(A) Obsolete signs. Any obsolete sign shall be removed by the owner, agent or person having the beneficial use of the building, structure or lot upon which such sign is located within ten days after the cessation of such business or sale of such product that renders the sign obsolete. Such a sign shall be deemed abandoned. If such sign is not removed within ten working days of being abandoned, the Building Commissioner shall give written notification to the owner or agent of such failure, and ten working days hence shall cause removal of such sign. The expense incident thereto shall be paid by or be recoverable from the owner of the building, structure or lot upon which the sign is located; and the expense shall be a lien upon such premises until paid.
(B) Unsafe signs. Any unsafe sign shall be removed by the owner, agent or person having the beneficial use of the building, structure, or lot upon which such sign is located immediately after written notice is given by the village to the owner, agent or person.
(C) Removal by village.
(1) If any obsolete or unsafe sign is not removed by the date specified, the village shall give written notice to the owner, agent or person having the beneficial interest in the building, structure or lot on which such sign is located to require the removal within ten days. If such sign is not removed or repaired (if applicable) after the conclusion of such ten-day period, the Building Commissioner is hereby authorized to cause the sign to be removed forthwith at the expense of the owner, agent or person having the beneficial interest in the building, structure or lot on which such sign is located.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, the Building Commissioner is authorized to cause any sign to be removed summarily and without notice, at the sole expense of the owner, agent or person having the beneficial interest in the building, structure, or lot on which such sign is located, whenever the Building Commissioner determines that such sign is an immediate peril to persons or property.
(3) The Building Commissioner shall refuse to issue any sign or building permit to any permittee or owner who refuses to pay costs of any sign removal or repair so assessed.
(D) Non-conforming signs (includes “grandfather” provisions).
(1) Legal non-conforming signs. Any sign lawfully existing as of the date of the adoption of this chapter which does not conform to one or more of the provisions contained herein shall be deemed to be a legal non-conforming sign and may be continued in operation and maintained subject to the following requirements.
(a) Legal non-conforming signs that are permanent signs.
1. The owner or beneficial user shall maintain such sign in good condition and repair.
2. Such sign shall not be changed or altered in any manner, except face changes (i.e. replacement or repainting of copy with new copy); shall not be changed to any other nonconformity; shall not be expanded; shall not be structurally altered to prolong its useful life; and shall not be moved in whole or part to any other location where it would remain nonconforming.
3. Cosmetic-type non-conforming features (such as painting, concealment of electrical fixtures with landscaping and the like) shall be rendered conforming within 120 days after the date of adoption of this chapter, weather permitting.
4. Burial of electrical drops providing electrical energy to existing signs shall not be required until such time as the sign is otherwise required to be brought into compliance with the current code provisions unless the drops are allowed to deteriorate into a condition that is considered to constitute a genuine danger to public safety.
(b) Legal non-conforming signs that are not permanent signs.
1. The owner or beneficial user shall maintain such sign in good condition and repair.
2. Such sign shall not be changed or altered in any manner, including face changes; shall not be changed to any other nonconformity; shall not be expanded; shall not be structurally altered to prolong its useful life; and shall not be moved in whole or part to any other location where it would remain nonconforming.
3. Such sign shall not be continued in use after change of occupancy of the business, owner or activity to which the sign pertains.
4. Such sign shall be removed within 120 days after the date of adoption of this chapter.
5. Wall signs that have a nominal value of less than $150 shall not be deemed to be permanent signs and shall be subject to the provisions of this section. The Building Commissioner shall be solely responsible for setting values for any and all such signs.
(c) Any violation of any of the provisions of this chapter at any time shall immediately terminate the right to maintain the existence of a legal non-conforming sign.
(d) If during the grace period (defined in § 158.02) any legal non-conforming sign is damaged or destroyed, by any means whatsoever, to the extent that its repair or replacement cost exceeds 50% of its replacement cost as of the date it became non-conforming, the right to maintain the existence of a legal non-conforming sign shall be immediately terminated, and the sign may not be rebuilt or used thereafter. In the event the damage or destruction of the legal non-conforming sign is less than 50% of its replacement cost, the sign may be rebuilt to its original condition and may continue to be displayed until the end of the grace period. The funds and effort expended on such rebuilding, however, shall not be grounds to justify a waiver of the requirement for the sign to conform, or to extend the time that the sign may remain non-conforming.
(e) Normal maintenance of legal non-conforming signs, necessary non-structural repairs and incidental alterations which do not extend or intensify the non-conforming features of the sign, shall be permitted during the grace period.
(f) Legal non-conforming signs that are permanent signs which are within 10% of compliance of any height, surface area or location requirements, and which otherwise conform to all other provisions of this chapter, shall be deemed to be conforming for the purposes of these regulations without further review.
(2) Non-conforming signs. Any sign not lawfully existing as of the date of the adoption of this chapter which does not conform to the provisions contained herein shall be deemed to be a non-conforming sign and shall be removed within 30 days after the date of adoption of this chapter.
(3) Any legal non-conforming sign that has not been removed, altered, or relocated by the applicable time frame stated herein so as to render it conforming shall thereafter be deemed a non-conforming sign, and such sign shall then be subject to removal by the village or to prosecution by the village in the village’s Adjudication Court or in an applicable court of jurisdiction to achieve its removal.
(4) Incentives. For property owners that convert non-conforming signs into signs that meet all the requirements of this sign code prior to the expiration of the grace period (as defined in § 158.02) or before the sign otherwise becomes non-conforming due to a change in occupancy of the business, owner or activity, the following incentives shall be provided.
(a) No building permit fees, as provided for in § 158.15 shall be assessed.
(b) For non-conforming pole and pylon signs that are converted to a conforming ground sign, the sign surface area or height of the converted ground sign may exceed the maximum height and surface area standards noted in the § 158.07 by up to 20%.
(E) Confiscated signs. Any signs in violation of any provision of this chapter within the public right-of-way at any time may be removed by the village and placed into temporary storage. Confiscated signs from the public right-of-way will be released upon payment of a storage fee of $25 per sign, payable to the village. The village shall not be responsible for loss of or damage to any confiscated sign while in storage. The village shall not be responsible to notify the owner or agent of the sign that it was confiscated and placed into storage. The village shall not be obligated to keep the sign in storage beyond five working days, after which time it may be discarded.
(F) Notice. The owner of the premises on which the sign is located shall be the responsible party for the purpose of receiving notice under any section of this chapter.
(Ord. 2010-O-1, passed 1-5-10)