(a) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) Animated Sign. Any sign or part of a sign that changes physical position or light intensity by any movement or rotation or that gives the visual impression of such movement or rotation. For purposes of this Article, this term includes flashing signs but does not refer to message center signs or multi-prism indexing signs that are separately defined.
(2) Awning means a structure composed of non-rigid materials, except for the supporting framework, that is supported from the exterior wall of a building and that extends over a window, walkway, or yard.
(3) Awning Sign. A sign attached to or incorporated into an awning.
(4) Banner means any sign printed or displayed upon cloth or other flexible material, with or without frames, but excluding flags, emblems, and insignia of governmental, religious, educational, or corporate organizations providing that such flags, emblems, and insignia are displayed for noncommercial purposes.
(5) Billboard-See off-premises sign
(6) Building Frontage. The linear width of a building facing the right-of-way or the linear length of the right of way facing the building, whichever is smaller.
(7) Building Sign. Any sign attached to any part of a building, as contrasted to a freestanding sign.
(8) Changeable Copy Sign. A sign or portion thereof that is capable of changing the position or format of word messages or other displays on the sign face and that can also change the visible display of words, numbers, symbols and graphics by the use of individual letters or characters changed by a person, movable discs, movable panels, light apertures, or other methods.
(9) Construction Sign. A temporary sign posted on the premises on which construction is taking place during the period of such construction. A construction sign may indicate the names of the owners, sponsors, architects, landscape architects, engineers, financial supporters, contractors, suppliers, and/or similar individuals or firms having a role or interest with respect to the structure or project.
(10) Copy. The wording on a sign surface, either in permanent, temporary, or removable letter forms.
(11) Directional Sign. Any sign which serves solely to designate the location or direction of any place or area. Directional signs include: signs identifying rest rooms, public telephones, or walkways; and signs providing direction such as parking lot "entrance," "no parking," "loading only," and "exit" signs and those of a similar nature. These signs do not contain other advertising information including corporate logos.
(12) Freestanding Sign. Any sign supported by frame, brace, pole, or pylon structures or supports that are placed on, or anchored in, the ground and are not attached to any building. This includes pole/pylon and monument signs.
(13) Ground sign - See “Free Standing Sign”
(14) Illuminated sign means a sign lit by artificial light.
(15) Luminous Sign means a sign where the surface of the sign is the source of the light. (Ord. 14-07. Passed 8-28-07.)
(16) Message Center or Electronic Message Center or Electronic Message Sign. A sign, or portion of a sign, which displays copy changes mechanically, electronically or by other means. If any portion of a sign changes more often than one time in eight (8) seconds, it shall be considered an “animated sign”. This shall not prevent a sign from utilizing transitions from one message to another using a frame effect, which shall be defined as visual effects such as fading, rolling, window shading, dissolving and blinds, applied to a single frame to transition from one message to the next.
(Ord. 04-13. Passed 3-25-13.)
(17) Monument Sign. A low profile, free standing sign with a solid base on the ground approximately the same dimension as the height of the sign.
(18) Multi-prism Indexing Sign. A sign made with a series of polygonal sections that turn and stop, or index, to show several pictures or messages in the same area.
(19) Municipal Administrator means the Municipal Administrator appointed by Council.
(20) Nonconforming sign.
A. Legal means any sign, except an obsolete or unsafe sign, which was erected prior to the effective date of this chapter and which does not conform to the regulations of this chapter.
B. Unlawful means any sign which is erected after the effective date of this chapter and which does not conform to the regulations of this chapter or sign erected prior to obtaining a required sign permit.
(21) Off-premise sign means a sign that directs attention to a business, profession, activity commodity, service, or entertainment other than one conducted, sold, or offered upon the premises where such sign is located, or within the building to which such sign is attached.
(22) Pole/Pylon Sign. A freestanding sign supported by one or more pole structures that are anchored in the ground and that are independent from any building or other structure.
(23) Portable sign means a sign not permanently fixed by poles, brackets, or other devices or structural members to a building, structure, other appurtenance, or the ground.
(24) Projecting sign means a sign, other than a wall sign, which is attached to and projects from, at a ninety-degree angle, a structure or building face.
(25) Roof Sign. Any sign erected upon, against, or directly above a roof or on top of or above the parapet of a building.
(26) Revolving or Rotating Sign. A sign or portion of a sign that moves in a revolving or similar manner, but does not include “Multi-prism Indexing Signs” or “Changeable Copy Signs.”
(27) Shopping and Multi-business center means a commercial development under unified control consisting of three or more separate, but contiguous, commercial establishments sharing a common building, entranceway, or parking area.
