(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BUSINESS ZONE. An area defined by a property line that contains a single business or concentration of businesses located on the same side of a major thoroughfare and utilizing a lesser classification roadway as an entrance point as determined by the Planning Commission.
SIGN, OFF PREMISE ADVERTISING. Any sign advertising a product, service, business or activity sold, located or conducted elsewhere than on the premises on which the sign is located, or which said product, service, business or activity is sold, located or conducted on such premises only incidentally, if at all.
SIGN, OFF-PREMISE DIRECTIONAL. Any off-premise sign indicating the location of or directions to a business, office or other activity. The sign shall not include any information or message except the name of the business or activity or symbols or logos of the business, and must have directions or symbols indicating directions and/or distances.
SIGN, OFF-PREMISE NON-PROFIT DIRECTIONAL. Any off premise sign indicating the location of or directions to a non-profit organization’s building. The sign shall not include any information or message except the name of the business or activity or symbols or logos of the business, and must have directions or symbols indicating directions and/or distances.
(B) Off-premise signs. Off-premise directional signs are permitted in all districts except Residential Districts. Off-premise advertisement signs are considered as billboards and are prohibited.
(C) Off-premise signs regulations. The following special regulations shall apply to off-premise directional signs for a Business Zones.
(1) Permitted areas. Any business, or group of businesses in full compliance with these zoning regulations, shall be allowed one freestanding off-premise directional sign at one entrance into the development in which the business or group of businesses are located, provided that:
(a) No off-premise directional sign shall be spaced closer than 400 feet from another off premise directional sign;
(b) Location of the off-premise directional sign must be within 300 feet from the closest boundary of the Business Zone in which the business is located;
(c) No off-premise directional sign shall be placed so as to obstruct the line of sight to or from public streets or private ways. Acceptable site distance shall be determined by the Planning Commission for each off premise sign; and
(d) No off premise directional sign may be located across any intersection from the business as shown in figure 153.172 i.
Figure 153.172 i
(2) Maximum area. The total area of the sign face for each side of the off premise directional sign shall not exceed 135 square feet and meet the size requirements as shown in Figure 153.172 ii.
(3) Maximum height of sign. The maximum height of the off premise directional sign shall not exceed 20 feet above the average ground level at the base of the sign.
Figure 153.172 ii
(4) Maintenance and easement. No off-premise directional sign shall be permitted before first having established an easement by plat or ownership of the property where the sign is to be located or by fee simple absolute for the purpose of location of the sign. Any easement must include provisions for the maintenance, landscaping, and removal of the sign.
(5) Content of off-premise directional sign. Any off-premise directional sign may carry the name, or a combination of names, of the major enterprise(s) or firm(s) located within the Business Zone. The content shall not exceed the maximum total allowable sign face of 135 square feet for each sign face.
(6) Illumination. Signs may be illuminated provided such illumination shall be effectively shielded so as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any travel way, or which are of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or which otherwise interfere with any driver’s operation of a motor vehicle. No sign shall be so illuminated that it interferes with the effectiveness of or obscures an official traffic sign, device, or signal.
(7) Sign plan required.
(a) No building permit for an off-premise sign may be issued without there having been approved an agreement between the affected property owners providing for the ongoing maintenance, landscaping, and removal of the sign, construction standards and plan for locating the on premise and off premise signs. Any such agreement shall be in a form to be recorded in the office of the Allen County Clerk and shall contain provisions requiring it to run with the land for all purposes. Any such agreement shall contain a provision that it cannot be amended or repealed without the prior approval of the Planning Commission.
(b) In lieu of an agreement described in the preceding division (C)(7), a detailed development plan shall be approved by the Planning Commission setting forth acceptable provisions for the maintenance, landscaping, and removal of the sign, construction standards and plan for locating the on-premise and off-premise signs.
(c) As an effort to minimize the number of off-premise directional signs, the recorded agreement as stated in division (C)(1) above must include the following: provisions for the addition of other businesses within the Business Zone or within reasonable distance of the Business Zone; contact person responsible for maintenance and addition of new businesses; and terms and conditions, include price, for addition to and removal of new business names.
(D) Permits required. All off-premise signs maintained, erected, placed, posted, attached, painted, or otherwise made visible from an adjacent property or right-of-way, except as otherwise prohibited, exempted, or not requiring a permit by this section, shall require a sign permit. Any sign that is erected or maintained without a required permit shall be in violation of this section.
