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(a) Non-residential Use. Any non-conforming non-residential use within any Agricultural, Agricultural-Residential, Residential, or Office-Residential District shall be permitted one (1) square foot of sign area for each two hundred fifty (250) square feet of lot area used for said nonconforming use.
(b) Residential Use. Any non-conforming residential use in an Agricultural, Agricultural-Residential, Residential, or Office-Residential District or any non-conforming residential use in a Business, Industrial, or Wellhead Operation District shall be permitted signs as regulated in that district.
(Ord. 7-2009. Passed 2-2-09.)
The following procedures shall govern the application for and the issuance of sign permits for all permanent and temporary signs allowed under this Sign Code:
(a) Owner or Agent to Secure Sign Permit. If a sign heretofore permitted by this Sign Code, is to be placed, constructed, erected, or modified on a zoning lot, the owner of such lot shall secure a sign permit prior to such construction, placement, erection, or modification of such sign. Sign permits shall be issued for individual zoning lots. The property owner shall maintain in force, at all times, a sign permit for such sign.
(b) Applications. All applications for sign permits of any kind shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator on an application form provided by the City of Troy. An application for construction, creation, or installation of a new sign or for modification of an existing sign shall be accompanied by detailed drawings to show the dimensions, design, structure, and location of each particular sign. Each type of sign shall be on separate applications. At time of application, an approved Occupancy Permit must be on file with the City of Troy for any new business or for an existing business which has moved to a new location.
(c) Fees. Each application for an individual sign permit shall be accompanied by the applicable fees, which shall be established by the Troy City Council from time to time by resolution.
(d) Completeness. Within ten (10) days of receiving an application for a sign permit, the Zoning Administrator shall review it for completeness. If the Zoning Administrator finds that it is complete, the application shall then be processed. If the Zoning Administrator finds that it is incomplete, the Zoning Administrator shall notify the applicant of the reasons the application was deemed incomplete.
(e) Action. Within twenty (20) days of the submission of a complete application for a sign permit, the Zoning Administrator shall either:
(1) Issue the sign permit, if the sign conforms in every respect with the requirements of this Sign Code; or
(2) Reject the sign permit if such sign fails in any way to conform to the requirements of this Sign Code. In case of rejection, the Zoning Administrator shall specify the section or sections of the Sign Code with which the sign application is inconsistent.
(3) If the Zoning Administrator rejects the sign permit, the applicant may appeal the rejection to the Board of Zoning Appeals pursuant to the Zoning Code.
(f) Building Permit. After obtaining a sign permit from the City, the owner or agent shall contact the Miami County Building Regulations Department to apply for and obtain all necessary building permits for the sign construction or installation.
(g) Inspections. The Zoning Administrator is authorized to make inspections to determine conformance with the provisions of this Sign Code and the compliance with orders issued pursuant to this section.
(Ord. 7-2009. Passed 2-2-09.)
(a) Provisions for Continuance. Any non-conforming sign may continue. However, such non-conforming sign shall lose its non-conforming status and must be brought into compliance with this Sign Code or be removed if any of the following occur:
(1) The sign is altered in any way in structure or size.
(2) The sign is relocated.
(3) The sign is replaced.
(4) The sign becomes an obsolete sign for more than one hundred eighty-three (183) days.
(5) The sign is damaged to an extent of greater than fifty percent (50%) of the estimated replacement value.
(6) The sign creates a hazard to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
(b) Illegal Signs Not Non-conforming Signs. Any sign not lawfully existing prior to the enactment of this Sign Code and which could not be erected in accordance with the provisions of this Sign Code shall not be deemed to attain any legal status by the enactment of this Sign Code.
(Ord. 7-2009. Passed 2-2-09.)
(a) Removal of Obsolete Signs. Thirty (30) days after becoming an obsolete sign, the face of the sign shall be removed or reversed. Six (6) months after becoming an obsolete sign, all obsolete signs shall be taken down and removed, including all legible parts of the sign structure, or in the case of painted wall signs, painted over to obliterate the obsolete message. This shall be accomplished by the owner of the property upon which such sign is located. After written citation and notice from the Zoning Administrator, and failure by such sign owner or property owner to comply with such notice within fourteen (14) days, the Zoning Administrator is authorized to cause removal of the sign and/or sign structure, and any expense incident thereto shall be paid by the owner of the property upon which such sign is located.
(b) Unsafe or Illegal Signs. If the Zoning Administrator or designee finds that any sign or structure regulated herein is unsafe or illegal, written notice or citation shall be given to the owner of the property upon which the sign is located, noting such violation of this Sign Code and time specified to remedy such violation. If the property owner fails to remove the sign, repair the sign, or obtain required permits so as to comply with the requirements set forth in the citation or notice, the Zoning Administrator is authorized to cause removal of the sign and any expense incidental thereto shall be paid by the owner of the property upon which the sign is located. Each day such violation or failure to comply is continued after notification thereof shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) Temporary Signs with Lapsed Permits. All temporary signs that were constructed, painted, installed, or maintained in conformance with a temporary sign permit under this Sign Code, and such permit has lapsed and has not been renewed, shall be forthwith removed by the owner of the property on which such sign is located. Upon failure of the owner to remove such signs, the Zoning Administrator may cause removal of such signs after issuing forty-eight (48) hour notice to such owner and any expense incident thereto shall be paid by the owner of the property upon which such sign is located.
(d) Signs with No Permits. Except as otherwise provided herein, the owner of any zoning lot or other premises on which exists a sign for which there is no valid sign permit shall be obligated to remove such sign or bring it into conformity with the requirements of this Sign Code. (Ord. 7-2009. Passed 2-2-09.)
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have authority to hear appeals and consider variance applications as provided under Chapter 1137 of the Zoning Code. The affirmative vote of four (4) members shall be required to sustain an appeal. The affirmative vote of four (4) members shall be required to approve a variance.
(a) A variance for location of the sign only, may be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) where the strict interpretation of this chapter would create an unusual and unnecessary hardship on the property owner or occupant due to the unique location or physical characteristics of the property, if such variance would not adversely affect the public interest in any substantial manner, and if the relevant physical characteristics of the property were not caused by a current or previous owner or occupant.
(b) The BZA shall not have the authority to approve any sign with a message area exceeding that permitted by this chapter, or to permit the total message area to exceed the allowable message area permitted by this chapter. Only changes to the placement or location of a sign shall be granted by the BZA.
(c) In the event that a sign is established in violation of any provision of this chapter, no application for a variance allowing such sign shall be accepted, processed or reviewed by the BZA while the illegal sign remains in place.
(d) Following disapproval by the BZA of an application or request for variance, no subsequent application requesting the same variance shall be filed by the applicant, whether or not the same person, firm or corporation, until the expiration of twelve (12) months after disapproval.
(e) Applications for variances shall bear a nonrefundable fee in the amount established on the City's fee schedule for zoning variances.
(f) Although these sign regulations are business regulations and not zoning regulations, the notice and hearing procedures provided by Ohio law for zoning variances shall be utilized for sign variances under this chapter.
(Ord. 7-2009. Passed 2-2-09.)
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