Signs in all districts shall be subject to the following general provisions and regulations:

(1)

Unless otherwise in this article, no sign shall be erected until a sign permit has first been issued by the municipal officer charged with enforcement.

a.

An application for a sign permit may be obtained at the department of community development and planning.

b.

No sign permit shall be issued unless the municipal officer charged with enforcement is satisfied that the sign supporting devices and electrical appurtenances and connections are in conformance with the city's building and electrical codes.

c.

A processing fee in the amount provided in the city fee schedule shall accompany all applications for a sign permit.

(2)

No sign shall contain any moving, flashing or animated lights, or visible moving or movable parts, except such portions of a sign as consist solely of indicators of time and/or temperature or changeable message signs permitted by the director of planning and permitting or his designee pursuant to the following standards:

a.

The property must be located in the General Business, General Business II, T5, T6 or Industrial Zoning District.

b.

The applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the chief of police that the sign will not constitute a driving hazard.

c.

Each message shall be a fixed static display with a five second hold rate of change minimum between changes including the use of subtle transitions such as fade, dissolve, travel and scrolling or similar transitions and with frames that appear to move or change in size, or be revealed sequentially rather than at once including the movement of illumination or the scintillation or varying of light intensity as long as the intermittent lighting is used to change messages and not solely to attract attention. Definitions related to changeable message signs shall have the meanings from 23 M.R.S.A. § 1914(11-A). Time and temperature signs are allowed to change display with a two second message hold rate.

d.

The changeable message portion of the sign shall not comprise more than 50 percent of the sign area allowed pursuant to section 60-638(c).

e.

Those provisions of 23 M.R.S.A. § 1914 that are applicable to changeable message signs as they apply to controlled-access highways or ramps remain in effect. A flashing sign or message with graphic, pictorial, animated, or photographic images is prohibited.

(3)

Signs may be illuminated only by the following means:

a.

By a white, steady, stationary light of reasonable intensity shielded and directed solely at the sign and not casting light off the premises.

b.

By interior nonexposed lights of reasonable intensity.

c.

An illuminated sign or lighting device shall not be so placed or directed so that it constitutes a traffic hazard or nuisance through glare or reflection upon a public street, highway, sidewalk or adjacent premises.

(4)

No illuminated sign shall contain red, green or amber colors or lights if same would, in the opinion of the chief of police, constitute a driving hazard.

(5)

No sign shall project beyond the property line of the lot on which it is placed.

(6)

No sign may be located so as to obstruct a traffic control device or in a manner which would obscure the view of approaching or merging traffic.

(7)

Wall, projecting and roof signs shall be firmly affixed to the building. Wall signs shall not project more than 12 inches from the face of the wall to which it is attached. Projecting signs shall not project more than four feet perpendicularly from the face of the wall to which they are attached. Roof signs shall not project more than four feet above the roofline.

(8)

No sign which advertises or calls attention to any products, businesses or activities which are no longer sold or carried on shall remain on the premises for more than six months after the product, business or activity has ceased being sold or carried on.

(9)

Temporary movable signs are not permitted except for the following uses:

a.

To call attention to and/or to advertise the name of a new business and the products sold or activities to be carried on in connection with a new business. In such cases, no sign shall remain at premises for more than 90 days.

b.

To advertise a special sale. In such cases a sign shall be allowed for a period not to exceed 90 days in any calendar year.

c.

Signs or other advertising devices as may be permitted by the city council to promote community or civic activities. Petitions for such signs shall be made directly to the city council and shall include a scaled map of the sign site, size and design of the sign, how the sign may be electrified, period of use, written permission of property owner if not the city, a description of the reason for the sign, a recommendation from the police department and the department of community development and planning and any other information the city may require. Such signs shall not be required to satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.

(10)

Signs legally erected before the adoption of this chapter which do not conform to the provision of this chapter may continue to be maintained, provided, however, that no such sign shall be permitted if it is, after the adoption of this chapter, enlarged, reworded (other than in the case of theater or cinema signs or signs with automatic or manually changing messages), redesigned or altered in any way excluding repainting in a different color, except to conform to the requirements of this chapter; and provided further that any such sign which has deteriorated to such an extent that the cost of restoration would exceed 35 percent of the replacement cost of the sign at the time of restoration shall not be repaired, rebuilt or altered except to conform to the requirements of this chapter. Any exemption provided in this article shall terminate with respect to any sign which:

a.

Shall have been abandoned for at least 12 consecutive months;

b.

Advertises or calls attention to any products, businesses or activities which are no longer sold or carried on, whether generally or at the particular premises; or

c.

Shall not have been repaired or properly maintained within 30 days after notice to that effect has been given by the municipal officer charged with enforcement.

(11)

For those developments subject to site plan review (division 2 of article XVI of this chapter) the relaxation of the number and location of signs shall be reviewed by the planning board. The modifications to the sign requirements shall be allowed as the planning board may deem necessary to carry out the objectives and intent of site plan review.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 4.2A; Ord. No. 11-03012021, 3-15-2021)

(a)

All districts. The following signs are permitted in any use district, except where otherwise prohibited by law, and shall not be subject to the issuance of a sign permit.

(1)

One sign not exceeding one square foot used to display the street number and/or name of the occupants of the premises.

(2)

One nonilluminated sign not exceeding two square feet used to describe a home occupation, boardinghouse or lodginghouse, or tourist home located on the premises.

