(A) Legally established nonconforming signs. A sign that is legally established upon the effective date of this chapter may be continued at the size and in the manner of operation existing upon such date except as specified in this section.
(1) A legally established nonconforming sign may be continued through repair, replacement, restoration, maintenance or improvement, but may not be expanded, moved or relocated.
(2) Sign copy and sign faces may be changed on legally established nonconforming signs when there is no change in use of the site or when only a portion of a multiple tenant sign is being changed.
(3) If a sign or its structure is declared unsafe by the Building Official, this chapter shall not prohibit the sign or its structure from being made safe.
(4) Whenever a legally established nonconforming sign shall have been damaged by fire, flood, explosion, earthquake, war, riot or act of God, by more than 50% or more of its fair market value, it may be reconstructed and used as before if it is reconstructed within 180 days after the calamity.
(5) Whenever a legally established nonconforming sign is abandoned for a period of more than one year, any future use of the sign shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
(B) Repairs and removal.
(1) Abandoned signs. Any abandoned sign shall be removed or otherwise properly brought into compliance by the property owner upon receipt of notice to do so given by the Zoning Administrator.
(2) Illegal signs. Any fixed, permanent sign constructed, placed or maintained in violation of this chapter shall be removed by the property owner upon receipt of notice to do so given by the Zoning Administrator.
(3) Unsafe signs. Any unsafe sign shall be removed or otherwise properly secured by the property owner upon receipt of notice to do so given by the Zoning Administrator. No unsafe sign shall be repaired or rebuilt except in accordance with the provisions of this section and upon a permit issued by the city.
(C) Signs constituting a public nuisance. Any abandoned, illegal or unsafe sign is hereby declared to be a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the city, and is declared to be a public nuisance, subject to abatement and assessment as provided in Chapter 94, except that legally established nonconforming signs shall not be abated until they have been abandoned for more than one year.
(D) Setback distance. Regardless of whether requiring a permit or not, signs in all districts shall be located at least ten feet from all lot lines.
(E) Number of signs. Except as otherwise stated, no more than one freestanding sign shall be located on any single lot.
(F) Supporting sign structure design criteria.
(1) All freestanding signs must be mounted on or incorporated into a supporting sign structure whose exterior construction materials are comprised of brick; stone; stucco; synthetic stucco; or concrete masonry units (CMU) that are textured, burnished or decorative; or other maintenance free materials.
(2) Exterior construction materials must be maintenance-free and colored only by means of a pigment integral to the material, not applied to the surface and be compatible with the building(s) on the lot.
(G) Window coverage.
(1) Window signs may be placed within a building in Commercial and Industrial Zoning Districts, however the window coverage shall not exceed 30% of each window.
(2) There shall be no more than a maximum area of 80 square feet per street frontage for window signs.
(3) Transparent window clings are not considered signs under this section and do not count toward the maximum coverage or area for window coverage. For the purposes of this section, transparent window clings are clings which maintain visibility and are made either from:
(a) Plastic film that sticks to windows using static electricity; or
(b) Vinyl matter that can stick to metal, wood, plastic or glass.
(H) Electronic changeable copy sign, electronic graphic display sign and dynamic display sign requirements.
(1) Mode of operation.
(a) Electronic changeable copy signs, electronic graphic display signs and dynamic display signs shall only be allowed to operate in static mode.
(b) Animation, motion or video displays are prohibited.
(c) Any change from one static display to another must be instantaneous and shall not include any distracting effects, such as dissolving, spinning or fading.
(2) Minimum display time. The minimum display time for electronic changeable copy signs, electronic graphic display signs and dynamic display signs shall be eight seconds.
(3) Color.
(a) Electronic changeable copy signs, electronic graphic display signs and dynamic display signs may use multiple colors within the display, but the use of color shall not create a distraction or a hazard to the public health, safety or welfare.
(b) No portion of the display may change in color or color intensity in any manner.
(c) Each line of text in any direction shall be uniform in color.
(4) Distance between signs.
(a) Electronic changeable copy signs and electronic graphic display signs must be located at least 75 feet from any other electronic changeable copy sign, electronic graphic display sign or dynamic display sign as measured in a straight line from the base of the sign to the base of any other electronic changeable copy sign, electronic graphic display sign or dynamic display sign.
(b) Dynamic display signs must be located at least 800 feet from any other dynamic display sign as measured in a straight line from the base of the sign to the base of any other dynamic display sign.
(5) Application to existing signs. The electronic changeable copy sign, electronic graphic display sign and dynamic display sign standards shall apply to all existing and future electronic changeable copy signs and electronic graphic display signs, unless otherwise determined by the city that an existing sign qualifies as a nonconforming use under state statute or city code.
(Ord. 01-10, passed - -; Ord. 10-01, passed - -; Ord. passed 10-11-1963; Ord. 23-009, passed 6-26-2023)