(a) Flashing Signs. No flashing signs shall be erected, constructed or maintained in the Municipality.
(b) Roof Signs. No roof signs shall be erected, constructed or maintained in the Municipality.
(c) Billboards. No billboards shall be erected, constructed or maintained in the Municipality.
(d) Flags. Flags intended for advertising or commercial purposes are prohibited. However, flags considered part of the architectural design of a project may be allowed, as determined by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(e) Marquee Signs. No marquee signs shall be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(f) Real Estate Sold Signs. No real estate signs announcing that the premises upon which such signs are located have been sold, rented or leased shall be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(g) Pole Signs. No pole signs shall be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(h) Projecting Signs. No projecting signs shall be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(i) Illuminated Signs. The interior illumination of signs, and signs with characters, letters, figures, designs or outlines illuminated by electric lights or luminous tubes as part of the sign shall be designed so that the light sources used to illuminate the signs shall be shielded from all adjacent residential buildings and streets and shall not be of such brightness as to cause glare hazardous to pedestrians or auto drivers or to cause reasonable objection from adjacent residential districts.
(j) Neon Signs. No neon signs shall be permitted within the Municipality.
(k) Mobile Signs. No mobile sign on wheels, runners, casters, parked trailers, parked vehicles or other mobile devices shall be permitted within the Municipality (except those on commercial delivery and service vehicles which are prohibited from parking in front of places of business pursuant to Section 351.16 of the Traffic Code).
(l) Temporary Directional Signs. No temporary directional signs, other than Municipal or emergency signs or those temporary signs as may be approved by Council, shall be permitted.
(m) Wall Signs. Wall signs shall be permitted subject to the following limitations and requirements:
(1) Wall Openings. No wall sign shall cover, wholly or partially, any wall opening.
(2) Projection from Building. No wall sign shall project beyond the ends, top or bottom of the building wall to which it is attached, nor be set out more than one foot from the face of the building to which it is attached.
(3) Display Area. The graphic display of any single wall sign shall not exceed 75 square feet.
(4) Erection. All wall signs shall be safely and securely attached to the building wall by means of metal anchors, bolts or expansion screws. However, such signs may rest in, or be bolted to, strong, heavy metal brackets set not more than six feet apart, each of which shall be securely fixed to the wall as hereinbefore provided. In no case shall any wall sign be secured with wire, strips of wood or nails.
(5) Construction. All letters, figures, characters or representations in cut-out or irregular form, maintained in conjunction with, attached to, or superimposed upon, any sign shall be safely and securely built or attached to the sign structure.
(6) Lighting. Lighting shall be permitted on wall signs, provided that illumination is concentrated upon the area of the sign so as to prevent glare upon the street or adjacent property.
(7) Obstructions to Doors, Windows or Fire Escapes. No wall sign shall be erected, relocated or maintained so as to prevent free ingress to, or egress from, any door, window or fire escape.
(8) Obstructions of Architectural Features. No wall sign shall obstruct architectural features of a building, e. g., corbeling, pilasters, setbacks or protrusions.
(n) Animated, blinker, racer-type, moving or revolving signs, pennants, inflatable signs and tethered balloons, streamers, exposed light bulbs, strings of lights not permanently mounted to a rigid background shall not be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(o) Signs on temporarily placed vehicles shall not be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(p) Signs containing any words or symbols that would cause confusion because of their resemblance to highway traffic control or directional signals shall not be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(q) Merchandise, equipment, products, vehicles, or other items not themselves for sale and placed for attention getting, identification, or advertising purposes shall not be erected, constructed or maintained within the Municipality.
(r) Ground Signs. Ground signs shall be permitted subject to the following limitations and requirements:
(1) Location. No ground signs shall be permitted on or over any public sidewalk or on any public property and shall be set back a minimum of twenty-two feet from the curb line and in all cases, at least one foot behind the right-of-way line.
(2) Size Limitation. Ground signs shall be limited to a maximum of four feet wide by three feet high with an overall height, including base, of three feet six inches above grade (not more than six inches above top of curb). Such signs shall be erected at a right angle to the street with a maximum of twelve square feet on each side of the sign and a maximum total signage of twenty-four square feet on two sides. No sign shall be more than twelve inches thick.
(3) Construction. All letters, figures, characters or representations in cut-out or irregular form, maintained in conjunction with, attached to, or superimposed upon, any sign shall be safely and securely built or attached to the sign structure.
(4) Lighting. Lighting shall be permitted on ground signs, provided that illumination is concentrated upon the area of the sign so as to prevent glare upon the street or adjacent property.
(5) Elevated Ground Level. The height of a sign may not be raised artificially by raising the ground level under the sign.
(6) Usage. Ground signs shall be used only to identify the name and address of a building. It is specifically provided that a ground sign may not sell or promote a service, product or company unless the building has greater than 50,000 square feet and more than five tenants.
(s) Awning Signs. Awning signs shall be permitted subject to the following limitations and requirements:
(1) Setback from Curb Lines. No awning or canopy shall be permitted to extend beyond a point twenty-two feet inside the curb line.
(2) Height Above Sidewalk. All awnings and canopies shall be constructed and erected so that the lowest portion thereof is not less than eight feet above the level of the sidewalk.
(3) Advertising. No advertising shall be placed on any awning or canopy, except that the name of the owner or the business, or the industry or pursuit conducted within the premises may be painted or otherwise permanently placed in a space not exceeding eight inches in height on the front or side portions thereof. Any signage used on an awning or canopy shall be considered as part of the total permitted signage for a building or structure, as determined by Section 1321.05.
(t) Banners. No banners shall be permitted as permanent signage.
