1341.01 Purpose.
1341.011 Findings.
1341.02 General regulations.
1341.03 Regulations governing permanent signs.
1341.04 Regulations governing temporary signs.
1341.041 Computations.
1341.05 Regulations governing non-conforming signs.
1341.051 Prohibited signs.
1341.052 Signs exempt from regulation.
1341.06 Administration and enforcement.
1341.07 Permit, variance, appeal and sign removal requirements.
1341.08 Definitions.
1341.09 Maintenance.
1341.10 Non-commercial sign and message substitution.
1341.11 Severability.
1341.99 Penalty.
CROSS REFERENCES
Power to regulate advertising - see Ohio R.C. 715.65
Advertising on State and interstate highways - see Ohio R.C. Ch. 5516
(a) In the interest of promoting the general health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City, as more fully set forth in the following findings, these regulations are herein established to provide for the use, location, size, height and design of signs, in order to ensure that all signs are appropriate to, and compatible with, the character of the associated uses and of the surrounding area.
(b) In establishing these purposes, the City has determined that no sign shall be permitted, erected or maintained as a main or accessory use except in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, unless such sign is exempted from the provisions of this Chapter.
(c) In establishing these purposes, the City has determined that, without adequate regulation and design standards, signs are a nuisance. The number of signs in Union is excessive and is unduly distracting to motorists and pedestrians, creates a traffic hazard, and in some places reduces the effectiveness of signs needed to direct the public. As the appearance of the City is marred by the excessive number of, and oversized and poorly designed, signs, both residential and business property values are adversely affected. Therefore, the number of such distracting signs ought to be reduced and signs permitted should comply with the standards of this Chapter in order to reduce the aforementioned effects.
(d) The signs of least value to the people of Union are those which carry commercial messages other than the advertisement of any product, service, event, person, institution, or business located on the premises where the sign is located.
(e) In view of the foregoing, any sign that does not conform to the regulations of this Chapter, or any subsequent amendment thereto, shall therefore be deemed a public nuisance, and as such, must be abated as provided herein. It is further declared that the regulations contained in this Chapter are the minimum regulations necessary to abate the nuisance and to achieve the purposes of this Chapter.
(f) More specifically, the purposes of these regulations are to:
(1) Promote and maintain vehicular and pedestrian safety;
(2) Enhance and protect the physical appearance of the community;
(3) Promote and maintain attractive, high value residential, retail, commercial and industrial districts, and preserve the scenic and natural beauty of designated areas;
(4) Provide necessary, yet reasonable and appropriate, signage for all residential, institutional and business uses in the community;
(5) Ensure that signs are located and designed to maintain a safe and orderly pedestrian and vehicular environment, and to avoid confusion or hazardous conflict between traffic control signs and devices, and any other permitted sign;
(6) To provide the public with a safe and effective means of locating businesses, services and points of interest within the municipality;
(7) To protect the rights of property owners and occupants to display messages protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the purpose of these regulations include the intention to remove any doubt that it is the public's right to receive and display messages protected by the First Amendment, including, but not limited to, religious, political, economic, social and philosophical messages subject, however, to reasonable regulations to assure safety and minimize visual blight. It is the further purpose of these regulations to affirm that an expedient appeal process exists that addresses these First Amendment concerns;
(8) Provide review procedures that enable and ensure the comprehensive evaluation of a sign's appropriateness to the site, building and surroundings, adherence to these purposes, and consistent enforcement of this Chapter's regulations;
(9) Establish and enforce a reasonable procedure for the eventual removal of legally non-conforming signs; and
(10) Prohibit all signs not expressly permitted by this Chapter.
(Ord. 1559. Passed 4-22-13.)
