For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABANDONED SIGN. A sign associated with an abandoned use, a sign that remains after the termination of the business, or a sign on its immediate premises not adequately maintained and not repaired within the specified time.
ADVERTISING SIGN. A sign which directs attention to goods, services, or entertainment, sold or offered on the premises. This includes free-standing, wall mounted, projection or incidental signs.
ANIMATED SIGN. Any sign that uses movement or change of artificial and natural lighting or noise to depict action or create a special effect or scene.
AREA OF SIGN. The surface of a sign to be included when computing maximum allowable square footage. The area includes molding and framing but excludes supporting members. Planters or other decorative supporting structures shall not be included in the computation of signage unless they exceed 24 inches in height or eight feet in length in which case the entire structure shall be included in the computation of sign area. For wall mounted signs which consist of individually mounted letters, numbers or other symbols on a fascia or wall, the area of sign shall be the area of a rectangle circumscribed around the letters, numbers or other symbols.
AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM). A pedestrian-oriented machine used by bank and financial service patrons for conducting transactions including deposits, fund transfers, and withdrawals without contact with financial institution personnel. The machines may be located at or within a bank, or in other locations.
AWNING SIGN. Canopy or marquee - a sign that is mounted on or painted on or attached to an awning, canopy or marquee.
BANNER. A non-rigid cloth, plastic, paper, or canvas sign typically related to a special event or promotion, that is cultural, educational, charitable, or recreational in its function, under the sponsorship of a for-profit establishment or business, or a public, private nonprofit, or religious organization.
BENCH SIGN. Any sign painted on, located on, or attached to any part of the surface of a bench, seat, or chair placed on or adjacent to a public roadway.
BILLBOARD. An off-premise sign directing attention to a specific business, product, service, entertainment or other activity sold, offered, or conducted off-site.
BULLETIN BOARD. A sign not exceeding 15 square feet typically with a changeable copy used to identify events for public and semi-public uses.
BUSINESS SIGN. A sign which directs attention to a business, profession, service, product or activity sold or offered upon the premises where such sign is located.
CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN. A sign or portion thereof with characters, letters, or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged by mechanical, electronic or manual means without altering the face or surface of the sign.
CHANNEL LETTERS. The outline of a letter, border, or similar object with a vertical side wall to confine the lighting on the face either to restrict vision at an angle or to prevent light spillage over adjacent areas.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY/SPECIAL EVENT. An activity or event that is open to the general public, utilizes city facilities or services, and sponsored by a public, private nonprofit or religious organization that is educational, cultural, or recreational in function. Charitable events sponsored by for-profit organizations are also considered community activities. Examples of a community activity are a school play or a church fair. A special event is educational, cultural or recreational in function. Such events must be coordinated through the city.
COMMUNITY GATEWAY SIGN. A non-commercial, civic oriented sign or architectural/gateway monument that may contain a salutation (e.g. "WELCOME TO ..."), the name of a community (e.g. "SILVERTON"), community meetings and events (e.g. "CITY COUNCIL MEETING") and/or a short slogan (e.g. "A FRONT PORCH COMMUNITY"); and which may include ground-mounted and/or electronic LED signs. The installation of community gateway signs shall be a right solely reserved to the city.
CONSTRUCTION SIGN. A sign advertising the development or improvement of a property by a builder, contractor, or other person furnishing services, material or labor to said premises, which sign is intended for a limited period of display and erected on the same lot as the work being done.
CURB LAWN. See TREE LAWN.
DEVELOPMENT SIGN. A temporary sign indicating such things as the names of the architects, engineers, landscape architects, contractors, or similar artisans, and the owners, financial supporters, sponsors and similar individuals or firms having a role or interest with respect to the development, structure, or project. This includes both private and public projects.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN. A temporary or permanent sign that provides information regarding location, instructions for use, vehicle flow or functional/directional data.
DIRECTORY SIGN. A sign advertising more than one business or listing more than one associate, partner, employee or agent of any business.
DISPLAY SURFACE. The area intended for display of advertising.
DOUBLE FACED SIGN. A sign having two display surfaces.
ELECTRONIC LED (MONOCHROME TEXT AND MULTI-COLOR) SIGN. A sign utilizing a light-emitting diode (LED) display or other technology that allows the sign to display a series of images.
ELECTRONIC SCOREBOARD. An electronically-controlled changeable copy sign used to display scoring information for sporting events. Such signs are located on a sports field.
ENTRY FEATURE SIGN. An on-premises ground-mounted sign that graphically identifies a residential subdivision and/or multi-family development. For commercial properties, see JOINT IDENTIFICATION SIGN.
