No land or building or structure shall be used for sign purposes except as specified in this article. All signs legally existing at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived may remain in use under the conditions of legal nonconformance. Signs in legal nonconformance shall not be enlarged, moved, lighted or reconstructed; however, the change of the advertising display shall not be restricted except as previously stated. After the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, no sign shall be erected, enlarged, constructed or otherwise installed without first obtaining a building permit.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 1, 2-15-2001)

(a)

Exempt from all regulations except as otherwise specified. The following signs shall be exempt from the requirements of this article except as otherwise specifically provided in other sections:

(1)

Flags or emblems of a governmental or of a political, civic, philanthropic, educational or religious organization, displayed on private property.

(2)

Signs of a duly constituted governmental body, including traffic or similar regulatory signs, legal notices, warnings at railroad crossings and other instructional or regulatory signs having to do with health, safety, parking, swimming, dumping, etc.

(3)

Memorial signs and tablets displayed on public or private property.

(4)

Small signs, not exceeding three square feet in area, displayed on private property for the convenience of the public, including signs to identify entrance and exit drives, parking areas, one-way drives, restrooms, freight entrances and other similar signs.

(5)

Scoreboards in athletic stadiums.

(6)

Political campaign signs, not exceeding four square feet in area, displayed during no more than a four-week period preceding and a one-week period following an election.

(7)

Temporary signs for garage or porch sales at a residence for a period not to exceed three days.

(b)

Exempt from building permit requirement only. The following signs are exempt from the building permit section of this article, but shall comply with all of the other regulations imposed by this article:

(1)

Name plate signs not exceeding two square feet in gross area accessory to a single-family or two-family dwelling.

(2)

Bulletin board signs not exceeding 100 square feet in gross area accessory to a church, school or public or non-profit institution.

(3)

Business signs when located on property used for agricultural purposes and pertaining to the sale of agricultural products produced on the premises.

(4)

Real estate signs not exceeding eight square feet in area.

(5)

Construction signs not exceeding eight square feet in area.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 4, 2-15-2001)

All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material that they shall be safe and substantial.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 1, 2-15-2001)

(a)

Functional. Signs classified by function include the following:

(1)

Advertising sign. A sign which directs the attention of the public to any goods, merchandise, property, business, service, entertainment or amusement conducted or produced that is bought or sold, furnished, offered or dealt in elsewhere than on the premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed (commonly referred to as a billboard).

(2)

Bulletin board sign. A sign that indicates the name of an institution or organization on whose premises it is located and which contains the name of the institution or organization, the names of persons connected with it and announcement of persons, events or activities occurring at the institution. Such sign may also present a greeting or similar message.

(3)

Business sign. A sign which directs attention to a business or profession conducted, or to products, services or entertainment sold or offered upon the premises where such sign is located, or to which it is affixed.

(4)

Construction sign. A temporary sign indicating the names of the architects, engineers, landscape architects, contractors and similar artisans involved in the design and construction of a structure, complex or project only during the construction period and only on the premises on which the construction is taking place.

(5)

Identification sign. A sign giving the name and address of a building, business, development or establishment. Such sign may be wholly or partly devoted to a readily recognized symbol.

(6)

Name plate sign. A sign giving the name or address of the owner or occupant of a building or premises on which it is located and, where applicable, a professional status.

(7)

Real estate sign. A sign pertaining to the sale or lease of all or a part of a lot or tract of land on which the sign is located, or to the sale or lease of all or a part of one or more structures on which the sign is located.

(b)

Structural. Signs classified by structure include the following:

(1)

Awning, canopy or marquee sign. A sign that is mounted on, painted on, or attached to an awning, canopy or marquee. No such signs shall project above or beyond the awning, canopy or marquee.

(2)

Ground sign. A sign placed upon, or supported by, the ground independent of the principal building or structure on the property, where the bottom edge of the sign is less than six feet above the ground level.

(3)

Pole sign. A sign placed upon, or supported by, the ground independent of the principal building or structure on the property, where the bottom edge of the sign is six feet or more above the ground level.

(4)

Projecting sign. A sign that is wholly or partly dependent upon a building for support and which projects more than 12 inches from such building.