WHEREAS, throughout the time that the City has administered and maintained a sign ordinance, signs espousing political candidates and causes and expressing individual opinions on matters of public policy have appeared throughout the community; and
WHEREAS, sign regulation in Union is part of a comprehensive program of planning, zoning and building controls; and
WHEREAS, the City retained the law firm of Surdyk, Dowd & Turner Co., L.P.A., and Kevin A. Lantz, Esq., which have expertise in sign regulation to review its ordinance; and
WHEREAS, although the intent and purpose of the sign ordinance remain essentially unchanged, the City Council, on the advice of its Law Director, Mr. Lantz and other advisors, has concluded that it is prudent to revise some sections of the sign ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wants to maintain a strong sign ordinance as part of its comprehensive system of planning, building and land-use controls, but it wants to revise the ordinance to bring it into conformance with recent court decisions shedding further light on the appropriate nature and scope of sign regulations under the Constitution; and
WHEREAS, safety of traffic and pedestrians, the attractiveness of the City and its neighborhoods to its citizens, its businesses and potential businesses are also important considerations to the City Council of Union in amending its sign ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lantz has provided to the City his recommendations for bringing the Union sign regulations into conformance with Constitutional principles, as recently construed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal and state courts in Ohio and such recommendations were incorporated into the ordinance discussed at public meetings of the Union Planning Commission and City Council; and
WHEREAS, based on evidence that Mr. Lantz has presented to the City Council, and based on their personal observations as drivers and passengers, the City Council finds that there is evidence that billboards, hand-held signs bearing commercial messages and other signs distract drivers for at least brief periods of time from their driving tasks and that such distraction may have an effect on traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, although the evidence regarding traffic safety is mixed, City Council members are well aware that the intent of billboard and outdoor advertisers is to attract the attention of drivers, thus distracting them from their driving task and creating an increased risk of accidents; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there is a relationship between traffic and pedestrian safety and the regulation of signs and a particular relationship between traffic safety and large outdoor signs such as billboards; and
WHEREAS, Ohio State Route 48 in Union, which carries more than 12,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for motorists and pedestrians in the downtown area; and
WHEREAS, Phillipsburg-Union Pike in Union, which carries more than 2,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Frederick Pike in Union, which carries more than 4,000 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Old Springfield Road in Union, which carries more than 3,500 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, Martindale Road in Union, which carries more than 3,700 vehicles per day through the City, creates a potentially dangerous situation for other motorists and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, commercial and industrial activity focused around Ohio State Route 48, Old Springfield Road, Dog Leg Pike, Jackson Road, Frederick Pike and in the vicinity of the Dayton International Airport, creates a significant demand for commercial advertising; a demand that the City must balance with its goal of maintaining local traffic conditions that are safe for drivers and pedestrians alike; and
WHEREAS, for all of these reasons, the City Council finds that it is both necessary and appropriate as part of its overall Comprehensive Plan and land use and building code provisions designed to preserve and protect the public health, safety and welfare in the physical development of the community to adopt the following amendments to the provisions of the Building Code affecting signs; and
WHEREAS, Planning Commission Members and the public held Study Sessions on October 2, 2012, November 7, 2012, December 4, 2012 and February 5, 2013 to review the draft modifications to the Sign Regulations;
NOW, THEREFORE,
The City of Union, Ohio does ordain the following modifications to Chapter 1341 of the Codified Ordinances of Union, Ohio.
(Ord. 1559. Passed 4-22-13.)
All signs located or to be located within the City of Union shall conform to the following general provisions:
(a) All signs shall be secured in such a manner as to prevent swinging or other significantly noticeable movement resulting from the wind.
(b) Any sign containing glass in its construction shall use safety or wire reinforced glass.
(c) Except for flags as regulated by Section 1341.052(c), no pennants, banners, streamers, spinning or similar moving devices shall be permitted.
(d) No signs shall be permitted in the right-of-way, except where otherwise permitted under this Chapter.
(Ord. 1559. Passed 4-22-13.)
Permanent signs shall be permitted, subject to the provisions specified in these regulations.
(a) General Regulations:
(1) Permanent signs shall be permitted in residential, commercial, and industrial zoning districts subject to the provisions specified in these regulations.
(2) Not more than two (2) permanent signs shall be permitted per business. Not more than one (1) such sign shall be a projecting sign or a freestanding pole sign.
(3) The bottom edge of a projecting sign or a freestanding pole sign shall be a minimum distance of ten (10) feet above grade.
(4) The top edge of a projecting sign shall not extend above the building on which it is attached or by which it is supported.
(5) No pole used to support or partially support a sign shall extend more than eighteen (18) feet above the ground. The top of the sign shall not exceed beyond the top of the pole.
(6) All freestanding pole signs shall be set back at least fifteen (15) feet from the curb and must not extend into the right-of-way.
(7) Except as provided in Section 1341.03(d)(1), no more than a total of fifty (50) square feet of sign area shall be permitted per zoning lot; and in no case shall any individual sign contain more than thirty-two (32) square feet of sign area.
(8) No permanent sign shall be located in such a manner as to hinder or prevent free ingress and egress from any door, window or fire escape.
(9) No prohibited sign shall be permitted.
(10) No unsafe, deteriorated or dilapidated sign shall be allowed. If such a sign exists, the provisions of Section 1341.07(g) shall apply.
(11) Portable signs and portable signs, folding shall not be permitted in the City, except as authorized in Section 1341.04.
(12) No signs fabricated of metal shall be located nearer than eight (8) feet vertically, or four (4) feet horizontally from any electric wires or conductors.
