(a) General Requirements.
(1) Sign design plans for sites within the Commercial District shall be reviewed first by the ABR, which will give its recommendations to the Planning Commission who will send their recommendations and review to City Council for final review.
(2) Sign package shall be presented in both the preliminary and final site plan review.
(b) Design. Accessory signs to retail businesses and service uses shall be designed, erected, altered, moved and maintained, in whole or in part, in accordance with the following regulations.
(1) Use types, and structural types permitted.
A. Use types permitted:
1. Directional;
2. Identification;
3. Nameplate;
4. Project - temporary;
5. Real estate - temporary;
6. Signs with interior illumination;
7. Electronic message centers (EMC) and flashing signs: Electronic message centers (EMC) and flashing signs are limited in the Town Center Overlay.
B. Structural types permitted:
1. Canopy;
2. Ground/monument;
3. Wall or panel;
4. Window;
5. Pylon;
6. Pole signs: pole signs are prohibited in the Town Center Overlay District;
7. Portable signs:
a. A-frame and T-frame signs.
(2) Displays prohibited.
A. The following signs and attention-getting displays shall be prohibited as permanent signs:
1. Banner signs.
B. Prohibited sign design. The following signs and attention-getting displays shall be prohibited as permanent, temporary, or event signs:
1. Signs directly painted onto outside exterior walls;
2. Air-activated signs;
3. Search and beacon lights;
4. Balloon signs;
5. Moving signs;
6. Festoons, except as seasonal displays;
7. Markings on street pavements, curbs, or sidewalks, except government/utility signs or temporary markings related to utility service, constructions or children's play;
8. Projected image signs;
9. Roof signs;
10. Seat bench signs;
11. Signs containing strobe lights visible beyond the property line;
12. Signs on trash containers, public phones, parking meters, bus shelters, and the like;
13. Signs on rocks, trees, and natural objects;
14. Signs on utility poles;
15. Trailer signs and portable signs consistently solely or largely of changeable copy areas;
16. Vehicle signs;
17. Signs on fences and decorative walls;
18. Bulletin boards.
C. Displays not regulated. The following displays are not subject to this chapter:
1. A clock, thermometer, or any measuring instrument that is not in any other respect, a sign;
2. Signs of less than one square foot each in sign area such as street numbers or store hours;
3. Landmark signs;
4. Labeling placed by a manufacturer or distributer on merchandise or its packaging displayed in outdoor sales displays;
5. Signs accessory to juvenile activities, such as a lemonade stand, or chalk sidewalk marking;
6. A-frame and T-frame signs - see standards for temporary signage, Section 1289.06(d);
7. Ground or sidewalk markings made for utility or construction purposes;
8. Displays of merchandise or other items inside show windows of stores and signs of five square feet or less each in area that are part of such displays and not affixed to windows;
9. Other signs within buildings with messages not legible beyond the lot or building site;
10. Government/utility signs;
11. Inscribed monuments in cemeteries or monument sales facilities;
12. Displays constituting signs that are officially designated by City Council as works of art such as statuary, murals, or sculpture;
13. Signs on umbrellas at outdoor cafe tables;
14. Signs, logos, or messages on apparel either being worn or displayed for sale;
15. Picket signs carried by striking workers, political protestors, or other aggrieved parties;
16. Event signs for residential uses;
17. Property for-sale signs.
(3) Measurement standards. Signs identifying a retail business and service use shall be regulated by relating the total area of all signs to the size of the building or building unit to which signs.
(4) Additional permitted signs.
A. Window signs.
1. Permanent window signs should be comprised of individual letters, logos, or design elements that are not encompassed by opaque background. Avoid obscuring pedestrians view through window. Window signs shall encompass no more than 20% of window area.
B. Awning, canopy, and marquee signs.
1. Shall not cover more than 50% of awning, canopy, and marquee with a maximum of twenty square feet per individual awning.
2. Awning sign graphic on the portion of fabric perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the ground (Hudson).
3. On canopy sign be permitted on each side of building providing customer access.
4. Canopy signs shall have a maximum height of six feet and a minimum clearance of eight feet.
5. Canopy signs shall be located under a canopy, attached to the principal building or the underside of the canopy, where it will be visible to pedestrians.