(3)

One sign not exceeding 24 square feet on the premises of public or semipublic buildings, funeral homes and charitable or religious institutions. This sign may incorporate a bulletin board.

(4)

One real estate sign not exceeding eight square feet relating to the sale, rental or lease of the premises. Such sign shall be removed within one week after the property transaction.

(5)

One sign each for a building contractor, architect or engineer, each sign not exceeding 16 square feet, relating to construction projects. Such sign shall be removed within one week after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy (completion).

(6)

Building name and date sign and/or memorial tablet, not exceeding an aggregate of ten square feet, showing the name of the building and date of erection and/or historic information, when cut into masonry, formed of bronze or similar noncombustible material.

(7)

One professional name plate sign not exceeding eight square feet.

(8)

Two signs, not exceeding 16 square feet each, describing farm products for sale on the premises. Instead of two signs, a single double-faced sign may be erected with a display area, not exceeding 16 square feet on each side.

(9)

Political signs, not exceeding 16 square feet in total area for single-faced signs on one standard, or eight square feet on each side of double-faced signs on one standard, provided that:

a.

Such signs shall not be erected more than 30 days prior to the election to which they pertain;

b.

Such signs are removed within seven days after the election to which they refer;

c.

Removal of such signs shall be the joint responsibility of the candidate and the property owner on whose premises the signs are displayed.

(10)

One portable or sandwich board or easel sign shall be permitted per property with the following conditions, and such signs shall not require a permit:

a.

Said sign shall be located immediately in front of the building for which it advertises, with at least a 36 inch wide clearance when placed within any public pedestrian right-of-way;

b.

Said sign shall be no larger than four feet in height and shall not exceed six square feet per side in area;

c.

Said sign shall have no illumination of any kind and may be displayed only during the time when the business is open to the public.

d.

Said sign shall not create a sight distance hazard or any other safety hazard as determined by the director of planning and permitting. If such a hazard is created the director of planning and permitting or his designee may require that the sign owner or property owner remove or relocate the sign immediately to eliminate the hazard.

e.

A second sandwich board or easel sign shall be allowed on lots with frontage on a second street.

(11)

Traffic or other municipal signs, legal notices, railroad crossing signs, danger signs, directional signs, noncommercial and temporary signs or street banners related to public or charitable purposes may be approved by the city clerk along with stipulations as to the size, location, message, period of display and other requirements such as insurance and approval of building owners on whose property the banner will be attached.

(b)

Residence districts. The following sign regulations apply in residence districts:

(1)

Except where specifically permitted, all signs shall be single-faced, mounted flat on the wall of a structure or standing.

(2)

No off-premises signs are permitted, except as provided for in chapter 42.

(3)

No projecting or roof signs are permitted.

(4)

One identification sign, not exceeding 40 square feet in area, at any public entrance to a subdivision or multifamily development.

(5)

Signs permitted pursuant to a site plan review.

(6)

In Agriculture and Resource Protection, Low Density Country Residential, Rural Residence and Suburban Residence Districts one nonilluminated sign, not exceeding 16 square feet, used to display the name of the business and products or services sold from a use which is permitted in the district.

(c)

Business and industrial districts. The following sign regulations apply in business and industrial districts:

(1)

Sign shall relate to the premises on which they are located and shall only identify the occupants of said premises or advertise the nature of the products and services available within said premises. In the case of a multitenant or condominium development, it shall be the responsibility of the owner or property manager of such premises to allocate sign space upon the premises, under the terms of this article.

(2)

Wall signs and roof signs are permitted provided that the aggregate area of the signs shall not exceed 15 percent of the area of the wall on or over which the signs are located. Signs proposed for placement at an angle at the intersection of two walls shall use 15 percent of the area of the wall with the smallest dimensions.

(3)

Projecting and standing signs, one of each per premises, are permitted subject to the following provisions:

a.

The aggregate area of sign surface for any one premises shall not exceed four square feet per foot of street to the maximum of 250 square feet or one square foot per foot of street frontage, whichever is larger. These dimensions shall be halved in Neighborhood Business (NB) Districts.

b.

Standing signs may be located within the required front yard space but not nearer than 12 feet from either side lot line unless written permission is obtained from the abutting property owner to erect such sign nearer than that distance from the common side lot line between the two properties.

c.

The maximum height of standing signs shall be 25 feet above grade.

d.

Two projecting and two standing signs are permitted where the premise fronts on two streets; one sign of each type per street.

e.

Compliance with all the state sign regulations when applicable.

(4)

In addition to the foregoing sign, one directory of the establishments occupying a building may be affixed to the exterior wall of the buildings at each public entrance to the building. Such directory shall not exceed an area determined on the basis of one square foot for each establishment occupying the building.

(5)

Signs painted or placed on the inside of the glass of a window may be permitted in addition to the above, provided that the aggregate area of such signs does not exceed 50 percent of the area of the window glass.

(6)

Sign permitted pursuant to site plan review.

(7)

Commercial and industrial subdivisions and planned unit developments are allowed to have a single standing sign at each public entrance to the development to advertise the individual uses within the development, not to exceed in size the aggregate area of sign surface allowed by subsection (c)3 of this section for lots within the development. Individual standing signs for lots within the development are prohibited.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 4.2B; Ord. of 6-7-2010; Ord. No. 11-03012021, § 73, 3-15-2021)