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(a) The regulations contained in this Chapter shall apply to signs outside of the public right-of-way, except when specifically stated otherwise.
(b) A sign may only be erected, established, painted, created or maintained in the City in conformance with the standards, procedures, exemptions and other requirements of this Chapter.
(c) All permanent signs shall comply with the sign design guidelines set forth in Section 1179.10, Design Standards.
(d) Architectural Features. Architectural features that are either part of the building or part of a freestanding structure are not considered signs and are thus exempt from these regulations. Architectural features include:
(1) Any construction attending to, but not an integral part of the sign, and which may consist of landscape or building or structural forms that enhance the site in general.
(2) Graphic stripes and other architectural painting techniques applied to a structure that serves a functional purpose or to a building when the stripes or other painting technique do not include lettering, logos or pictures.
(Ord. 3-2006. Passed 2-28-06.)
The following regulations shall control the computation and measurement of sign area, sign height, window area and building frontage:
(a) Determining Sign Area or Dimension.
(1) Sign area shall include the face of all the display area of the sign. Sign area shall not include the frame and structural support unless such structural support is determined to constitute an integral part of the sign design.
(2) For a sign that is framed, outlined, painted or otherwise prepared and intended to provide a background for a sign display, the area of the sign shall be the area of one (1) rectangular shape that encompasses the entire background or frame.
(3) For a sign comprised of individual letters, figures or elements on a wall or similar surface of a building or structure, or an irregular shaped ground sign, the area of the sign shall be the area of one (1) rectangular shape that encompasses the perimeter of all the elements in the display.
A. When separate elements are organized to form a single sign, but the elements are separated by open space, the area shall be the area of one (1) rectangular shape that comprises all the display areas, including the space between the elements.
B. One minor protrusion may be permitted to extend above or below the sign area when the area of the protrusion is less than 25% of the open space included in the sign area. For the purposes of this section, only the open space within the sign area that is located above and below the majority of the letters shall be included in the calculation. See Figure 1.
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(4) For ground signs and projecting signs:
A. The sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one (1) of the faces when two (2) identical display faces are joined, are parallel or within 30 degrees of being parallel to each other and are at no point separated by a distance that exceeds two feet apart.
B. No more than two display faces shall be permitted.
C. The portion of a solid sign base that is mostly screened by landscaping, up to a maximum height of two (2) feet, shall not be calculated as sign area.
(5) Air under a ground sign between supporting posts, air between a projecting sign and the wall to which it is attached, and lighting fixtures and associated brackets shall not be included in the calculation of sign area. See Figure 2.
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(b) Determining Sign Height. The height of a sign shall be measured from the average natural grade at the base of the sign or support structure to the tallest element of the calculated sign area. A ground sign on a man-made base, including a graded earth mound, shall be measured from the average site grade prior to the addition of the sign.
(c) Determining Building Frontage and Building Unit. For the purposes of these sign regulations, the length of the building wall that faces a public street or that contains a public entrance to the uses therein shall be considered the building frontage.
(1) The building frontage shall be measured along such building wall between the exterior faces of the exterior side walls.
(2) In the case of an irregular wall surface, a single straight line extended along such wall surface shall be used to measure the length.
(3) A building shall have only one building frontage except as otherwise set forth below.
(4) A building shall have two frontages whenever the lot fronts on two or more streets, or the building has a public entrance on a wall other than the wall that faces the street. The property owner shall determine which wall shall be the primary building frontage and which wall shall be the secondary building frontage. Only one outside wall of any business shall be considered its primary frontage and only one additional wall considered its secondary frontage.
(5) For multi-occupant buildings, the portion of a building that is owned or leased by a single occupant shall be considered a building unit. The building frontage for a building unit shall be measured from the centerline of the party walls defining the building unit.
(d) Determining Window Area. The window area of a building shall be the total glass area of windows on the building frontage. For the purposes of determining window area for ground floor occupants, the ground floor shall be considered to be no more than fifteen (15) feet in height above grade.
(Ord. 3-2006. Passed 2-28-06.)
Signs in nonresidential districts shall conform to the standards set forth in this Section, except for residential uses which shall comply with the standards set forth in Section 1179.06.
