Unless exempt under § 153.22 of this chapter, no sign shall be erected, altered, relocated, maintained or displayed until a sign permit and/or other required authorization is obtained from the city. The sign permit is in addition to any building or other permit required to be obtained pursuant to the provisions of the city’s Building Code, or other city, county or state law.
(A) Types of approval.
(1) Sign permit. A fee based city staff authorization process. This is used to verify that the amount, location and other regulatory requirements for signs and sign structures are met for each proposed sign.
(2) Design review/Commission approval. This includes design review by the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) for properties in designated Historic District(s) and review as part of conditional or interim use permits by the Planning Commission. In cases where Commission approval is required, this must occur prior to the issuance of a sign permit.
(3) Staff approval. This is city staff approval where no fee is required. Depending on the requirement of the particular district, this is used for cases where signs that have already been approved are relocated or a sign face is altered.
(4) Signs that require a conditional or interim use permit (CUP or IUP) or approval as part of a plat.
(a) These signs require a separate application and approval of a CUP/IUP unless the signage is approved under a CUP/IUP for the entire project (a CUP or IUP issued under Ch. 162 of this code of ordinances).
(b) Signs requiring a CUP/IUP associated with a land use that requires an IUP (under Ch. 162 of this code of ordinances) require an IUP. Such signs associated with a land use that requires a CUP require a CUP. For signs that require a CUP/IUP where the associated use does not require a special permit, a CUP is required.
(c) For signs that require a CUP/IUP or approval as part of a plat, these may be approved during the platting process as specified in Ch. 161 of this code of ordinances.
(d) A sign permit is also still required unless indicated in the approved CUP/IUP. Conditions for signage under a CUP/IUP will be based on the conditions contained in Ch. 162 of this code of ordinances under the district the sign is located.
(B) Permits required deadline. Any sign that was not in existence or in place on the date of the adoption of this chapter, shall not hereafter be displayed, nor shall any existing sign be enlarged, relocated, changed or modified until a sign permit for the same has been obtained in accordance with this section and all other applicable regulations. Any sign that was installed after 2-10-1988 without a permit is hereby considered an illegal sign.
(C) Permits required for sign maintenance or replacement. When a sign face alone is being modified or other sign parts that do not change the height, setbacks or other sign standards.
(1) Staff approval is required to verify no unauthorized off-premises signage is being displayed, but no permit or fee is required.
(2) If located in the Historic District and color, font or style and design of the sign face is modified, HPC design review and approval is required.
(3) For all non-conforming signs where there is a change of the sign face, staff approval is required for the purpose of verifying that the non-conformity is not being expanded and to document and record the changes.
(4) Maintenance, repair or restoration of non-conforming signs must be in accordance with § 153.20 of this chapter.
(D) Sign permit application requirements. Every application for a permit shall include the following:
(1) Application form as provided by the city’s Planning Department;
(2) A diagram and narrative or notations indicating the exact size (area and dimensions), structure (sign type), design (layout, color, font and the like) and location proposed for the sign; and
(3) A permit fee as established in § 32.49 of this code of ordinances.
(E) Issuance of sign permits in the Historic District.
(1) Prior to the issuance of a sign permit for a new sign, the replacement of an existing sign, or the relocation of an existing sign, in the Downtown Historic District, the applicant shall receive approval from the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission through the design review process. As an exception, if a sign which was previously approved by the HPC is relocated to another property/site within the Historic District within one year from HPC approval, no additional HPC design review is required. A sign permit is still required to verify that the sign meets the size, location, amount of signage and all other standards of the district for its new location.
(2) The Historic District is described in Ch. 159 of this code of ordinances (or as amended).
(Prior Code, § 310.02)