(5)

Wall sign. A sign fastened to or painted on a wall of a building or structure in such a manner that the wall becomes merely the supporting structure or forms the background surface and which does not project more than 12 inches from such building.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 2, 2-15-2001)

Gross area shall include the entire area within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of the sign, exclusive of the base on which it is mounted or from which it is suspended. If more than one side of a sign is used as a sign, then the area of both sides shall be computed and shall count as a portion of the gross area. On lots where more than one sign is located, the total gross area of all the signs shall not exceed the maximum gross area permitted by this regulation. For computing the gross area of any wall sign which consists of letters mounted or painted on a wall, the area shall be deemed to be the area of the smallest rectangular figure which can encompass all of the letters.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 3(a), 2-15-2001)

In those districts where gross sign area is allocated based on lineal street frontage and the tract or parcel is adjacent to more than one street, the lineal street frontage shall be one-half of the sum of all street frontages.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 3(f), 2-15-2001)

Sign height shall be measured from the ground elevation at the base of the sign to the highest point of the sign.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 3(b), 2-15-2001)

No sign, including exempt signs, shall be attached to a tree or utility pole whether on public or private property. No sign shall block any required accessway or window.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 3(c), (d), 2-15-2001)

No sign, including exempt signs, shall be placed in a sight triangle or maintained at any location where by reason of its position, size, shape or color, it may obstruct, impair, obscure, interfere with the view of, or be confused with any traffic or railroad control sign, signal or device, or where it may interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic. Any sign located within three feet of a driveway or within a parking area shall have its lowest elevation at least ten feet above the curb level; however, no sign shall be placed so as to project over any public right-of-way.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 3(e), 2-15-2001)

The following aesthetic standards reflect the desire of the City of Atwood ("city") to maintain the aesthetics within the city, while allowing for an increase in the availability of wireless broadband.

(1)

Application. The standards contained herein apply to all small cell antenna applications for placement of new small cell antennas on City-owned and non-city-owned poles in the public right of way.

(2)

General design and construction standards. The following standards shall be followed by all new installation of small cell antennas:

a.

Collocation. The city desires and encourages collocations between limited numbers of multiple separate wireless service providers on the same support structure whenever feasible.

b.

Antennas. The antenna must be top-mounted and concealed within a radome that also conceals the cable connection, antenna mount and other hardware. GPS antennas must be placed within the radome or directly above the radome, not to exceed six inches. The radome or side mounted antenna and GPS antenna must be non-reflective and painted or otherwise color matched to the existing pole.

c.

Pole-mounted equipment cages/shrouds. When pole-mounted equipment is either permitted or required, all equipment other than the antenna(s), electric meter and disconnect switch must be concealed within an equipment shroud not to exceed 11 cubic feet in total volume. The equipment must be installed no lower than 15 feet above ground level and must be painted or color matched to the existing pole. It is preferred that the equipment shrouds be mounted flush to the pole, but if necessary standoff mounts are acceptable but must not exceed six inches. There shall be no exposed wires or cables in the installations.

d.

Ground mounted equipment. Ground-Mounted equipment is allowed when placed in a ground mounted cabinet. The maximum acceptable dimensions of a ground-mounted cabinet shall be 30 inches wide by 30 inches deep by four feet high and must be square shaped. Ground-mounted cabinets shall be installed flush to the ground and painted pursuant to Federal Standard 595. Ground-mounted equipment located on or near sidewalks shall not interfere with the flow of pedestrian traffic and must conform to the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) in regards to appropriate sidewalk spacing.

e.

Concealment. The City requires the provider to incorporate concealment elements into the design including camouflage or shrouding techniques.

f.

Utility lines. New service lines must be underground where possible to avoid additional overhead lines. For metal poles, undergrounded cables and wires must transition directly into the pole base without any external junction box.

g.

Lights. Unless otherwise required for compliance with FAA or FCC regulations, the facility shall not include permanently installed lights. Any lights associated with the electronic equipment shall be appropriately shielded from public view. This subsection does not prohibit installation on streetlights or the installation of luminaires or additional street lighting on new poles when required by the city.

h.

Poles. Any new pole location shall not exceed the height of the surrounding utility poles or streetlights, whichever is greater. If no utility poles are present, the maximum height, including attachments and antennas, shall not exceed 35 feet. The poles shall be similar in appearance to the other existing utility poles.

i.

Generally applicable health and safety regulations. All facilities shall be designed, constructed and operated and maintained in compliance with all generally applicable health and safety standards, regulations and laws, including all applicable regulations for human exposure to RF emissions.

(Ord. No. 885, § 1, 3-21-2019)

(a)

Functional types permitted.

(1)

Advertising signs.

