For the purposes of this article, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this article are defined as follows:
“Advertising display” shall mean any sign, device, or contrivance, and all parts thereof, which is used to advertise products, goods, services, or activities or otherwise promote the sale of objects or identify objects for the sale thereof.
“Animated sign” shall mean any sign that moves, or any portion of which moves, revolves, or rotates in any manner.
“Announcement sign” shall mean a sign erected, displayed, and used to proclaim, state, or declare the future construction of a building project on the subject property upon the approval of a development permit for that project.
“Area of a sign” shall mean and be computed as the entire area within a single continuous perimeter of not more than eight (8) straight lines enclosing the extreme limits of writing, representation, emblem, logo, or any figure of similar character, together with any material or color forming an integral part or background of the display or used to differentiate such sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed. Only one face of a double-faced sign shall be considered in determining sign area provided both sides are of essentially similar design and not more than twenty-four (24") inches apart. The supports, uprights, structures, or extraneous design features of a sign shall not be included in determining the sign area unless they are designed in such a manner as to form an integral part or background of the display.
“Balloon” shall mean an inflated sphere or ball shape commonly made out of rubber, mylar, canvas or nylon material.
“Banner” shall mean a strip of cloth, plastic or paper upon which a sign or message is painted or printed.
“Billboard” shall mean the same as “off-site freestanding sign.”
“Building frontage” shall mean those frontages which face upon a public or private street or parking area between such building and the street. Where a building faces two (2) or more streets, the frontage containing the principal entrance to the building shall be designated as the building frontage.
“Business directory sign” shall mean a freestanding sign containing the name of the shopping center on which the sign is located and the names of the separate businesses also located within that center.
“Changeable copy sign” shall mean a sign which is characterized by changeable copy, including a painted sign, regardless of the method of attachment.
“Community” shall mean a physical entity of common interests, including residential subdivisions or neighborhoods and industrial parks.
“Construction sign” shall mean a sign stating the names of the individuals or firms directly connected with the construction project. Such sign may include the name of the City in which the business is located and emergency telephone numbers.
“Directional sign,” except a “subdivision directional sign” as defined in this section, shall mean a sign which only contains any of the following words: “entrance,” “enter,” “exit,” “in,”
“out,” or other similar words, or a sign containing arrows or other characters indicating traffic directions and used either in conjunction with such words or separately. No directional sign shall contain any advertising or trade name identification.
“Eave” shall mean that portion of the roof line extending beyond the building wall or canopy attachment on the wall having the simulated appearance of an eave.
“Flag” shall mean a rectangular-shaped piece of cloth having a distinctive symbol or design.
“Flashing sign” shall mean any sign which contains or is illuminated by lights which are intermittently on and off, which change in intensity, or which create the illusion of flashing in any manner.
“Foot lambert” shall mean a quantitative unit for measuring brightness equal to one lumen per square foot.
“Freestanding sign” shall mean a sign for which a building permit has been issued and is permanently supported by one or more uprights, braces, poles, or other similar structural components when utilizing earth, rock, the ground, or any foundation set in the ground as a primary holding base. Such signs which project through a roof projection or canopy, around which there are no enclosing walls, and “monument signs,” as defined in this section, shall be considered freestanding signs.
“Height of sign” shall mean the vertical distance from the average surface grade immediately surrounding the base of the sign to the top of its highest element, including any structural element.
“Illuminated sign” shall mean any sign for which a source of light is used in order to make readable the message. This definition shall include internally and externally lighted signs and reflectorized, glowing, or radiating signs.
“Lumens” shall mean a quantitative unit for measuring light output or intensity and as a relationship between candelas, lumens, and footcandles (luminous intensity or candlepower = one candela).
“Marquee” shall mean a permanent shelter used only as a roof and supported by the main building and projecting in whole or in part over the building line or public property.
“Marquee sign” shall mean a sign attached to or hung from a marquee.
“Menu board” shall mean a sign displaying the menu of a drive-through restaurant where customers place their food and drink orders while seated in vehicles in drive-through service lanes.
“Monument sign” shall mean a low-profile freestanding sign incorporating the design and building materials accenting the architectural theme of the buildings on the same property. All such signs shall be subject to the provisions of Article 18 (Design Review: Requirements and Procedure) of this chapter.
“Off-site sign” shall mean a sign which displays commercial or noncommercial messages related to property, goods, services not found on or related to the property upon which the sign is located.
“On-site sign” shall mean a sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service, industry, or other activity which is sold, offered, or conducted on the premises upon which such sign is located or to which it is affixed. Not more than twenty (20%) percent of the total allowable on-site sign area shall be devoted to the advertising of a standard namebrand commodity or service which is not the exclusive commodity or service being sold or rendered on the premises or a part of the name of the business concern involved. A parcel of record having an access easement as its only street frontage may place its on-site sign on such easement.
“Order board” shall mean a sign associated with a drive-through restaurant, other than a menu board, where customers seated in vehicles in drive-through service lanes communicate with an attendant to place their food and drink orders.
