(a) It shall hereafter be unlawful for any person to erect, place, relocate, expand, modify, maintain, or otherwise alter a sign in the Village except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The construction, erection, safety, and maintenance of all signs shall be in accordance with the Ohio Building Code.
(c) Unless otherwise provided, this chapter shall apply to any sign over which the Village has authority to regulate. Additionally, this chapter shall apply to any sign, in any zoning district, that is visible from the public right-of-way or from property other than the property on which the sign is located.
(d) Any sign already established on the effective date of this chapter or future amendment thereto, and which sign is rendered nonconforming by the provisions herein, shall be subject to the nonconforming sign regulations of Section 1121.13.
(e) All signs shall require zoning compliance review unless otherwise exempted below or as specifically stated in other sections of this chapter.
(f) The Mayor shall sign off on all building permits related to any permanent sign that requires a permit pursuant to this chapter.
(g) Zoning Compliance Review Exemptions. The following signs are subject to the requirements of this chapter and are allowed in all districts but do not require any special zoning review but may still be subject to applicable building permits. Additionally, any sign area for these signs do not count toward the sign area allowances specified in this chapter for all other permitted signs.
(1) Signs and/or notices issued by any court, officer, or other person in the performance of a public duty. Any such sign shall be removed no later than seven days after the last day it is required to be displayed;
(2) Signs that are an integral part of the original construction of vending or similar machines, fuel pumps, automated teller machines, or similar devices that are not of a size or design as to be visible from a street or by any person other than those using the machine or device;
(3) Any sign that is located completely inside a building that is not visible from the exterior;
(4) Signs that are located within a stadium, open-air theater, park, arena, or other outdoor use that are not intended to be visible from a public right-of-way or adjacent property and can be viewed only by persons within such stadium, open-air theater, park, arena or other outdoor use;
(5) Sign face changes where the sign structure is designed with interchangeable panels and one of the panels is replaced, provided the sign face change does not alter the total sign structure;
(6) Changes of copy on signs with changeable copy, whether manual or digital;
(8) No more than four flags located on flagpoles or on wall-mounted posts provided that the following shall apply:
A. In the R District, the maximum height of a flag pole shall be 35 feet, with a maximum flag size of forty (40) square feet.
B. For all other zoning districts, the maximum height of flag poles shall not exceed the maximum building height for structures in the subject zoning district. The maximum size of an individual flag attached to a flag pole shall be related to the height of the pole, as established in Table 1121-1 below:
TABLE 1121-1: MAXIMUM FLAG SIZE ON FLAG POLES | |
Flag Pole Height (Feet) | Maximum Sign Area per Flag |
Less than 6.0 | 15 Square Feet |
6.1 to 20.0 | 24 Square Feet |
20.1 to 25.0 | 40 Square Feet |
25.1 to 35.0 | 60 Square Feet |
35.1 to 45.0 | 96 Square Feet |
C. The maximum projection for a wall-mounted flag post is six (6) feet, with a maximum sign area of fifteen (15) square feet per flag.
D. There shall be a maximum of one flag pole permitted on each lot.
E. Flag poles may be subject to building permit regulations.
(9) A single wall sign mounted flush on the facade of an individual dwelling unit that is not illuminated and does not exceed two (2) square feet in area;
(10) Signs that are an integral part of the historic character of a structure that has been designated an official landmark or historic structure by any agency or body of the governments of the United States, State of Ohio, or Lorain County;
(11) Any signs located on umbrellas, seating, or similar patio furniture, provided they are located outside of the right-of-way and comply with any other applicable standards of this chapter;
(12) Any sign on a truck, bus, or other vehicles that are used in the normal course of a business (e.g., deliveries or fleet vehicles for contractors) for transportation (See also Section 1121.03.) or signage required by the State or Federal government;
(13) Signs installed or required by a governmental agency, including Sheffield Village, Lorain County, the State of Ohio, and the United States, including local and regional transit agencies;
(14) Any warning signs or traffic safety signs required by public utility providers;
(15) Hand-held signs not set on or affixed to the ground;
(16) Any address numbers required by Sheffield Village or the U.S. Post Office;
(17) Any signs, including illuminated signs or related decorations erected in observance of religious, national, or state holidays which are not intended to be permanent in nature and which contain no advertising material; and
(18) General maintenance, painting, repainting, cleaning, and other normal maintenance and repair of a sign or any sign structure unless a structural change is made.
(Ord. 2897. Passed 10-23-23.)