(a) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to and govern signs in all districts. No sign shall be erected or maintained unless it is in compliance with the regulations governing location and bulk of structures for the district in which it is located, unless such sign is otherwise specifically regulated.
(b) Any sign already established on the effective date of this Zoning Code, which sign is rendered nonconforming by the provisions of this Zoning Code, and any sign which, as a result of subsequent amendments of this Zoning Code, shall be rendered nonconforming, shall be subject to the provisions of Section 153.15, Regulations for Nonconforming Signs.
(c) Wherever a commercial sign is allowed or permitted under this Chapter, an owner may place a non-commercial sign, subject to the time, place and manner provisions of this Chapter, without applying for a permit and/or paying a fee that otherwise would be required for the placement of a commercial sign on the lot; provided, that the sign structure or mounting device is legal without consideration of message content. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent favoring of commercial speech over non-commercial speech, or favoring of any particular non-commercial message over any other non-commercial message. This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this Chapter.
This provision does not:
(1) create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a parcel or lot;
(2) affect the requirement that a sign structure or mounting device be properly permitted under this Chapter;
(3) allow a change in the physical structure of a sign or its mounting device; or
(4) authorize the substitution of an off-site commercial message in place of an on-site commercial message or in place of a non-commercial message.
(d) All non-commercial speech is considered on-premise signage and is entitled to the privileges that on-premise signs receive under this section.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision herein, signs that display a non-commercial message are entitled to the maximum square footage allowed any parcel within the same zoning district.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision herein, signs that display a non-commercial message are not subject to the temporal limitations otherwise set forth in this Chapter; however, such signs remain subject to the provisions of Section 153.13, Maintenance.
(Ord. 3622. Passed 12-19-17; Ord. 3677. Passed 8-25-20.)