(a) Permanent Signs. All permanent signs shall be maintained in a safe and secure manner. Should any permanent sign be or become unsafe or unsightly, then upon notification by the Zoning Administrator, the owner shall remove or repair the sign. All permanent signs permitted in the Village are enumerated in this chapter, and only these signs will be permitted. The following regulations shall apply to all permanent signs within the Village of Poland.
(1) Structure; size; type; location.
A. All signs shall be permanently fixed to the ground or be attached to a building by means of adequate wood, aluminum, steel or masonry supports designed to carry the weight of the sign, with the exception of sandwich board signs as permitted by division (a)(1)U. of this section.
B. All signs shall be secured in such a manner as to prevent swinging or other significantly noticeable movement resulting from the wind.
C. No sign may be attached to or supported by a tree, utility pole or trash receptacle.
D. Any sign containing glass shall use safety glass, wire-reinforced glass or an acrylic material.
E. No sign shall contain words, statements or graphic descriptions of an obscene, indecent or immoral nature.
F. No pennants, banners, streamers, spinning or similarly moving devices shall be permitted.
G. Each business is permitted one American flag to be no larger than three feet by five feet. All other flags must be reviewed by the Board for design and content.
H. No animated, projecting, revolving or moving sign shall be permitted.
I. No sign advertising or promoting an activity, a service or a product no longer available, or a business no longer in operation, shall be permitted.
J. No sign shall be located in such a manner as to hinder or prevent free ingress to and egress from any door, window or fire escape.
K. No sign shall be located on a vacant lot unless used for the purpose of advertising the lot for sale or lease.
L. No sign shall be located at or near an intersection of two or more streets in such a manner as to hinder or obstruct free and clear vision. No sign shall be of a shape or color that may be confused with traffic control signs or devices.
M. No sign shall be located nearer than eight feet vertically or four feet horizontally from any overhead utility wires or conductors.
N. Signs not located on the same site as the advertised business are not permitted.
O. Signs and sign structures that project above the building line or are placed on the top of a building structure shall be prohibited.
P. No fire or other emergency or public sign shall be included in the calculation of permitted sign area.
Q. No permanent advertising sign identifying give-aways, stamps and/or optional purchases secondary to the primary goods or services sold on the premises shall be permitted.
R. Where a home occupation is permitted, professional signs which contain the name and profession of the occupant shall be allowed, provided such signage is not illuminated and does not exceed two square feet in size.
S. Any sign size described in this chapter shall include the frame, but not the structural support.
T. In a commercial building, an unlighted interior sign shall be permitted. The total sign area must not exceed fifteen percent of the total window area and must be professionally designed and lettered.
U. Sandwich board signs shall be permitted only in the Historic Commercial District, shall be no larger than two feet in width and four feet in height, and shall be constructed of painted wood; and all writing surfaces shall be of dark material, to be approved by the Architectural Review Board. All message content shall be hand written directly on the writing surface of the sign. Such signs shall only be displayed directly in front of the associated business, and may only be displayed within the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
(2) Lighting.
A. All lighting providing illumination to signage shall be adequately shielded and properly directed so as not to be objectionable to owners of adjacent and surrounding properties.
B. Exception for placement of open interior lighted signs. A business operating in a commercial building is permitted to place no more than one interior lighted window sign bearing the word “open” for the purposes of declaring those times when the business is open. Notwithstanding the restrictions in division (2) herein, a sign qualifying under this provision may be illuminated provided that such illumination does not involve moving and/or flashing signs.
C. No flashing illumination or illumination which involves movement or causes the illusion of movement resulting from the arrangement of lighting shall be permitted.
(b) Temporary Signs. Construction signs, political signs and temporary portable special event signs, where permitted, shall be considered as temporary signs and shall be permitted subject to the provisions specified in this chapter. This chapter shall be enforced by the Zoning Administrator and the Board.
(1) Construction signs. Construction signs shall not be permitted except as approved by the Board, subject to reasonable limitations, including the following:
A. Construction signs shall not be illuminated.
B. Only one construction sign having not more than two individual sign faces shall be permitted per construction site. No sign face shall be more than sixteen square feet.
C. Construction signs may identify the name of the building or project under construction, the name of the architect, designer, engineer or contractor, project costs, the completion date and any other agencies associated with the project.
D. Construction signs shall be located on the same property as the specific project under construction, not closer than fifteen feet to the right-of-way line, or shall be placed on the structure being built or renovated. In no case shall any such construction sign be located within the public right-of- way.
E. All construction signs shall be removed within fourteen days of the completion or abandonment of the project.
(2) Political signs.
A. Political signs shall not be illuminated.
B. Political signs shall not have more than two sign faces.
C. Political signs are permitted fourteen days prior to an election and three days after. All candidates and their campaign committees are responsible for the removal of signs within three days of the end of the election. After this period, the Village may remove such signs and charge the expense of such removal to the candidate or committee.
D. The maximum permitted sign area of a political sign shall be three square feet per sign face.
E. No political sign shall be placed upon utility poles or trees or in the devil strip.
(3) Special events signs. Special events signs, not to exceed fifty square feet in area, announcing special public events or institutional events, shall be permitted for a period of not more than fourteen days, by permit of the Zoning Administrator.
(4) Sale, rental or lease of premises signs. One sign per each abutting street, located on the property for sale, rental or lease, shall be permitted, provided such sign does not exceed three square feet and is placed at least fifteen feet, whenever possible, from the street or pavement or affixed to the building or structure. Such sign shall be removed within one week of the closing of sale, rental or lease of the building or property. There also may be three “open house” signs directing traffic to the building for sale, permitted only on the day and during the hours of the “open house”, provided such signs do not exceed three square feet in size and are displayed no more than one day a week.
(5) Commercial signs for special promotions.
A. One sign per event, not to exceed fifty square feet in area, shall be permitted for the period of the event, not to exceed two weeks.
B. A maximum of four events per calendar year per business shall be allowed. Each permit, including the placement of such signs, is to be approved by the Zoning Administrator. These signs are under the same restrictions as outlined in paragraphs (a)(1)C., E., H. through O. and Q. hereof.
(Ord. 1050-97. Passed 8-12-97; Ord. 1278-06. Passed 2-21-06; Ord. 1305-07. Passed 8-21-07.)