(28) Sign means any identification, description, illustration, or device, illuminated or non-illuminated, which is visible to the general public and directs attention to a product, service, place, activity, person, institution, or business; or any emblem, painting, flag, banner, pennant or placard designed to advertise, identify or convey information.
(29) Suspended sign means a sign installed on an arm or spar that is not, in addition, permanently fastened to an adjacent wall or upright pole.
(30) Temporary sign means a nonpermanent sign erected, affixed, or maintained on a premises for a short, usually fixed, period of time.
(31) Truck or Construction Trailer Sign. A sign either permanently or temporarily affixed to the sides of a truck (not including the cab entrance doors) and construction trailers.
(32) Video Sign. A sign made up in part or total of a video image as produced by a CRT, LCD, Plasma, rear projection or other display technology producing similar results.
(33) Wall sign means a sign which is essentially parallel to and attached directly to or painted on the exterior wall of a building and which does not extend more than 18 inches there from.
(34) Window sign means a sign attached to, placed upon, or painted on the interior of a window or door of a building that is intended for viewing from the exterior of such building.
(35) Zoning districts means the zoning districts as established by the Municipal Zoning Code.
(36) Zoning Lot. A parcel of land in single ownership that is of sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for area, coverage, and use, and that can provide such yards and other open spaces as required by the zoning regulations.
(Ord. 14-07. Passed 8-28-07.)
(37) A-frame or Sandwich Board Sign means a freestanding sign that is ordinarily in the shape of an "A" or some variation thereof, which is readily moveable and is not permanently attached to the ground or any structure. Copy is permitted on two sides only.
(Ord. 17-09. Passed 7-27-09.)
(Ord. 17-09. Passed 7-27-09.)
(38) Illuminance. The amount of light falling onto a unit area of surface (luminous flux per unit area), commonly called “light level” or “illumination”. Measured in foot-candles (lumens per square foot) in the English measurement system and lux (lumens per square meter) in the SI (metric) system.
(39) Luminance. The intensity of light reflected or emitted from a unit area of surface. Measured in units of luminous intensity (candelas) per unit area (square feet in the English measurement system and square meters in the SI (metric) system). Expressed in English units as foot-lamberts and in SI units as candelas per square meter (cd/m2) or nits.
(40) Nit. A photometric unit of measurement referring to luminance. One nit is equal to one candela per square meter (cd/m2).
(Ord. 04-13. Passed 3-25-13.)
(41) “Premises” means a parcel or parcels constituting a unit of contiguous real property which is not divided by any public street, highway or alley and which either:
A. Is devoted to the same business usage, or
B. Constitutes a shopping or multi-business center.
(Ord. 05-14. Passed 4-14-14.)
(b) For the purpose of this chapter, the following principles shall control the computation of sign area and sign height.
(1) Computation of Area of Individual Signs. The area of a sign face (which is also the sign area of a wall sign or other sign with only one face) shall be computed by means of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the copy, representation, emblem, or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the sign, including any frame that forms an integral part of the display or is used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but excluding any decorative embellishments and any supporting framework, bracing, or decorative fence or wall when such fence or wall otherwise meets zoning resolution regulations and is clearly incidental to the display itself. The area of a sign for an awning is the copy area only.
(2) Computation of Area of Multi-faced Signs. The sign area for a sign with more than one face shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one point. When two identical sign faces are placed back to back so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than 42 inches apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of only one face. The sign area for a sign with three or more sides shall be computed by adding together the sum of the areas visible from any one vantage point. The area of spherical, free form, sculptural, or other non-planar signs shall be the sum of the areas visible from any one point.
(3) Computation of Height. The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at a normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the lower of (1) existing grade prior to construction or (2) the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding, or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign. In cases in which the normal grade cannot reasonably be determined, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal to the elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public street or the grade of the land at the principal entrance to the principal structure on the zone lot, whichever is lower.
(4) Computation of Maximum Total Permitted Sign Area for a Zone Lot. The permitted sum of the area of all individual signs on a zone lot shall be computed as specified elsewhere in this Chapter for the zoning district in which the lot is located, to the lot frontage, building frontage, or wall area, as appropriate, Lots fronting on two or more streets are allowed the permitted sign area for each street frontage. However, the total sign area that is oriented toward a particular street shall not exceed the portion of the lot's total sign area allocation that is derived from the lot, building, or wall area frontage on that street.
(Ord. 14-07. Passed 8-28-07.)
(Ord. 14-07. Passed 8-28-07.)