(u) Permanent Leasing/Rental Signs. Permanent leasing/rental signs will be permitted up to four square feet per building in addition to any other permitted signage. Permanent leasing/rental signs larger than four square feet will be considered as part of the building's maximum permanent signage allotment.
(1) Commercial. Temporary window signs, such as "Sale," "Special" or "Clearance," or temporary symbolic or graphic signs, such as a red heart for Valentine's Day, Christmas decorations or the like, may be erected indoors or out-of-doors, without a permit, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
A. Size limitation of window signs. No temporary sign or group of signs shall exceed twenty-five percent of the total windowpane area or six square feet, whichever is greater. However, the gross area of all temporary signs shall under no circumstances exceed twenty percent of the maximum area of permanent signs permitted for each establishment.
B. Required Permits. Each tenant may display up to three square feet of temporary signage without a permit or fee for up to a maximum period of fourteen days. Temporary signage greater than three square feet will require a permit and fee of one dollar ($1.00) per day in advance or three dollars ($3.00) per day for permits obtained after the sign is posted.
C. Time limitation. No temporary sign shall remain in place more than fourteen days without a permit. Up to three additional thirty- day periods may be permitted by permit for up to a total of 105 days maximum.
(2) Community Event. A community event temporary sign may be displayed only if it satisfies all of the following conditions:
A. The sign shall be no larger than fifty square feet in area.
B. The function shall be sponsored by a non-commercial, nonprofit organization.
C. The function shall be local to the community of Woodmere.
D. The requested sign shall be approved by the Council, which shall be notified, in writing, of the pending request at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which it will be presented.
E. Any such temporary sign shall be removed not more than two days following the completion of the function it advertises.
F. A surety bond in an amount as may be determined by the Council and conditioned on the faithful observance of this chapter, and which shall indemnify and save harmless the Municipality from any and all judgments, costs or expenses which the Municipality may incur or suffer by permitting the display of any temporary sign as hereinbefore mentioned, may be required by the Council from the organization desiring to display such temporary sign. Alternatively, the Council may require a liability insurance policy, issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the State, in lieu of such bond.
(Ord. 2004-09. Passed 2-18-04.)
(w) Shopping Center Signs.
(1) Shopping Center Gateway Sign. Shopping Centers shall be permitted one (1) Shopping Center Gateway Sign above and beyond the maximum limits set forth in Section 1321.06
subject to the following limitations and requirements:
A. Shopping Center Gateway Signs shall be limited to a maximum of fifty-two feet (52’) wide by seven feet (7’) high with an overall height, including base, of seven feet six inches (7’6”) above grade.
B. Shopping Center Gateway Signs may include an electronic moving message and/or digital display, subject to the following restrictions:
1. Hours. The sign can only operate as advertising from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.. After 1:00 a.m., only a still frame for business identification may be displayed.
2. Frequency. Copy (lettering) change shall not be more frequent than once per ten (10) seconds.
3. Flashing Sign Prohibited. A directly or indirectly illuminated sign, or portion thereof, that exhibits changing light or color effect by any means, so as to provide intermittent illumination that changes light intensity in sudden transitory bursts and creates the illusion of intermittent flashing light by streaming, graphic bursts showing movement, or any mode of lighting which resembles zooming, twinkling, sparkling, spinning or rotating shall be prohibited.
4. Mounting. Such sign will not be permitted to be mounted on a building.
5. Dimmer. All digital displays must be equipped with both a dimmer control and photo sensor, which will automatically adjust the display intensity according to natural ambient light conditions.
6. Glare. Digital displays may not display light of an intensity or brilliance to cause glare or otherwise impair vision of the operator of a motor vehicle.
C. The graphic, electronic or digital display of any Shopping Center Sign shall be permitted up to but shall not exceed one hundred and fifty (150) square feet.
(2) Shopping Center Monument Signs. Shopping Centers shall be permitted Shopping Center Monument Signs above and beyond the maximum limits set forth in Section 1321.06
subject to the following limitations and requirements:
A. Shopping Center Monument Signs shall be limited to a maximum of four feet six inches (4’6”) wide by seven feet (7’) high with an overall height, including base, of seven feet six inches (7’6”) above grade.
B. Shopping Center Monument Signs shall be erected at a right angle to the street with a maximum of twenty-four (24) square feet on each side of the sign and a maximum total signage of forty-eight (48) square feet on two sides.
C. No Shopping Center Monument Sign shall be more than twenty-four inches (24”) thick.
(Ord. 2022-44. Passed 9-14-22.)
(3) Shopping Center Pylon Sign. Shopping Centers shall be permitted one (1) Shopping Center Pylon Sign above and beyond the maximum limits set forth in Section 1321.06
subject to the following limitations and requirements:
A. Shopping Center Pylon Signs shall be limited to a maximum of eleven feet (11’) wide by twenty-five feet (25’) high above grade, including base, cabinet and support.
B. The graphic and/or illuminated display area consisting of tenant nameplates on each side of any Shopping Center Pylon Sign shall be permitted up to but shall not exceed one hundred and seventy (170) square feet. The owner and/or operator of the Shopping Center may identify itself and the name of the Shopping Center on the remaining portion(s) of the Shopping Center Pylon Sign.
C. Shopping Center Pylon Signs shall be erected at a right angle to the street and may be constructed so its front surface may vertically align with the rear edge of the nearest sidewalk. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Shopping Center Pylon Sign shall be constructed in, on, over, or above a sidewalk or the right-of-way.
D. No Shopping Center Pylon Sign shall be more than forty-eight inches (48”) thick. (Ord. 2023-62. Passed 11-8-23.)