Sign face area, sign height and sign location, as regulated in this chapter, shall be measured according to the following standards.
(a) Sign Face Area. Standards for computing the amount of sign face area permitted by these regulations are established as follows:
(1) Measurement of sign face area.
A. Panel signs. For two-sided signs, only one side shall be included in the measurement. Measurement of sign face area shall include the actual panel area and shall include structural supports of the panel only if such supports are designed and used to convey part of the sign's message.
B. Nonpanel signs. Sign face area shall be measured to include the surface area of the smallest rectangles enclosing the words, characters, logos and designs of the sign but not the individual letters of the sign. Only one side of a two-sided sign shall be included in the measurement. Measurement of sign face area shall include structural supports of the sign only if such supports are designed and used to convey part of the sign's message. In the case of nonpanel signs consisting of upper and lower case letter forms, calculation of overall square footage shall be obtained by multiplying the height of lower case letters (excluding ascenders and descenders) times the length.
(2) Measurement of building and lot frontage.
A. Building frontage. The frontage of a building shall be the width of the facade(s) of the building which faces the principal street or contains the main entrance. If a building is divided into units, the building unit frontage shall be the width of that unit, as measured from the party wall center lines, on the frontage of the building. In instances where a person, association, partnership, corporation or other legal entity occupies more than one building unit and each building unit supports the principal business of the occupant and where:
1. The building units are contiguous; or
2. The building units are located on the same lot;
then the provisions of this chapter shall apply as if there were only one building unit. In such cases the building frontage shall include the total building frontage of the individual contiguous building units or the building frontage of the principal building where the individual building units are not contiguous.
B. Lot frontage. The frontage of a lot shall be the number of lineal feet the lot abuts on the principal street as measured at and along the right-of-way line.
(b) Sign Height. The height of free-standing signs shall be measured from the base of the sign at its point of attachment to the ground to its topmost element. However, if the support of a free-standing sign is attached to a wall or other man made base, including a graded earth mound, or if the point of attachment to the ground is lower than the grade of the nearest street, the sign height shall be measured from the grade of the nearest street, drive or parking area, as determined by the Zoning Inspector.
(c) Sign Location. In determining the location of signs in relation to lot lines, including district and street lines, distances shall be measured from the vertical projection of the lot lines to the closest point of the sign.
(Ord. 04-965. Passed 7-6-04.)