(E) Signs exempt from this off-premises sign section. The following signs are exempt from this section:
(1) Signs of a governmental body, including traffic warning or regulatory signs and devices. These signs shall also include other governmental signs including building identification, directional, informational, and welcome signs.
(2) Trade names and graphics which are located on newspaper, soft drink, and similar vending devices.
(3) Flags or insignia of any governmental on nonprofit organization when not displayed as advertising devise.
(4) Decorations associated with a national or religions holiday.
(5) Warning or danger signs.
(6) Commemorative tablets, markers, or monuments erected by or with the permission of the Scottsville-Allen County Planning Commission.
(7) Signs on vehicles indicating the name of a business, when the vehicle is not intended to be used for a display of signs.
(8) Signs required by law, statute or ordinance.
(9) Off-premises yard sale directional signs and off-premises real estate directional signs.
(F) Signs prohibited. The following off-premise signs are prohibited within the jurisdiction of this section in the city:
(1) Any nongovernmental sign which resembles a public safety warning or traffic sign.
(2) Signs, whether temporary or permanent, within any street or highway right-of-way, with the exception of those signs approved by the government with road maintenance responsibility.
(3) Any sign which obstructs ingress or egress, creates an unsafe distraction for motorists, or obstructs the view of motorists entering a public road or highway.
(4) Signs which incorporate any direct illumination, flashing or blinking lights or signs with moving parts or parts which simulate movement.
(5) Signs located on or attached to the roof of a structure.
(6) Signs which are erected or maintained upon trees or painted or drawn upon rocks or other natural features.
(7) Off-premise signs located on utility poles owned by utility companies.
(8) Signs exempt from permit requirements but subject to section provisions.
(G) Off-premise directional signs. Each nonprofit organization within the city shall be allowed off-premise directional nonprofit signage that shall conform to the standards and provisions of this section and other applicable provisions of this subchapter. A nonprofit sign permit is required. Any off-premise nonprofit directional sign which does not meet the provisions of this section or other applicable parts of this subchapter shall be considered in violation of this section.
(1) The sign shall not exceed four square feet in area per sign face, one sign face per directional flow of traffic, no more than two sign faces per sign structure, and a maximum height of six feet.
(2) Not more than two off-premise directional signs shall be permitted for each organization and each sign must direct traffic from two different directions.
(H) Regulation of off-premise advertising signs. Off-premise advertising signs are not permitted in any zone.
(I) Sign maintenance; maintenance provisions.
(1) All off-premise advertising and off-premise directional signs, supports, braces, poles, wires and other appurtenances of signs or sign structures shall be kept in good repair, maintained in safe condition, and shall conform to the standards in this section.
(2) Maintenance carried out in accordance with this section and not the result of damage or destruction shall not require a sign permit, provided the sign is not enlarged, moved or altered in any manner which would create or increase a nonconforming condition.
(a) An off-premise sign shall be in a state of disrepair when more than 20% of its total surface area is covered with disfigured, cracked, ripped or peeling paint or poster paper, or any combination of these conditions. Any sign in a state of disrepair shall be considered in violation of this section.
(b) No off-premise sign shall be allowed to stand with bent or broken sign facing, broken support, loose appendages or struts which causes the sign to stand more than 15 degrees from the perpendicular.
(c) No off-premise sign or sign structure shall be allowed to have weeds, vines or other vegetation growing on it and obscuring it from the street or highway from which it is intended to be viewed.
(d) No illuminated off-premise sign shall be allowed to operate with partial illumination.
(e) Any off-premise advertising sign or off-premise directional sign which violates the maintenance provisions listed above shall be in violation of this section and shall be repaired or removed as required by the applicable sections of this section.
(J) Permits, fees and nonconforming signs.
(1) Permits. No new or existing off-premise sign, except as otherwise exempted in this section shall be maintained, located or erected on any property within the jurisdiction of this section unless a sign permit is issued for the work. Sign permits shall be issued by the Building Inspector or by the county official designated by the city by appropriate resolution from time to time. If a sign permit is denied, the decision may be appealed to the Scottsville-Allen County Board of Adjustment within 30 days of the decision.
(2) Permit application. No permit shall be issued until an application has been completed for each separate off-premise sign structure and until that application has been submitted to the Building Inspector or to the official designated by the city by appropriate resolution from time to time and unless or until such resolution has been duly adopted the same shall be submitted to the Building Inspector along with the required initial permit fee. Applications shall be required for the initial issuance of a permit but shall not be required for the annual renewal fee required by this section. The permit shall be valid until revoked by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city, if applicable. Owners of all existing sign structures regulated by this section shall be required to obtain a sign permit. Applications for a sign permit for an existing off-premise advertising sign structure shall be obtained from the Building Inspector or from the official designated by the city by appropriate resolution from time to time. An annual record renewal fee shall be paid by the owner of each off-premise advertising sign structure. Instructions for completing and processing the application and paying the required fees are included on the permit form.
