(a) An electronic message center (EMC) may be permitted on a sign in commercial or industrial district, if it complies with the following requirements:
(1) The EMC shall comply with the location requirements that generally apply to signs within the district in which it will be located, as specified in Section 1282.05.
(2) It is the only EMC located on the lot. The Zoning Administrator may waive this requirement.
(3) The EMC's character area shall have a single color background that displays a single color at any one time.
(4) The EMC shall be incorporated into a permanent sign.
(5) The EMC's character area shall consist of no more than 50% of the allowable sign area specified in this Code for the zoning district in which the sign is located. EMCs on signs that are 32 square feet or less in area are exempt from this limit.
(6) The EMC's character area shall not appear to flash; undulate; pulse; portray explosions, fireworks, flashes of light, or blinking or chasing lights; move toward or away from the viewer; expand or contract; bounce; rotate; spin; twist; or engage in other similar movements.
(7) The EMC's dwell time, defined as the interval of change between each individual message on character area, shall be at least five seconds and a change of message must be accomplished within one second. The dwell time shall not include the one second or less to change the message.
(8) In the EMC's character area, the message shall remain lit and unchanged a minimum of ten seconds hold time.
(9) The EMC's message may scroll or travel off of the character area, subject to the following limitations:
A. A travelling or scrolling message may only come from one direction.
B. No message shall take more than five seconds to be displayed in its entirety.
C. Once a message has scrolled, the character area may not change for five seconds.
(10) The EMC shall not have audio output.
(11) The EMC shall have automatic dimming capability that automatically adjusts the brightness level of the EMC to ambient light at all times of the day and night.
(12) The EMC shall not exceed a maximum illumination of 5,000 nits when measured at the sign's face during daylight hours and a maximum illumination of 200 nits when measured from the sign's face between dusk to dawn.
(13) If it is located in a residential zone, or within 150 feet of a residential zone, the EMC shall discontinue the display between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(b) An EMC is permitted in a residential district only if it is displayed at a school, churches or government building, and otherwise complies with Section 1282.07(a).
(1) The EMC does not face a public street or land zoned or used for residential purposes; or
(2) The EMC is used for drive through restaurants, gas stations and similar establishments serving motorists.
(d) Before receiving a sign permit for an EMC under Section 1282.07(a) - (c), the applicant shall give the Zoning Administrator a certification from the manufacturer of the sign that the illumination settings for the sign comply with the maximum illumination requirements of Section 1282.07(a). The Zoning Administrator, in his or her discretion, may require a dimmer display for an EMC that would otherwise comply with Section 1282.07(a), if in the Administrator's opinion:
(1) It is brighter than is necessary for clear and adequate visibility;
(2) It is of such intensity or brilliance as to impair the vision of a motor vehicle driver with average eyesight;
(3) It would otherwise interfere with the driver's operation of a motor vehicle; or
(4) It would be of such intensity or brilliance that it interferes with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, device, or signal.
(e) The owner of any EMC programmed from the site or from a remote location shall make the computer interface that programs the EMC available to the City staff for inspection upon request. If the EMC's computer interface is not immediately available, its owner shall cease operation until such access is provided.
(f) EMC sign permit applications shall include a certification from the owner or operator of the sign stating that the sign shall be operated in accordance with City Code, and that the owner or operator shall provide proof of such conformance upon request of the City.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 6-16-14.)