ESTABLISHED GRADE LINE. The average finished grade for that area of the site where the sign is to be located, provided however that the height of the sign shall not be artificially increased by the use of mounding. All references to sign height are from the established grade line unless otherwise noted.
EXEMPTED SIGNS. Includes public notices by governmental bodies, traffic control signs, and other official signs and notices.
EXTENSION. A wall or other structure which is connected to and extended from a building.
FLAG. Any fabric or bunting containing the officially recognized and adopted colors, patterns, or symbols used as the official symbol of a government, political, or corporate entity.
FLASHING SIGN. Any directly or indirectly illuminated sign that exhibits changing natural or artificial light or color effects by any means whatsoever.
FOR SALE/FOR LEASE SIGN. A sign indicating the sale, rental, or lease of a structure or property.
FREE-STANDING SIGN. Any sign supported upon the ground by a pole, poles or braces and not attached to any building or structure.
GAS INFLATABLE SIGN/DEVICE. Any device which is capable of being expanded by any gas and used on a permanent or temporary basis to attract attention to a product or event. This definition includes both hot- and cold-air balloons tethered or otherwise anchored to the ground.
GOVERNMENTAL SIGN. A sign erected and maintained pursuant to and in discharge of any government functions or required by law, ordinance, or other governmental regulations.
GRANDFATHER CLAUSE. See NON-CONFORMING SIGN.
GROUND MOUNTED SIGN. Any sign which is physically attached to a foundation. These are also commonly known as monument or tombstone signs.
HEIGHT. For the purposes of measuring the height of a sign, the following definition of height shall apply. The height of a sign shall be determined by measuring the vertical distance between the highest point of the sign to the ground elevation at the base of the sign. If mounding was used at the sign base, the ground elevation shall be determined as the average ground elevation of the developed site at the sign base prior to mounding.
HIGH-RISE/HIGHWAY ORIENTED SIGN. An on-premise ground sign located on the parcel as an accessory use to the principal use of the property, and displayed mainly with the objective of attracting interstate highway travelers.
IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign which is limited to the name, address and number of a building, institution or person and to the activity carried on in the building or institution, or the occupancy of the person.
ILLUMINATED SIGN. Any sign lit by or exposed to artificial lighting either by light on or in the sign or directed toward the sign.
INCIDENTAL SIGN. A sign having an above grade height of not more than 24 inches or a total area of not more than eight square feet containing no advertising and typically erected to identify entrances, exits, restrooms, hours of operation, operational instructions, public utility locations, etc.
INFORMATION SIGN. A sign displaying necessary information for the convenience and safety of residents and visitors, and containing no advertising.
INTERIOR SIGN. Signs located within a structure not intended to be seen from the exterior. Signs affixed to a window or the walls enclosing the display area behind a window, which are obviously intended for viewing from the exterior, shall be considered exterior signs.
JOINT IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign that identifies the name, utilizing text, graphics, or other symbols, of a shopping center, office park, industrial park, or other building complex containing two or more uses allowed in addition to the permitted signs of the individual occupants.
LOGO. See PRIMARY IMAGES and SECONDARY IMAGES.
MARQUEE SIGN. Any sign attached to or hung from a marquee. For the purpose of this Zoning Code, a marquee is a covered structure projecting from and supported by the building with independent roof and drainage provisions and which is erected over a doorway or doorways as protection against weather.
MEMORIAL SIGN. A sign, tablet or plaque memorializing a person, event, structure or site.
MONUMENT SIGN. A ground mounted sign attached to a wall or a base with a permanent foundation constructed specifically for the display of the sign. Also see GROUND MOUNTED SIGN.
NAMEPLATE SIGN. A sign designating only the name and address or the name and professional occupation and address of a person or persons residing in or occupying such building or premises.
NONCONFORMING SIGN. A pre-existing legal sign which does not conform to the standards set forth in this Zoning Code.
OFF-PREMISE SIGN. Any sign that is not directly related to the business or profession, or commodity or service sold or offered on the site in which the off-premise sign is located. Yard signs are not considered off-premise signs.
ON-PREMISE SIGN. Any sign related to a business or profession conducted, or a commodity or service sold or offered, upon the premises where such sign is located.
OPEN HOUSE. A temporary public showing of a structure available for sale, rental, or lease.
PENNANT. A flag or banner longer in the fly than in the hoist, usually tapering to a point.
PLANTER SIGN. A ground sign attached to a wall or a base constructed specifically for the display of the sign with the base designed with the capability of holding live plant material.