(a) Maximum Number and Area of Permanent Signs Attached to Buildings. Permanent signs attached to buildings shall conform to the maximum number and area limitations set forth in Table 1179.05
(a). In addition to the sign area permitted in Table 1179.05
(a), each building shall be permitted to display numerals indicating the building’s street address, provided the numerals and letters do not exceed eight (8) inches in height.
Table 1179.05(a) Permanent Signs Attached to Buildings | ||
Type | Maximum Number Permitted | Maximum Area |
(A) Signplate | 2/address and 1/entry | 2 sq ft |
(B) Building Sign | 1/ground floor occupant frontage | 1.5 square ft per linear ft of building frontage, not to exceed 100 sq ft (a) |
(C) Projecting Sign | 1/ground floor occupant frontage(b) | 6 sq ft |
(D) Instructional Sign | ||
(a) See Section 1179.05(b) |
(b) Building Signs. The building sign permitted in Table 1179.05
(a) shall be either a wall sign, awning sign or window sign erected in compliance with the following additional regulations.
(1) Window Sign.
B. Upper Story Occupants. For a multi-story building, each occupant above the ground floor shall be permitted one permanent sign to be placed in a window of the occupant space, not to exceed six (6) square feet or 25 percent of the area of the window in which the sign is placed, whichever is smaller. These signs shall be in addition to the maximum allowable area for building signs pursuant to Table 1179.05
(a).
(2) Awning Signs. Awning signs may be permitted to extend over a public right-of-way provided such awning signs comply with the regulations of this Chapter.
(3) Corner Lots and Public Entrances Not Fronting a Street. The maximum allowable area for building signs set forth in Table 1179.05
(a) shall be the area allowed for the occupant’s primary frontage. In the event an occupant has a secondary frontage as defined in Section 1179.04
(c) additional sign area shall be permitted in compliance with the following:
A. The sign area for the secondary building frontage shall be 60 percent of the sign area permitted for the primary frontage.
B. The property owner may choose to locate the permitted building sign area on any exterior building wall provided the sign area on any one wall does not exceed the formula set forth in Table 1179.05
(a) and signs are attached to no more than two (2) exterior walls.
(4) Large Building Setbacks. The maximum allowable area for a building sign may be increased by 25% for each additional 100 feet of building setback when the principal building is located more than 100 feet from the principal street on which the building is located and the building is visible from the street. The additional 25% in area for each additional 100 feet of setback can be used on a graduated scale basis for each additional 100 feet of setback. For example, a principal building with a setback of 150 feet from the principal street may have a building sign not to exceed 112.5% of the maximum allowable area. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no sign shall exceed 200% of the maximum allowable area.
(c) Projecting Signs.
(1) Projecting signs shall be limited to occupants that have a minimum of 12 feet of occupant frontage.
(2) All projecting signs shall not extend above the roof line or exceed a height of 14 feet, whichever is less, and shall have a minimum clearance of seven (7) feet from the ground to the bottom of the sign, except when the projecting sign is located above a landscaped area or other area that does not permit pedestrian traffic beneath the sign.
(d) Permanent Ground Signs. Permanent ground signs permitted in nonresidential districts shall comply with the following regulations:
(1) Maximum Number, Area and Height, Minimum Setback of Permanent Ground Signs. Permanent ground signs shall comply with the maximum number, area and height limitations and minimum setback from the street right-of-way set forth in Table 1179.05
(d).
(Ord. 3-2006. Passed 2-28-06.)
Table 1179.05(d) Permanent Ground Signs | ||||
Maximum Number | Maximum Area | Maximum Height | Minimum Setback (b) | |
1. Primary Sign(a) | ||||
a. Building Setback > 30 feet (b) | 1 per lot (c) | 40 sq ft | 9 ft | 15 ft |
b. Building Setback > 12 but < 30 feet (b) | 1 per lot (c) | 32 sq ft | 9 ft | Equal to height of sign |
2. Entrance/Exit Signs | 2 per driveway (1 in, 1 out) | 2 sq ft | 3 ft | 0 |
3. Instructional Signs | ||||
(a) Not permitted on the site when the building is setback less than 12 feet from the street right-of-way. (b) From the street right-of-way. (c) Except as otherwise permitted in Section 1179.05(d)(2) for lots that exceed 500 feet in street frontage. | ||||
(Ord. 3-2006. Passed 2-28-06; Ord. 23-2014. Passed 5-3-14.)
