(A) Permits. Permits may be obtained from the Codes Enforcement Officer with payment of a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) permit fee..
(B) Applications.
(1) Who may apply. Permits shall be issued only to:
(a) The owner of the real property where the sign is to be located; or
(b) A lessee who is the owner of the sign structure or proposed sign structure and whom has the right to install or maintain a sign on the real property where the sign is to be located.
(2) Contents. Applications for sign permits required by this subchapter shall be filed in duplicate by the person owning the subject property, or the owner's agent, in the office of the Codes Enforcement Officer upon forms furnished by that office. The application shall describe and set forth the following:
(a) The type of the sign as defined in this subchapter;
(b) The value of the sign;
(c) The square foot area per sign and the aggregate square foot area if there is more than one (1) sign face;
(d) The name and address of the owner of the real property upon which the subject sign is to be located;
(e) The property owner's or property lessee's written consent, or his or her agent, granting permission for the placement, maintenance, size, and height of the subject sign to be placed on the property;
(f) For wall signs, two (2) sets of building elevations;
(g) The name, address, telephone number and proof of occupational tax license of the sign contractor. All applicants for signs which incorporate new electrical service must obtain an electrical permit;
(h) Site plans showing the sign details, including a proposed color scheme of the sign, showing location of structures upon the property on which the sign is to be located and the location of the sign in relation to the structures, scaled elevation, size and height of the proposed sign from ground level and adjacent street level, property lines, public rights-of-way, and other signs; plans, specifications and structural details showing the type and manner of construction, attachment to buildings or in-ground erection; and a visual representation of the completed sign. The city may require said plans to bear the signature and seal of a registered professional land surveyor, engineer, or architect. Each application shall include a signed statement from the landowner or possessor of the property giving consent to entry into the property for the purpose of inspection and enforcement of this subchapter. If classification of the road on which the property fronts is of importance to the permit process, the city may require the applicant to submit certified documents from the state Department of Transportation or the United States Department of Transportation or their successors regarding the classification of the road.
(C) Occupational tax license, public liability insurance required. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of erecting or maintaining signs within the city unless and until such entity shall have obtained an occupational tax license and a certificate of insurance from an insurance company authorized to do business in the commonwealth evidencing that the entity has an effect public liability and property damage insurance in the sum of $25,000 for property damage for any one claim and public liability insurance an amount not less than $500,000 for injuries, including accidental death to one person.
(D) Variance.
(1) Limitations. The Board of Zoning Adjustments shall be allowed to grant variances to this section. The Board of Zoning Adjustments may impose any reasonable condition or restriction on any variances it decides to grant.
(2) Procedure. The procedure for requesting a variance from the standards of this section shall be the same procedures as that for seeking a zoning variance.
(3) Standards. The standards which shall be considered for granting variances from the standards of this section shall be only the following:
(a) Relief to this section may only be granted for existing foliage or structures bringing about a hardship whereby a sign meeting the maximum letter size, square footage and height requirements cannot be read from the adjoining road; or
(b) The application of the particular provision of this subchapter to a particular piece of property, due to extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to that property because of its size, shape, or topography, would create an unnecessary hardship for the owner by causing no detriment to the public or adjacent properties.
(E) Denial.
(1) Incomplete, false statements. The Codes Enforcement Officer shall deny any application that is incomplete, that contains false material statements or omissions, or that is for a sign which would violate any standard within this subchapter within thirty (30) business days of receipt of said application. The Codes Enforcement Officer may deny at any time prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period, if the application is incomplete or contains false material statements or omissions, by notification.
(2) Processing time; notice; denial. The city shall process all complete and accurate sign permit applications within fifteen (15) business days of the city's actual receipt of a complete and accurate application and upon remittance of the appropriate sign permit fee. If a sign meets all the standards as required by this code, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall issue a permit. The Codes Enforcement Officer shall give notice to the applicant of his or her decision by hand delivery or by mailing such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address on the permit application on or before the fifteenth business day. If the decision of the Codes Enforcement Officer is to deny the application, the decision shall state the grounds upon which the denial is based. Failure of the city to act within the fifteen-day period shall be deemed a denial of the permit. If notice is mailed in conformity with this section, notice shall be deemed to have been given upon the date of mailing. Any application meeting the standards of this subchapter will be granted. Any application not meeting the standards of this subchapter will be denied.
(3) Appealable. A denial pursuant to this section shall be appealable pursuant to the procedures for zoning appeals outlined in this chapter. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, a final decision will be rendered within ninety (90) days from date an appeal is filed.
(4) Re-submission. A denied application later resubmitted in conformity with this subchapter shall be deemed to have been submitted on the date of re-submission, instead of the original submission date. An application which is resubmitted shall meet all the standards for an original application.
(F) Revocation.
(1) Should it be determined that a sign permit was issued pursuant to an application containing a false material statement or omission, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall revoke said permit and the subject sign shall be immediately removed. A revocation pursuant to this section shall be appealable pursuant to the procedures for zoning appeals outlined in this chapter.
(2) However, notwithstanding division (F)(1) of this section, a final decision will be rendered within sixty (60) days from the date an appeal is filed. If a final decision is not rendered within the sixty-day period, the decision sought to be appealed shall be affirmed. The permit for any sign not meeting the standards of this subchapter will be revoked.
(G) Suspension; termination.
(1) Violation. A violation of any provision of this subchapter shall be grounds for terminating the permit granted by the city to the permittee or the person or entity erecting the sign. No permit shall be suspended, revoked, or canceled except for due cause, as hereinafter defined, and until after the permittee is granted a public hearing before the city's Hearing Officer.
(2) Hearing. The permittee shall be given ten (10) days written notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing, with a statement of the reason for the suspension, revocation or canceling of such permit and license. The term DUE CAUSE means the violation of the standards of this subchapter. The termination of the permit does not in any way preclude the city from taking any other action authorized by this code or any action authorized by law, against the person alleged to have violated the standards of this subchapter.
(H) Expiration date.
(1) A sign permit shall become null and void if the sign for which the permit was issued has not been installed and completed within six (6) months after the date of issuance; provided, however, that where an applicant can demonstrate that a commercial entity was timely engaged to construct the permitted sign, but the fabrication has not yet been completed, one (1) ninety-day extension may be granted by the Codes Enforcement Officer.
(2) No refunds shall be made for a permit after the permit is issued. If later an individual desires to erect a sign at the same location, a new application for the sign must be processed and another fee paid in accordance with the fee schedule applicable at such time.
(I) Inspection. The enforcement personnel are hereby empowered to enter into and inspecting the building, structure, or premise upon which a sign subject to this section is located for the purpose of inspecting the sign, it's structural and electrical connections, and to ensure compliance with the provisions of this subchapter and other applicable ordinances. Inspection shall be carried out during reasonable business hours, unless an emergency exists.
(Ord. passed 1-27-87; Am. Ord. O-2019-20, passed 7-22-19)