable letter signs with or without directional arrows.
(hh) Premises: A lot or group of lots with one or more buildings which functions as a single use, is under the same ownership or control and is not divided by a public street. Multiple tenants of a single premises may share common entranceway and off-street parking. Examples of premises include a shopping center, a multiple family apartment complex, and a educational or medical campus.
(ii) Projecting Sign: A sign so constructed and erected as to be attached at one end to a building, pole or other structure, or any part thereof, and expending beyond the attachment surface by more than twelve (12) inches.
(jj) Roof Sign: A sign which is erected, constructed and maintained on or above the roof of a building or any portion thereof. Roof signs are prohibited in the Village.
(kk) Sign: Any name, identification, description, display, illumination, surface, or device (including its structure and component parts) that conveys a message which is affixed to, painted on, or otherwise presented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure, or land; which bears any inscription, notice, motto, or design or which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization or business, and which is visible from the public street, right-of-way, sidewalk, alley, park, or other area open to the public. Included in this definition are balloons, or other inflatable devices, mockups, banners, pennants, flags, or other devices not necessarily displaying a name or message but which are designed and intended to attract attention to an enterprise or activity.
(ll) Sign Area: The entire area within a circle, triangle, rectangle or other geometric shape enclosing the extreme limits of writing, representation, emblem or any figure of similar character, together with any frame or other material, graphic or color forming an integral part of the display or message, or used to differentiate the sign from the background against which it is placed; excluding the necessary supports or uprights on which such sign is placed, if no advertising matter is placed thereon.
(mm) Sign Erector: Any person engaged in the business of erecting, constructing, altering, or removing signs on a contractual or hourly basis.
(nn) Subdivision/Development Sign: A sign or entranceway structure, listing the names and addresses only of the establishments occupying a development, subdivision or condominium. The erection of such identification signs is so intended to assist the public in locating establishments within its immediate area and shall be placed upon property within the development or subdivision.
(oo) Temporary Sign: A sign intended to be displayed for a limited period of time, including decorative displays for holidays, special events, political signs, real estate signs, or public demonstrations.
(pp) Wall Sign: A sign attached to, painted on, inscribed, or otherwise set upon the exterior wall or surface of any building. A mural is considered a wall sign. A sign painted or inscribed on a canopy shall also be considered a wall sign.
(qq) Window Sign: Signs which are affixed or otherwise inscribed on a window of a building such that they are visible from the outside of the building. This does not include merchandise displayed in a window, unless it is arranged in a fashion to constitute a sign. (Ord. 1166. Passed 9-24-01.)