1112.08 ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER (EMC) OR CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN.
(a) EMCs are permitted only for gas stations and institutional uses.
(b) A marquee sign may include changeable copy only to advertise events occurring on-site, to be located on the awning portion of the sign.
(c) Where permitted, an EMC or Changeable Copy Sign may not comprise more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the permitted sign area for a given sign.
(d) Only light emitting diodes (LED) technology or similar quality signs shall be permitted for EMCs.
(e) Any electronic message center that is located within 300 feet of any residential use shall automatically turn off between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily.
(f) An electronic message sequence must be accomplished by means of fading or dissolving but shall not scroll, travel or flash. A transition sequence must be completed in no more than one second.
(g) No portion of any sign may change its message or background in a manner or by a method of display characterized by motion, other than fading or dissolving, or pictorial imagery or depicts action or a special effect to imitate movement, or the presentation of pictorials or graphics displayed in a progression of frames that give the illusion of motion or the illusion of moving objects, moving patterns, bands of light, or expanding or contracting shapes.
(h) EMCs shall be designed to display a full black screen, or turn off, in the event of a malfunction.
(i) Portable electronic message signs are prohibited except for instances of construction or road projects.
(j) The EMC shall come equipped with an automatic dimming photocell, which automatically adjusts the display's brightness based on ambient light conditions.
(k) No EMC shall be permitted to be included as part of any limited duration sign.
(l) The brightness level shall not increase by more than 0.3 foot candles over ambient levels (or 3.23 lumens per square meter or lux) as measured using a foot candle meter at a pre-set distance.
(m) The procedure and distances for measurement of brightness shall be as established by the International Sign Association's Recommend Night-time Brightness Levels for On-Premise EMCs. (Ord. 081-2023. Passed 10-3-23.)