The following types of signs and sign related activities shall not require permits. No sign, however, shall be located within ten feet of a public right-of-way except for governmental information and jurisdictional signs, and signs within the Central Business (CB) District as per the respective sign provisions for the CB District, nor shall any sign create a safety or visibility hazard in any district.
(a) A sign advertising the sale, lease and/or rental of the premises upon which the sign is located.
(1) This type of sign shall not exceed 64 square feet in area (with no single face exceeding 32 square feet), except in any Residential (R) District where the area of the sign shall not exceed 12 square feet in area (with no single face exceeding six square feet). There shall be only one such sign on any premises. The sign shall be removed within 14 days after the sale, lease, and/or rental of the premises.
(2) Also allowed are not more than two off-premises signs providing directions to the property that is for sale, rent, and/or lease. Such off-premises signs shall not exceed 12 square feet in area, with no single face exceeding six square feet, and shall be placed no earlier than 72 hours prior to the day of an “open house” for the showing of that property and shall be removed no later then the day of the open house.
(b) (1) One on-premises sign advertising a garage sale, yard sale, auction, or similar sale. Such sign shall not exceed 12 square feet in area, with no single face exceeding six square feet.
(2) The sign shall not be displayed earlier than the day before the sale and shall be removed no later than the last day of the sale. The signs shall not be erected for longer than five consecutive days.
(c) A sign denoting the name and/or address of the occupants of the premises. One such sign will be allowed for each tenant of multi-tenant buildings. Such signs shall not exceed two square feet in area and shall be attached flat to the building face.
(d) An identification sign, not exceeding 12 square feet, designating the name of a building, if the building name is different from that of any occupant of the building, and/or address, provided that the letters and/or numbers are:
(1) Carved into the building material or are securely attached so as to be an architectural detail;
(2) Less than 19 inches high;
(3) Not illuminated so as to stand out or to be highlighted;
(4) Not made of a reflective material.
(e) On-Site Directional Signs.
(1) Shall be permitted to provide direction to on-site facilities and/or to direct traffic flow on the property;
(2) Shall be limited to four square feet of sign area per face;
(3) Free-standing signs shall not exceed 30 inches in height;
(4) May be internally illuminated only;
(5) Shall not obstruct traffic visibility;
(6) Shall be set back a minimum of five feet from all property lines.
(f) Flags and insignia of any government.
(g) Integral decorative and/or architectural features of a structure, except letters, logos and/or moving lights.
(h) An identification sign at any entrance to a subdivision when approved as a part of the original development plan.
(i) Incidental Signs. There is no limit on the number of incidental signs, except that the total area of all such signs shall not exceed four square feet.
(j) One temporary window sign is allowed for each business in all districts. The sign may not occupy more than 25% of the area of the window in or on which it is displayed, except that the total area of any such sign shall not exceed 100 square feet.
(k) A commemorative plaque, historical sign, cornerstone, or similar sign. Such a sign shall not exceed nine square feet and shall not be illuminated.
(l) A sign clearly in the nature of a decoration (with no commercial message) normally associated with a local, national, or religious holiday.
(m) Signs located inside a structure, if not legible from the road.
(n) A sign expressing a non-libelous opinion, if the sign does not exceed six square feet. No person shall have more than two such signs erected at any given moment. No opinion shall be on such a sign for more than 30 days in a calendar year.
(o) (1) A sign which displays the identification of a building under construction, announcing the character of the building or its purpose, including the name of the architects, engineers, landscape architects, contractors, developers, financiers and others. Such a sign shall be allowed only during the period beginning with actual construction and ending with the completion of the building. The owner shall maintain such signs in good repair and appearance at all times.
(2) the area of such a sign shall not exceed a total of 16 square feet (eight square feet per side) in Residential (R) Districts or a total of 32 square feet (16 square feet per side) in other districts. No prices for purchase, lease, or rental may be stated on such a sign.
(p) (1) A political sign, including any issue to be voted upon by the electorate, shall not be illuminated and are subject to the following provisions:
A. It shall not exceed eight square feet per face in residentially zoned areas, and shall not exceed 32 square feet per face in all other areas.
B. It shall not be posted in any place or in any manner that would be destructive to public property upon posting or removal.
C. It shall be erected not more than 90 days prior to the election, and shall be removed by the appropriate campaign committee within 15 days following general elections.
D. It shall not be located within a thoroughfare right-of-way and shall not interfere with the visibility of vehicular traffic entering or exiting a thoroughfare.
(2) The City may remove a political sign in violation of the above provisions and may bill the political candidate or party for the cost of such removal.
(q) The changeable copy portion of a sign not exceeding 30% of the sign area to which it is attached. Any advertising/identification areas legible from the roadway shall be counted against the permitted total square footage.
(r) Routine repair or maintenance of a sign, exclusive of structural change.
(s) Replacement of sign parts, damaged or destroyed by vandalism or acts of God, with identical parts, subject to the provisions of Section 1290.27.
(t) Any change in copy where the size of the copy and size of the sign are not changed. This exception does not pertain to a change in business name.
(u) Any sign required to be erected by any governmental regulation.
(v) Any sign or banner erected by the City in conjunction with an event of community-wide interest.
(w) The repainting, preventative maintenance of signs, and a change in the message on a changeable copy sign, shall not be deemed alterations requiring a sign permit, with the exception stated in division (u) above.
(Ord. 06-29. Passed 5-1-06.)