(b) Business Signs. The following specific regulations apply to all business signs located within the City:
(1) Structure, Type, and Location.
A. All business signs shall be permanently fixed to the ground or a building by means of adequate wood, aluminum, steel or masonry supports designed to carry the weight of the sign.
B. No business sign shall be located on a vacant lot. For purposes of this Section 1341.03(b)(1), a vacant lot does not include a parcel that is owned and used for business purposes by a business adjoining said lot.
C. Should a business own and use an adjoining lot for business purposes as described in Section 1341.03(b)(1)B., such lot shall not be considered a separate or additional zoning lot nor shall any business sign located thereupon increase the number of signs or the total amount of sign area permitted per business.
(2) Lighting.
A. Either internal or external illumination shall be permitted, only in accordance with all of the following:
1. Light sources shall be adequately shielded or shaded from all adjacent buildings and streets.
2. Lights shall not be of such brightness as to cause glare that is hazardous to pedestrians or motorists, or to cause reasonable objection from adjacent residential districts.
3. No exposed incandescent or fluorescent lighting shall be permitted, except as otherwise permitted in this Chapter.
4. No sign shall exceed a maximum illumination of 5,000 nits during daylight hours and a maximum illumination of 1,000 nits between dusk to dawn, as measured from the sign's face at maximum brightness.
5. All signs utilizing light-emitting diodes (LED) or other light-emitting technologies shall incorporate scheduled dimming capability to produce a distinct illumination change from a higher illumination level to a lower level for the time period between one half-hour before sunset and one half-hour after sunrise, to meet brightness standards articulated above.
6. All illumination levels shall be pre-set by the manufacturer not to exceed the illumination levels stated above. Manufacturer certification shall be required as part of a sign permit request. If necessary, the City may seek assistance from a professional lighting engineer to evaluate proposed illumination levels. The applicant shall pay costs associated with such a review. In this case, compliance with illumination requirements shall be determined following a site inspection that includes field verification of illumination levels.
7. Signs shall not be lighted to obstruct signs or devices conforming to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Signs visible from sight lines along streets shall not contain symbols or words, or red and green lights that resemble highway traffic signs or devices.
8. The regulations set forth in this Section 1341.03(b)(2) shall not apply to permitted holiday display lighting.
9. All wiring materials used in the construction and operation of electrically illuminated business signs shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Montgomery County Building Codes and the City of Union Building Code.
(3) Changeable Copy Signs. Permanent changeable copy signs shall only be permitted in compliance with the following:
A. The area of changeable copy for permanent signs shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of the total area of the sign face.
B. Electronic changeable copy signs:
1. The minimum display period for electronic copy shall be twenty (20) seconds.
2. The interval for a change in electronic copy shall not be less than five (5) seconds. The change sequence must be accomplished by means of instantaneous re-pixalization.
3. No portion of the image may constitute an animated or flashing sign as defined in Section 1341.08(b).
4. All electronic changeable copy signs shall comply with the illumination requirements of Section 1341.03(b)(2).
5. The leading edge of an electronic changeable copy sign must be a minimum distance of one hundred (100) feet from an abutting residential district boundary, and a minimum distance of thirty-five (35) feet from other electronic changeable copy signs.
6. Audio speakers which project sound which is audible beyond the premises are prohibited.
7. There shall be no more than one (1) electronic changeable copy sign for each business.
8. Any malfunctioning electronic sign shall be turned off or display a blank screen until repaired.
9. Electronic changeable copy signs shall be permitted in commercial and industrial districts.
(c) Nameplates. The following specific regulations apply to all nameplates located within the City:
(1) Size, Structure, Type and Location.
A. No nameplate shall be larger than two (2) square feet in size.
B. General regulation 1341.03(a)(7) does not apply to nameplates located within the City.
C. Nameplates are permitted on property upon which commercial, public, institutional or residential buildings are situated or upon which a permitted home occupation is located.
D. Off-premises nameplates are expressly prohibited.
(d) Joint Identification Signs. The following regulations apply to all joint identification signs within the City:
(1) Location, Size, Structure and Type.
A. Joint identification Signs are permitted in industrial parks.
B. Joint Identification Signs may identify an occupant and/or occupants of the industrial park to which the Joint Identification Sign pertains.
C. All joint identification signs shall be permanently fixed to the ground by means of adequate wood, aluminum, steel or masonry supports designed to carry the weight of the sign.
D. Joint Identification Signs shall not exceed 160 square feet in sign area and six (6) feet in height.
(2) Lighting. See Section 1341.03(b)(2), (3).
(Ord. 1559. Passed 4-22-13.)
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