“Parcel of record” or “property” shall mean any separate parcel of property as shown on the latest available assessor’s maps; provided, however, when a shopping center has been divided into separate parcels, it shall continue to be considered as one parcel of record; and provided, further, where one tenant, business, or enterprise occupies two (2) or more contiguous parcels, it shall be considered as one parcel of record.
“Pennant” shall mean a triangular or tapered-to-a-point shaped piece of cloth, plastic or paper used for identification or signaling.
“Permanent sign” shall mean a sign intended to be erected and maintained for a period of time in excess of thirty (30) days.
“Portable, moveable, or temporary sign” shall mean any sign for which a building permit has not been issued, and which is not permanently affixed or erected in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 9 of Title 8 of this Code, or any sign which is intended to be moveable or capable of being moved from place to place, whether or not wheels or other special supports are provided.
“Political sign” shall mean a sign erected prior to an election to advise or identify a candidate, campaign issue, election proposition, or other related matters.
“Preview board” shall mean a sign displaying the menu of a drive-through restaurant where customers seated in vehicles in drive-through service lanes preview the menu before pulling up to a menu board.
“Projecting sign” shall mean any sign which projects more than twelve (12") inches from the wall of a building.
“Real estate sign” shall mean a sign which advertises the sale, rental or lease of the property or a portion thereof.
“Rider” shall mean an attachment to a sign that is not an integral part of the display panel of the sign.
“Roof” shall mean the cover of any building and shall include the eaves and similar projections. Elevators or equipment housing, penthouses, or similar structures shall not be considered in determining the roof location unless they comprise more than sixty (60%) percent of the roof area.
“Roof sign” shall mean any sign erected, constructed, or placed upon or over a roof or parapet wall of a building and which is wholly or partly supported by such building.
“Sale” shall mean the act of transferring the ownership and title to property from one person to another.
“Sign” shall include, without limitation thereto, all outdoor advertising on any card, cloth, paper, paint, plastic, metal, painted glass, or wooden or stone material, and any and all devices, structural and otherwise, lighted or unlighted, painted or not painted, attached to, made a part of, or placed in the window of, or in the front, rear, sides, or top of any structure on any land or any rock, bush, wall, tree, post, fence, building, or structure and visible from any public or private street, way, thoroughfare, alley, or wall, which device in any manner, or by any means, whether enumerated in this subsection or not, announces or directs attention to the name, nature, merits, availability, price, or type of goods, services, or products produced, sold, stored, furnished, or available at that location or at any other location, including signs specifically for the sale of real property, and includes all parts, portions, units, and materials composing the same, together with the frame, background, structure, support, and anchorage therefor, as the case may be, but does not include official notices issued by any court (or public body) or officer or directional warning or information signs or structures required by or authorized by law or by Federal, State, County, or City authority. The term “placed,” as used in this section, shall include erected, projected, constructed, posted, painted, printed, tacked, glued, stuck, carved, or otherwise fastened, fixed, or made visible in any manner whatsoever.
“Shopping center” shall mean commercial retail buildings and associated facilities which have been designed and developed together as an integrated unit using modern site planning techniques as defined in Sections 9-4.1200, 9-4.1400, and 9-4.1500 of this chapter for the C-1, C-3 and C-4 Zones, respectively. In the C-2 Zone, a shopping center shall mean a group of four (4) or more businesses which function as an integral unit on a single parcel or separate parcels and which businesses utilize common off-street parking or access.
“Street frontage” shall mean the linear frontage of a parcel of record on a private or public street providing its principal access or visibility. When a parcel is served by an easement, only the frontage of that easement may be computed as street frontage.
“Subdivision” shall mean improved or unimproved land or lands divided, or proposed to be divided, for the purpose of sale or lease or financing into five (5) or more lots or parcels and having a tract number issued by the office of the County Recorder.
“Subdivision directional sign” shall mean any sign which informs the viewer as to the route or change of direction of travel in order to arrive at the land development project. This type of sign may only display necessary travel directions, the name of the land development project, any characteristic trademark, insignia, or similar device of the developer, and any identifying material as required by these regulations.
“Under-canopy sign” shall mean any lighted or unlighted display attached to the underside of a projecting canopy or marquee protruding over public or private sidewalks or rights-of-way and having the required ground clearance as otherwise required in this article.
"Way-finder sign" shall mean an off-site sign designed and constructed solely for the purpose of providing direction to one or more destinations.
“Window sign” shall mean any sign painted, attached, glued, or otherwise affixed to a window and designed to be viewed from adjoining streets, malls, or parking lots.
(§ I, Ord. 248-NS, eff. January 6, 1972, as amended by §§ I and II, Ord. 423-NS, eff. February 14, 1974, as amended by Ord. 1130-NS, eff. January 7, 1992, § 1, Ord. 1218-NS, eff. September 27, 1994, § 1, Ord. 1321-NS, eff. June 18, 1998, § IV, Ord. 1477-NS, eff. June 14, 2007 and § 3, Ord. 1551- NS, eff. February 10, 2011)