PERMANENT SIGN. Any permitted or legal nonconforming sign intended to remain in place until a change of occupancy occurs. A permanent sign must be securely attached or installed upon a building, structure, or the ground.
POLE SIGN. See FREESTANDING SIGN.
POLITICAL SIGN. A sign concerning candidates for elective office or public issues.
PORTABLE SIGN. Any sign that is designed to be or capable of being moved or transported, and not permanently affixed or attached to any building, structure, or grounds.
POSTER PANEL SIGN. An advertising structure measuring not more than 12 feet by 25 feet overall on which posters are displayed.
PRIMARY IMAGE. The name of the use or business identified on a sign. The primary image must be in displayed in text.
PRODUCT SIGN. A sign typically located in a window, advertising a product or service offered by a business.
PROJECTED IMAGE. An image projected onto a building, structure, or sign.
PROJECTING SIGNS. A sign that is wholly or partly dependent upon a building for support or suspended from a pole attached to a building. Such signs must be perpendicular to the building face upon which they are attached.
PROMOTIONAL SIGNS. A temporary sign that provides information regarding time, place, and the like of a special event, community activity or similar activity.
RACEWAY. An elongated metal enclosure used to mount individual channel lettering and to conceal related transformers and wiring.
REAL ESTATE SIGN. Any sign advertising the sale, lease, rental or development of real property.
REFACING. Any alteration to the face of a sign involving the replacement of materials or parts. Refacing does not refer to replacing the entire sign structure or the removal of the sign.
ROOF LINE. The uppermost line or point of the facade or parapet of a flat roof structure, or the lower edge of an eve, gable or rake of a sloped roof structure.
ROOF SIGN. Any sign erected on or above the roof line of a building.
SANDWICH BOARD SIGN. A sign with two hinged boards which can be placed on the ground.
SECONDARY IMAGE. Any and all text, graphics, or images displayed on a sign in addition to the name of the use or business, including but not limited to pictorial representations, tag lines, products and phone numbers.
SIGN. A sign is defined as any display that evokes a message including but not limited to any name, number, symbol, identification, description, display, illustration, object, graphic, sign structure, or part thereof, whether permanent or temporary, which is affixed to, painted on, represented directly or indirectly upon, or projected onto a building, structure, lot, or other device, whether mobile or affixed to the ground, and which directs attention to any object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization, or business. A sign may consist of wording, logos or images. This definition includes all signs visible from any public right-of-way or adjacent property, including interior signs oriented towards the exterior facade of any building or structure as well as back-lighted translucent panels or strip lighting affixed to any wall or roof where any such panels or lighting serves to identify and attract attention rather than illuminate space for human activity.
SIGN FACE. The surface intended for the display of information on the sign.
SIGN STRUCTURE. The supporting unit of a sign face, including but not limited to frames, braces and poles.
SIGN SETBACK. The distance from the property line and/or right-of-way line to the nearest part of the applicable building, structure, or sign, measured perpendicularly to the property line and/or right-of-way line.
SINGLE FACE SIGN. A sign having one display surface.
STREAMER. A ribbon-shaped or cord-like rope which may have pennants and/or banners attached and which is stretched or hung between two or more supports.
SUBDIVISION SIGN. A sign advertising the sale or development of subdivision lots, parcels, or tracts and erected upon the property being subdivided and advertised for sale.
TEMPORARY SIGN. A banner, pennant, poster display or illustration which is affixed to or painted upon or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or piece of land and which directs attention to an object, product, place, person, institution, organization, or business and may be constructed of cloth, canvas, plastic sheet, cardboard or other like materials and which is intended to be displayed for a limited period of time.
TREE LAWN. That portion of a public right-of-way lying between the back face of the curb and the leading edge of the sidewalk and/or the back edge of the right-of-way, if no sidewalk is installed.
WALL SIGN. Any sign attached to, painted on, or erected against the inside or outside wall of a building or structure, with the exposed display surface of the sign in a plane parallel to the plane of the building or structure and extending less than 14 inches from the building or structure.
WARNING SIGN. Any sign indicating danger or a situation which is potentially dangerous.
WINDOW SIGN. Any signs, posters, symbols and other types of identification or information about the use or premises directly attached to the window of a building or erected on the inside of the building and visible from any public right-of-way or adjacent property.
YARD SIGN. Any sign display intending to display an expression or a political, religious or personal message, generally temporary in nature.
(Ord. 09-3306, passed 10-15-09; Am. Ord. 11-3334, passed 2-17-11; Am. Ord. 15-3489, passed 12-10-15)