(A) Scope. The regulations and provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to the construction, establishment or addition of any new sign, sign structure or sign face, whether on-site or off-site, as well as to the relocation, enlargement, extension, reconstruction, replacement, maintenance or continuance of any existing sign, sign structure or sign face. These regulations shall be applicable within any existing or new development area of the city, as well as within any area newly annexed to the city. Nothing herein shall require any change or modification to any signage lawfully established or constructed prior to the effective date of this section, except as provided in division (C) below of this section and § 154-17.05(E) of this chapter.
(Ord. O2010-09, passed 2-3-2010)
(B) Responsibility. The duty to erect and maintain signage in the manner specified herein shall be the responsibility of the owner and/or occupant(s) of the property upon which the signage is located.
(Ord. O2010-09, passed 2-3-2010)
(C) Nonconforming signage. Any sign or sign structure lawfully existing prior to the effective date of this chapter, whether on-site or off-site and not meeting the standards and requirements specified herein, shall be considered nonconforming and be subject to the following provisions.
(1) Continuance. The lawful use of any nonconforming sign or sign structure may be continued indefinitely, provided, however, that any addition, enlargement or other alteration which would increase the degree of nonconformity shall be prohibited. Any nonconforming sign or sign structure which is abandoned for a period exceeding one year shall be subject to the requirements of § 154-17.05(E) of this chapter pertaining to removal of abandoned signage.
(2) Repairs and alterations. Repairs and alterations which do not increase the degree of nonconformity shall be permitted, except that if any sign or structure is damaged or has deteriorated to an extent that the cost of repair equals 50% of its replacement value if sound, or if the cost of alteration exceeds 50% of the replacement value, it shall either be rebuilt or replaced in conformance with the standards and requirements of this chapter, or be removed altogether.
(3) Replacement of on-site signage. At such time as the name of an activity changes, any nonconforming on-site signage related to such activity shall either be replaced or modified to meet the requirements of this chapter, unless such signage was previously constructed with interchangeable panels, letters or copy. An act of maintenance or repair, or repainting a previously painted sign face, or repapering a previously papered sign or other similar manner of changing a sign face, none of which would increase the degree of nonconformity, shall not be deemed as replacement hereunder and shall be permitted.
(Ord. O2010-09, passed 2-3-2010)
(D) Conflict and severability.
(1) Where an action or requirement pertaining to signage is specified by more than one section of the zoning ordinance, or by another ordinance or regulation as may be adopted by the city, or by another state or federal law or regulation where applicable, such action or requirement shall be dictated by the applicable provisions of such regulations. In cases of overlap between ordinances, regulations or laws, the more restrictive provisions shall control.
(2) If any section, sentence, phrase or other portion of this chapter is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional for any reason, such portions shall be deemed as separate, distinct and independent provisions, and such holdings shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter.
('80 Code, App. A, § 161) (Ord. 583, passed 9-16-1952; Ord. 2193, passed 3-21-1984; Ord. 2243, passed 12-19-1984; Ord. O2010-09, passed 2-3-2010)
(E) Message substitution clause. Subject to the consent of the property owner or person in control or possession of the property, a noncommercial message of any type may be substituted for all or part of the commercial or noncommercial message on any sign allowed under this chapter. No special or additional approval is required to substitute a noncommercial message for any other message on an allowable sign, provided the sign structure is already approved or exempt from the approval requirement and no structural or electrical change is made. When a noncommercial message is substituted for any other message, however, the sign is still subject to the same design, locational and structural regulations (e.g., color, materials, size, height, illumination, maintenance, duration of display and the like), as well as all building and electrical code requirements, as would apply if the sign were used to display a commercial message. In the event of any perceived or actual conflict between the general provisions of this division and any other specific provisions in this chapter, the provisions of this division shall prevail.
(Ord. O2008-05, passed 2-20-2008)
(F) Sign face area.
(1) Where a sign has two or more faces, the area of all faces shall be included in determining the sign area, except that only one face of a double-faced sign shall be considered where the angle between faces does not exceed 30 degrees.
(2) Where the sign is a statue or similar three-dimensional figure, the sign area shall be the sum of the four vertical rectangular faces of the smallest polyhedron that entirely encloses such statue or figure.
(Ord. O2012-18, passed 10-3-2012)
(Ord. O2010-32, passed 7-7-2010)