(2)

Bulletin board signs.

(3)

Business signs, pertaining only to the sale of agricultural products produced on the premises and home occupations.

(4)

Construction signs.

(5)

Identification signs.

(6)

Name plate signs.

(7)

Real estate signs.

(b)

Structural types permitted.

(1)

Pole signs.

(2)

Wall signs.

(3)

Ground signs.

(c)

Number of signs permitted. One sign per 660 feet of frontage.

(d)

Maximum gross area.

(1)

Advertising signs: 700 square feet per sign.

(2)

Bulletin board and identification signs: 24 square feet.

(3)

Business signs, home occupations: Two square feet; Agricultural: 20 square feet.

(4)

Construction signs: 20 square feet.

(5)

Identification signs: Four square feet.

(6)

Name plate signs: Four square feet.

(7)

Real estate signs: 12 square feet.

(e)

Maximum height. 50 feet.

(f)

Required setbacks. None, except that advertising signs shall observe any setback required by state or federal law.

(g)

Illumination. Bulletin board and identification signs that do not exceed 12 square feet on one face for churches, hospitals, police stations, fire stations and other similar public facilities and advertising signs, may be illuminated.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 5(a), 2-15-2001)

(a)

Functional types permitted.

(1)

Business signs pertaining to a home occupation and subject to the sign requirements of the home occupation section of this regulation.

(2)

Construction signs.

(3)

Identification signs.

(4)

Name plate signs.

(5)

Real estate signs.

(b)

Structural types permitted.

(1)

Ground signs.

(2)

Wall signs.

(c)

Number of signs permitted. One sign per zoning lot.

(d)

Maximum gross area.

(1)

Business signs, home occupations: Four square feet.

(2)

Construction signs: 20 square feet.

(3)

Name plate signs: Four square feet.

(4)

Real estate signs: Six square feet, provided that one sign not more than 100 square feet in area announcing the sale of lots or houses in a subdivision may be located on the development. The sign shall be removed at the end of three years, or when 75 percent of the lots have been sold, whichever occurs sooner.

(e)

Maximum height. 15 feet.

(f)

Required setback. No sign shall be placed closer to the front property line than one-half the distance of the front yard.

(g)

Illumination. Bulletin board signs may be indirectly illuminated with incandescent or fluorescent lighting.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 5(b), 2-15-2001)

(a)

Functional types permitted.

(1)

Advertising signs.

(2)

Bulletin board signs.

(3)

Business signs.

(4)

Construction signs.

(5)

Identification signs.

(6)

Name plate signs.

(7)

Real estate signs.

(b)

Structural types permitted.

(1)

Awning, canopy or marquee signs.

(2)

Ground signs.

(3)

Pole signs.

(4)

Projecting signs.

(5)

Wall signs.

(c)

Number of signs permitted. The following number of signs shall be permitted in the C-1 and C-2 districts, but in no event shall more than a total of three signs be permitted.

(1)

Awning, canopy or marquee signs and wall signs: No limitation.

(2)

Ground signs and pole signs: Two per zoning lot.

(3)

Projecting signs: One per zoning lot.

(4)

Advertising signs: One per zoning lot.

(d)

Maximum gross surface area. Four square feet for each lineal foot of street frontage, provided no single sign shall exceed a gross surface area of 300 square feet.

(e)

Maximum height. 40 feet.

(f)

Required setbacks. None, except that advertising signs shall maintain the same setback that is required for principal structures.

(g)

Illumination. Illuminated signs shall be permitted.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 5(c), 2-15-2001)

(a)

Functional types permitted.

(1)

Advertising signs.

(2)

Bulletin board signs.

(3)

Business signs.

(4)

Construction signs.

(5)

Identification signs.

(6)

Name plate signs.

(7)

Real estate signs.

(b)

Structural types permitted.

(1)

Awning, canopy or marquee signs.

(2)

Ground signs.

(3)

Pole signs.

(4)

Projecting signs.

(5)

Wall signs.

(c)

Number of signs permitted. Two per zoning lot.

(d)

Maximum gross surface area. Four square feet for each lineal foot of street frontage, provided no single sign shall exceed a gross surface area of 700 square feet.

(e)

Maximum height. 30 feet.

(f)

Required setbacks. None, except that advertising signs shall maintain the same setback that is required for principal structures.

(g)

Illumination. Illuminated signs shall be permitted.

(Ord. No. 740, art. 9, § 5(d), 2-15-2001)