(A) Areas of Special Control.
(1) This subchapter and the Table of Permitted Permanent Signs cannot adequately regulate all desirable types and designs of signs in an area as diverse as Noblesville. The city may therefore, pursuant to § 159.044, designate certain real estate as “Areas of Special Control” including architectural, historic, or scenic areas.
(2) The City of Noblesville shall maintain and shall revise as required a zoning map of Noblesville indicating the boundaries of all designated “Areas of Special Control.”
(3) The City of Noblesville shall adopt special regulations for signs in “Areas of Special Control” which shall be consistent with the character of the specific area.
(4) To the extent in conflict, special regulations for "Areas of Special Control" supersede and may be either more or less restrictive than the regulations for signs contained in this subchapter.
(B) Program of Signs.
(1) One or more adjacent activities not located in an “Area of Special Control” may submit a Program of Signs to the Plan Commission. The Program of Signs shall contain a visual representation of the lettering, illumination, color, area, height, placement, and location of the signs proposed for display. The items of information displayed on the signs proposed by an activity in the Program of Signs shall not exceed the items of information allowance.
(2) The Plan Commission may approve a Program of Signs if the signs visually represented in the Program are consistent with the purposes of this subchapter, are appropriate to the function and architectural character of the building(s) in which the activity is located, and are compatible with the existing adjacent activities.
(3) An activity whose Program of Signs has been approved by the Plan Commission may display only those signs that comply with the approved program.
(C) Substitute Provisions.
(1) Subject to the property owner's consent, any non-commercial copy may be substituted, in whole or in part, for any commercial copy on any sign permitted by this code. If non-commercial copy is substituted, the sign will continue to be treated as the original commercial sign under this code and will not be deemed or treated as an off-premise sign. The content of any non-commercial copy on any sign otherwise permitted by this subchapter may be changed without complying with any provisions of this subchapter normally required for sign copy or design approval.
(2) The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent favoring of commercial speech over non-commercial speech, or favoring of any particular non-commercial copy over any other non-commercial copy.
(a) This provision does not create a right to increase the amount of permanent signage on a parcel, lot, or land use.
(b) This provision does not affect the requirement that a sign structure or mounting device be properly permitted.
(c) This provision does not allow a change in the physical structure of a sign or its mounting device.
(d) This provision does not allow the substitution of off- premises commercial copy in place of on-premises commercial copy or non-commercial copy.
(Ord. 17-5-09, passed 6-9-09; Am. Ord. 24-07-13, passed 8-13-13; Am. Ord. 32-07-19, passed 7-23-19)