Off-site signage shall be permitted in accordance with the specific standards and criteria set forth in this section, as well as with the additional requirements and provisions of this chapter pertaining to all signage.
(A) Required zoning districts and frontages. Off-site signage shall be permitted only on parcels zoned with a Light Industrial (L-I) or Heavy Industrial (H-I) zoning classification which front along a principal arterial or interstate highway, as classified by the 2014 Transportation Master Plan, and successors.
(B) Standards and criteria for off-site signage. Any off-site signage proposed for installation shall conform with the standards and criteria set forth in the following. The size and location of any off-site signage which already exists shall be considered when determining the amount and location of any new signage proposed for installation under these standards.
(1) Sign face area. The maximum sign face area shall not exceed 300 square feet, except that such area may be increased to a maximum of 400 square feet if located on a parcel which fronts along an interstate highway.
(2) Sign height and vertical clearance. The maximum sign height shall not exceed 27 feet. In all cases, a minimum 15-foot vertical clearance measured from street grade of the nearest driving lane to the lowest line of the sign face shall be required.
(3) Setback. The minimum setback from any portion of the sign face or sign structure shall be either 55 feet from the centerline of the arterial street right-of-way or 15 feet from the right-of-way line, whichever produces the greater setback.
(4) Spacing. A minimum 600 foot distance, measured as a radius, shall be required between off-site sign installations. In addition, no more than four off-site sign installations shall be located within a linear mile measured along the same street, wherein the beginning point and ending point of such mile coincide with a section line.
(5) Method of installation. Each off-site sign shall be erected as a freestanding sign installation as defined by this chapter. No off-site sign shall be erected on the wall or roof of any building.
(6) Number of sign face(s). An off-site sign shall be permitted no more than two sign faces; both of which may be either static or digital.
(7) Orientation of sign face(s). Sign faces shall first be oriented perpendicular to the roadway on which it is located. Then the sign faces can be spread to a maximum angle of 30 degrees.
(8) Exterior sign lighting. Lighting fixtures used to illuminate any off-site sign, shall be mounted on the top of the sign structure. All such fixtures shall comply with the shielding requirements set forth in Article 18 of this chapter.
(9) Hours of illumination. The electrical illumination of outdoor off-site signs including those internally illuminated, is prohibited between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and sunrise.
(10) Digital billboards. In addition to the off-site sign regulations, the following requirements will apply to all digital billboards.
(a) All digital billboard signs shall be limited to a maximum surface luminosity limit of 6,500 NITS in full white mode during daytime hours. After sunset and before 11:00 p.m., the surface luminosity limit of signs smaller than 672 square feet shall be a maximum of 342 NITS in full white mode, and a maximum 300 NITS in full white mode for signs larger than 672 square feet. From 11:00 p.m. until sunrise, illumination shall be extinguished. Digital billboards shall be equipped with an automatic device to ensure the ability to dim the display through a photoelectric sensor that detects ambient light levels and adjusts the display intensity automatically to ensure the maximum NIT levels are enforced.
(b) All digital billboard signs shall provide for automatic dimming based upon ambient lighting conditions, including evening and overcast weather.
(c) It shall be prohibited for any digital billboard sign to have an illuminance greater than 1.0 foot candle at the property line of any adjacent property.
(d) The message or image of the digital billboard may be static or change at specific or programmed time intervals. The change in message or images shall occur no more frequently than once every eight seconds and shall not have fade or dissolve transitions, or full animation or video, or similar subtle transitions or frame effect that have the appearance of moving text or images. The transition from one message to the next shall be completed with one second.
(e) Message sequencing, the use of multiple digital billboards in a row to convey a message, shall be prohibited.
(11) Embellishments. Embellishments may extend no more than five feet above or below the horizontal edges and three feet beyond any vertical edge of the sign face area.
(12) Replacement of non-conforming billboards. The lawful use of any nonconforming sign or sign structure may be continued indefinitely, provided, however, than any addition, enlargement or other alteration which would increase the degree of nonconformity shall be prohibited.
(a) Spacing non-conformity. Replacement shall not be permitted if the billboard is considered non-conforming due to a spacing and/or concentration issue. The sign must be removed:
1. If repairs and/or replacement of the sign or sign portions equal 50% of its replacement value if sound; or
2. If the cost of alteration exceeds 50% of the replacement value. Repairs that cumulatively reach the 50% point in any consecutive ten-year period are not allowed.
(b) Zoning district non-conformity. Replacement may be allowed if the billboard is considered non-conforming due to its location within the General Commercial (B-2) District. Non-conforming billboards eligible for replacement must be replaced with a standard billboard-sized billboard which is at least 50% smaller in size than the billboard being replaced; except non-conforming billboards measuring 5' by 11' may be replaced in-kind.
If the billboard being proposed is to be digital, the company proposing the digital billboard must remove two non-conforming billboards, each equal in size to the proposed digital billboard, and must comply with all billboard regulations. Removed billboards shall only be counted once and they must be removed within the month prior to the issuance of a building permit for the replacement digital billboard.
(C) Prohibited locations. Off-site signage shall be prohibited at any of the following locations:
(1) Less than 150 feet from the nearest property line of any residential zoning district;
(2) In any block where the front one-third of any lot or parcels used for residential purposes comprises 50% or more of the block frontage; or
(3) Less than 1,500 feet from the exterior boundary of any federal, state, county or municipal historic park, monument or district.
(D) City approved sign programs installed within or as a part of a development project are not subject to § 154-17.04(B).
(Ord. O2010-32, passed 7-7-2010; Ord. O2015-05, passed 2-4-2015; Ord. O2016-028, passed 10-5-2016)