(2) Additional Ground Signs. One additional primary ground sign shall be permitted for every additional five hundred (500) feet of street frontage or fraction thereof per lot greater than five hundred (500) feet. For example, if the street frontage of the lot is 501 feet, up to two primary ground signs are permitted and three primary ground signs are not permitted unless the street frontage of the lot is at least 1,000 feet. For corner lots, each street frontage shall be calculated separately. Ground signs on the same lot shall be separated by a minimum of two hundred (200) feet, as measured along the street right-of-way line. For corner lots, both sides of the intersection shall be used in measuring spacing.
(3) Minimum Sign Setback from Intersection. On corner lots, ground signs shall comply with the minimum sign setback from both streets right-of- way, as set forth in Table 1179.05
(d).
(4) Minimum Sign Setback from Side Lot Lines. Ground signs shall be located a minimum of fifteen (15) feet from any side lot line, except that when a side lot line coincides with a residential district boundary line or a lot used for residential purposes, the minimum setback shall be thirty (30) feet.
(5) Base and Skirting. Ground signs, other than temporary signs and post and panel signs, shall have a solid base or solid skirting around the bottom of the sign extending from the bottom of the sign panel down to the ground.
(6) Landscaping. Ground signs shall be erected in a landscaped setting and not on sidewalks, drives or in parking lots. Neither the landscaping nor the ground sign shall obstruct the view of vehicles entering or exiting the property. There shall be landscaping around the base of the ground sign pursuant to a plan approved by the City’s Landscape Architect and the landscaping shall be continuously maintained according to the plan during the existence of the sign. Any changes to the approved plan must be approved by the City’s Landscape Architect.
(7) Changeable Copy. Ground signs may have up to 30% of the sign area set forth in Table 1179.05
(d) devoted to changeable copy.
A. The changeable copy shall not be changed more than eight (8) times per day, and no more than one (1) time per hour.
B. Changeable copy may only be manually changed.
C. All changeable copy shall comply with the lettering style, lettering color, background color and all other elements approved by the Architectural Board of Review. No alphabetic letter or number shall be used as a substitute for a different alphabetic letter or number or a different color of letter.
(8) Multi-Occupant Facilities. When a ground sign is permitted on a site that has more than one occupant, it is the property owner’s responsibility to determine if the sign area shall be devoted to identification of the building(s), the anchor occupant, all occupants, or some combination thereof.
(e) Instructional Signs. Instructional signs that are clearly intended for instructional purposes shall be permitted as needed provided such signs comply with the following:
(1) The signs are not larger than necessary to serve the intended instructional purpose;
(2) The number of instructional signs located on the site are the minimum needed to serve the intended instructional purpose;
(3) Lettering on the sign does not exceed two (2) inches in height; and
(4) The signs are not in a location and do not possess design characteristics that constitute or serve to attract attention beyond the perimeter of the site.
(1) Temporary signs may be ground signs, window signs or banner signs.
(2) The total area of temporary window signs shall not exceed 25% of the total transparent glass area of the window in which the sign is placed.
(3) The total maximum number and area permitted for temporary ground signs and temporary banner signs shall be regulated based on the district in which the lot is located.
A. In Districts B-1 and B-3, a maximum of two (2) signs per parcel shall be permitted provided the total area of all temporary ground signs and temporary banner signs shall not exceed twelve (12) square feet per parcel.
B. In Districts, B-2, O-S, I-1 and 1-2, a maximum of four (4) signs per parcel shall be permitted provided the total area of all temporary ground signs and temporary banner signs shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet per parcel.
(4) Temporary ground signs shall have a maximum height of six (6) feet and shall be located a minimum distance from the public right- of-way that is equal to the height of the sign.
(5) One temporary ideological ground sign permitted in Subsection 1179.05
(f)(3) may be erected for an unspecified time. All other temporary ground signs and temporary banner signs shall be permitted for a maximum of fifteen (15) consecutive days, and not more than a total of seventy-five (75) days per calendar year.
(6) Temporary signs that are erected in order to announce or advertise a specific event shall be removed within three (3) days after the close of such event.
(Ord. 3-2006. Passed 2-28-06.)
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