(3) Permit fees. An initial fee and annual renewal fees are required to be paid by the owners of each off-premise sign structure in order to defray the costs of the administration, inspection and enforcement expenses incurred by the city or designee in administering the permit procedures. The fee schedules shall be determined by the city.
(4) Permit and permit emblem. A permit along with a permit emblem shall be issued upon proper application, approval, and the payment of fees for lawful off-premise sign structures. The erection of new sign structures shall not commence until a permit and emblem have been issued. The sign structure must be completely constructed and erected with the permit emblem affixed within 180 days from the date of issuance of the permit. During the 180-day period, the new sign structure shall be considered in existence for the purpose of adjacent signs as set out in the appropriate rules and regulations of this section. The permit emblem, which will have an identifying number, shall be placed on the off-premise sign structure in such a position as to be visible from the main traveled roadway of the adjacent highway.
(5) Registering existing off-premise signs. The owners of all existing off-premise sign structures constructed and in place prior to December 10, 2007, shall be required to obtain a permit by the procedures set forth in this section and affix permit emblem within 30 days after issuance of the permit unless exempt per this section. The permit shall be obtained within a period of 180 days beginning with the effective date of this section. All existing signs that require a permit that have not been registered within the 180 days shall be in violation of the provisions of this section and subject to penalties provided in § 153.231(B), as amended. If the existence of a sign erected prior to December 10, 2007 is questioned, the issue will be determined by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable. The sign owner or any city resident may appeal the decision of the Building Inspector or official within 30 days of the Building Inspector’s decision or the decision of the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, to the Scottsville-Allen County Board of Adjustment. The appeals process shall follow the procedures in division (K)(3) below. Any sign determined not to have been erected prior to the sign ordinance shall be removed at the owner’s expense.
(6) Transfer of permit. The transfer of ownership of an off-premise sign structure for which a permit has been lawfully issued to the original owner shall not in any way affect the validity of the permit for that specific structure, provided that the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the City pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, is given notice of the transfer of ownership within 30 days of the actual transfer.
(7) Revocation of permit. Any valid permit issued for a lawful off premise sign structure shall be revoked by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, for any one of the following reasons:
(a) Mistake of material facts by the issuing authority for which had the correct facts been made known, the sign permit in question would not have been issued.
(b) Misrepresentation of material facts by the applicant on the application for permit for sign.
(c) Failure to pay annual fees.
(d) Failure to construct sign structure and affix the permanent emblem within 180 days from the date of issuance of permit.
(e) Any alteration of a sign structure for which permit has been previously been issued which would cause that sign structure to fail to comply with the provisions of this section and the rules and regulations promulgated by the city pursuant thereto.
(f) Failure to maintain a sign such that it remains blank for a period of 12 consecutive months.
(g) Failure to maintain a sign such that it reaches a state of dilapidation or disrepair as determined by the Building Inspector or official as designated by the city.
(h) Making repairs to a nonconforming sign which exceed 50% of the initial cost of the sign. Total repairs within any 24 consecutive months may not exceed 50% of the initial cost of the sign. To ensure compliance under this section, the advertiser should contact the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, prior to making any repairs to discuss the scope of the proposed improvements. The scope of the improvements is limited to the following: repairing the sign or sign structure, replacing broken components or other work to keep the sign safe and in good repair.
(i) Notice given for refusing to issue permit. Should the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, determine that a proposed off-premise sign structure would not conform to the standards of outdoor advertising as set out in this subchapter or the rules and regulations promulgated thereto by the city, the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall refuse to issue a permit for that proposed sign structure when such noncompliance of this subchapter has been determined, the Building Inspector shall so notify the owner of the proposed sign structure in question by registered mail, return receipt requested, in the form of a letter setting forth the reasons why the proposed sign structure in question does not comply, and shall also return the application and 75% of the application fee to the applicant.
(j) Nonconforming signs. Any off-premise sign which becomes a legal nonconforming sign as herein defined may continue to exist provided that no nonconforming off-premise sign shall be:
1. Changed or replaced with another nonconforming sign, except that copy may be changed on an existing sign.
2. Expanded.
3. Relocated, except in conformance with the requirements of this section.
4. Reestablished after damage or destruction in excess of 50% of the value as herein defined at the time of the damage or destruction.