(5) Building material used for free standing signs shall only be built with natural building materials:
A. Brick;
B. Stone;
C. Wood;
D. Fiber-cement-board.
(6) Permanent signs. The C-1 District shall abide by Section 1289.06
and follow the business sign requirements as well as the following provisions:
A. Wall signs and projecting signs:
1. In a business district, the sum of the areas of wall signs and projecting signs shall not exceed one and a half square feet for each one lineal foot of the building wall or facade, which faces the principal street or contains the main entrance as determined by the Zoning Inspector.
2. In an industrial district, the sum of the areas of wall signs shall not exceed one square foot for each one lineal foot of the building wall or facade, which faces the principal street or contains the main entrance as determined by the Zoning Inspector.
3. In a commercial district, the sum of the areas of wall signs and projecting signs shall not exceed two square feet for each one lineal foot of the building wall or facade, which faces the principal street or contains the main entrance as determined by the Zoning Inspector. (Suggest changing this measurement to two square feet for every one linear foot.)
4. Lots having frontage upon a second street may install a second wall sign on the wall most parallel to the second street. The area of the second sign shall not exceed 50% of the areas calculated in divisions (a)(l)A. or B. of this section, as applicable.
5. Wall signs may be mounted upon the wall(s) most parallel to the rights-of-way on which the lot has frontage and on the building wall, which contains the main entrance(s) of the building or use(s). Wall signs shall be mounted parallel to the wall and shall not extend more than 18 inches in front of the building wall to which they are attached. Wall signs shall not extend above the parapet of a wall, above the lowest slope of a mansard roof, or above the eave or lowest part of any other roof type.
B. Projecting signs: In a business district, or commercial district, one projecting sign may be installed for each establishment or storefront. The sign shall not exceed eight square feet in area. All parts of a projecting sign shall be at least five feet from a side lot line or party wall of another store unit. The sign shall not project more than 36 inches from the face of the wall. Projecting signs shall not extend above the roof line of the building to which they are affixed.
C. Free-standing signs:
1. One free-standing sign shall be permitted for each lot. Parcels which have frontage on two or more streets may have a second free-standing sign provided that the second free-standing sign is located on a different street and at least 100 feet from the first sign.
2. In a business district, a free-standing sign shall not exceed 50 square feet in area and a height of eight feet.
3. In a commercial district, a free-standing sign shall not exceed 50 square feet in area and a height of eight feet.
4. In an industrial district, a free-standing sign shall not exceed 25 square feet in area and a height of five feet.
5. A free-standing sign shall be located at least 15 feet from the public right-of-way and ten feet from all other lot lines, and shall be located a minimum of 25 feet from any residential zoning district line.
6. The base and foundation of each free-standing sign shall be landscaped.
7. As approved by the Zoning Inspector.
8. As approved by the Planning Commission in a site plan review.
D. Joint free-standing sign. On a lot on which five or more individual businesses are located in independent units, one free-standing sign and one second frontage free-standing sign, shall be permitted in lieu of the signs permitted in divisions (a)(2)A. through E. of this section, and complying with the provisions of those divisions, except that the area of each sign shall not exceed 100 square feet in a business district, 100 square feet in commercial districts and 50 square feet in an industrial district.
(7) Temporary signs.
A. One sign, which may be either a wall or free-standing sign, not exceeding 20 square feet in area shall be permitted for each lot for not more than two 30-day periods per year. Free-standing temporary signs shall not exceed six feet in height and shall not be located closer to any lot line than ten feet.
B. Construction sign. One temporary free-standing sign may be erected on a site during construction or reconstruction of a building for which a valid building permit has been obtained. Such sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in area nor eight feet in height. Each such sign shall be located a minimum of 15 feet from any street right-of-way or property line and shall be removed within five days of issuance of an occupancy permit by the Zoning Inspector.
C. Public announcement sign. One freestanding sign may be erected on a lot announcing a nonprofit or not-for-profit public event. The sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in area; shall not exceed five feet in height; and shall be set back at least ten feet from the public right-of-way.
D. Temporary mobile, portable, or wheeled sign. On a lot where a permanent freestanding sign is permitted but has not been installed, one temporary mobile, portable, or wheeled sign shall be permitted for two periods per year not to exceed 30 days each period. The sign shall comply with all area, height, and setback requirements applicable to a freestanding sign.
(Ord. 68-2005. Passed 10-11-05; Ord. 61-2019. Passed 6-10-19.)