(A) It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety and general welfare through reasonable, consistent and non-discriminatory sign standards in the city.
(B) The regulations contained herein are not intended to censor speech or regulate viewpoints, but are instead intended to regulate the secondary effects of signage on health, safety and welfare, particularly where these effects contribute adversely to:
(1) Pedestrian, motorized and non-motorized traffic safety;
(2) Aesthetics of the city environs and the ability of the community to attract and maintain business and industry as sources of economic development and growth; and/or
(3) Private property values and the use and enjoyment of property to its fullest extent consistent with the purposes outlined in the property’s particular zoning district.
(C) In order to avoid the adverse effects of signage, this chapter shall direct the time, place and manner of signs and their display such that these regulations will serve to:
(1) Encourage the effective design and placement of signs as a means of communication for both commercial and non-commercial speech;
(2) Foster the integration of signage with architectural and landscape design;
(3) Encourage and allow signs that are appropriate to the purpose and requirements of the zoning district in which they are located;
(4) Establish sign size in relationship to the scale of the lot and building on which the sign is to be placed;
(5) Allow signs that are compatible with their surroundings and aid orientation while regulating the place and manner of the signs so as not to interfere with, obstruct the vision or distract motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians; and
(6) Regulate the appearance and design of signs in a manner that promotes and enhances the appearance of the city and that complements the natural and cultural surroundings with its important role in attracting visitors to the community and the importance this plays in the local economy.
(Prior Code, § 310.01)