All proposed ground and exterior wall signage requires a sign permit issued by the city of West Des Moines through normal sign review procedures. Unless otherwise prescribed herein, signage shall abide by the standards and regulations as set forth in title 9, chapter 18: Signs, for the support commercial (SC) district.
A. Ground Signs:
1. Development Signage:
a. A maximum of two (2) development signs which identify the name of the development and a maximum of two (2) tenants within the development shall be allowed.
b. The sign structure shall not exceed seven feet (7') in height and one hundred (100) square feet in overall size.
c. The name of the development shall be the predominant copy on the sign with the tenant copy smaller and secondary to the development identification copy. The tenant identification copy area shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total sign structure area. The tenant copy area shall be comprised of individually attached and illuminated letters or a panel sign sized and treated (opaque vinyl or router face) to minimize the amount of the sign area that illuminates and integrates into the sign structure so that the panel sign face is flush with the face of the sign structure.
d. Said signs shall be set back a minimum of twenty feet (20') from ultimate public street right of way lines and out of vision triangles at intersections.
e. Said signs shall be landscaped at the base of the sign. No additional mounding of soil or berming shall be allowed to elevate the sign except as required as part of a site plan for screening purposes.
2. Business Identification Signs:
a. A maximum of three (3) access business identification signs shall be allowed, one per public street frontage, which may list the development name and multiple tenants located within the development.
b. The sign structure shall not exceed eleven feet (11') in height and eighty (80) square feet in overall size. The tenant copy area shall not exceed sixty four (64) square feet. The tenant copy area shall be comprised of a router face panel to minimize the amount of the sign area that illuminates and gives the appearance of individual letters.
c. Said signs shall be set back a minimum of twenty feet (20') from ultimate public street right of way lines and out of vision triangles at intersections.
d. Said signs shall be landscaped at the base of the sign. No additional mounding of soil or berming shall be allowed to elevate the sign except as required as part of a site plan for screening purposes.
3. Directional Signs:
a. Directional signs may be allowed interior to the development to assist in directing patrons through the site. The intent of directional signage is not to draw people off of the public street, so letter size and sign location shall be designed to minimize visibility and readability from the exterior of the property.
b. Said signs shall be a maximum height of four feet (4') and maximum square footage of eight (8) square feet and may include tenant names or logos.
B. Wall Signage:
1. All wall signage shall consist of individual three-dimensional letters attached directly to the building. No cabinet or panel signs shall be allowed except for contoured cabinet signs necessary to display logos. In the event cabinet signs are necessary to accommodate a logo, the logo sign shall be in scale with the copy (text) of any associated channel letters so that it may be considered as an individual channel letter. If a logo is used as a stand alone wall sign or is larger than the letters in the copy, the logo will need to be designed to minimize the illumination of the background with individual channel elements mounted against a noninternally illuminated backer panel. Raceways shall be prohibited but a contoured backer panel/wireway may be allowed to minimize wall penetrations.
2. Wall signage location:
a. Single tenant buildings: Wall signage may be located on any facade; however no sign on one facade may be greater in square footage than that facade is long (i.e., a 50 foot wall plane may place up to 50 square feet on said plane).
b. Multi-tenant buildings: Wall signage shall only be located on a wall plane associated with and contiguous to the tenant's leased space.
c. Wall signage located above a roof element shall be allowed at the discretion of the director of development services provided that the signage is located on a flat wall. Any illumination of the sign shall be by reverse lighting to project the light back toward the wall to create a "halo" effect; no front illumination is allowed. The individual letters shall have returns to screen the lighting source and shall be placed so the space between the wall plane and back of the letter is no greater than two inches (2").
3. Wall signage allowed per building or tenant shall be allowed as follows:
a. Single tenant building: Allowed one square foot per one linear foot based on the longest side.
b. Multi-tenant building: Allowed one square foot per one linear foot of facade which contains the main public entry into the tenant lease area. In addition, one-half (1/2) square foot per one linear foot of facade which contains a secondary public entry into the tenant lease area shall be allowed. The signage may be divided between allowable per city code wall planes; however, no sign on one facade may be greater in square footage than that facade is long (i.e., for a 20 foot tenant bay; up to 20 square feet may be placed on each side of the building).
c. Additional sign allowance for setbacks greater than two hundred fifty feet (250') from the public right of way shall be allowed in accordance with the city code. (Ord. 2060, 11-3-2014)