5. Modified in any way which increases the sign’s degree of nonconformity.
6. Reestablished after the sign structure has been removed or remains vacant longer than 12 months.
(k) Reconstruction of damaged off-premise signs or sign structure. Any conforming off-premise sign or sign structure which has been damaged may be replaced and used as before, provided all repairs are initiated within 30 days and completed with 60 days of such damage however, if the sign should be declared unsafe by the Building Inspector or the appropriate county official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, the owner of the sign or the owner of record of real property whereon the sign is located, shall immediately correct all unsafe conditions in a manner satisfactory to the Building Inspector or the appropriate county official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable.
(K) Administration, enforcement, appeals.
(1) Administration. Violation of the provisions of this section shall be enforceable as sat forth below:
(a) Violation notice. The Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall have the authority to issue a violation notice for any violation of this section. A violation notice shall be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by such other method as allowed by law, to the owner of the off-premise sign in violation of this section. Whenever the owner of the sign cannot be located and notified, said notice shall be delivered to the owner of record of the real property whereon the sign is located. The time period provided herein shall commence upon receipt of such violation notice. The violation notice shall identify the sign and shall describe the nature of the violation, refer to the section of this section violated, and specify in detail what action must be taken to correct the violation.
(b) Time to remedy violation. All violations shall be remedied within 30 days. The 30-day period shall commence upon the service of the violation notice as set forth above.
(c) Extension of time for compliance. The Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall have the authority to grant a single 30-day extension of time within which to remedy the violation. The single extension of time may be issued based upon a written request for an extension of time which sets forth valid reasons for not complying with the original 30-day time period.
(d) Remedies for failure to comply. Pursuant to §§ 153.230 through 153.232, the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, in consultation with the City Attorney, may choose from the remedies set forth below to enforce the requirements of this section when there is a failure to comply with the violation notice. Those remedies are as follows:
1. In addition to or in lieu of the other remedies set forth in this section, the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall have the authority to issue a remove order for any sign or sign structure not corrected within the time allotted under the violation notice, or for a prohibited sign as established by this section.
2. Remove order shall be delivered to the sign owner or to the owner of record of the real property whereon the off premise sign is located in the same manner as set out for a violation notice and shall not be effective until received. The recipient of the remove order shall be allowed 30 days after receipt of the remove order within which to remove the subject sign at his or her expense. The remove order shall identify the sign and the reasons for the issuance of the remove order and shall refer to the section of this section violated.
3. In the event the offender does not pay the penalty within ten days of service of the citation, the civil penalty shall be collected by the county in a civil action in the nature of the debt.
4. The violation of this section shall be as provided in § 153.231(B).
5. In addition to or in lieu of the other remedies set forth in this section, the city attorney may seek injunctive relief in the appropriate court.
(2) Removal of dangerous signs. The Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall have the authority to issue an unsafe notice should the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, find that any off-premise sign has become insecure or in danger of falling or otherwise unsafe. An unsafe notice shall be delivered to the sign owner or to the owner of record of the real property whereon the sign is located in the same manner as set out for a violation notice except that the recipient of the notice shall forth with in the case of immediate danger and in any case within ten days of receipt, secure the sign in such a manner to be approved by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, shall remove such sign at the expense of the recipient of the notice.
(3) Appeals. Violation notices and remove orders issued by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, may be appealed to the Scottsville-Allen County Board of Adjustment within 30 days of receipt thereof rending appeal, the time limits set out in the notice or order shall be suspended. If the Board of Adjustment finds that the action of the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable, has been taken for good cause and in accordance with the terms of this section, it shall so find and the time period for compliance shall run from the issuance of that Board’s finding. If the Board of Adjustment sustains the appeal of the petitioner, no further action will be taken by the Building Inspector or the appropriate official designated by the city pursuant to resolution duly hereafter adopted, if applicable.
(L) Legal status provisions.
(1) Conflict with other laws. Wherever the regulations of this section impose more restrictive standards than are required in or under any other statutes, the requirements of this section shall govern. Whenever the provisions of any other statute require more restrictive standards than are required by this section, the provisions of such statute shall govern.
(2) Separability. Should any section or provision of this section by declared invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration shall not affect the validity of this section as a whole or any part thereof which is not specifically declared to be invalid or unconstitutional.
(Ord. 743-07, passed 12-10-2007)