Freedom Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XV
Signs
§ 230-67 General regulations.
The following regulations shall govern signs in all districts:
A.
No sign shall be erected, enlarged, or relocated until a zoning permit for doing so has been issued by the Zoning Officer, or unless specifically exempted from permitting by § 230-68 below. Applications shall be on forms provided by the Township. All applications shall include a scale drawing specifying dimensions, materials, illumination, letter sizes, colors, location on land or buildings, means of installation on land or building, and all other relevant information.
B.
Signs, and the structure and equipment used in the erection and/or installation of such signs, shall be comprised of durable materials requiring little maintenance. All signs shall be permanently affixed to the ground or building, as appropriate, using generally accepted construction practices.
C.
No sign shall be located so as to interfere with the clear sight distance regulations of Chapter 195, Subdivision and Land Development, of the Code of Freedom Township. Temporary real estate, contractor, and yard/garage sale signs are excluded from this requirement.
D.
No sign shall be located within the right-of-way of any public or private street. Temporary real estate, contractor, and yard/garage sale signs are excluded from this requirement.
E.
Signs may be illuminated in accordance with the following standards:
(1)
Where sign illumination is limited in this chapter to external illumination, the light bulb or the lens covering the light bulb shall be hidden from vehicular and/or pedestrian view by a vegetative screen or a fixture surrounding the light that directs the light to the sign face. Indirect illumination shall not be permitted that either directly or indirectly produces glare affecting neighboring residential properties or any adjoining street.
(2)
Where sign illumination is not limited in this chapter to external illumination, the sign may employ internal illumination.
§ 230-68 Signs exempt from permitting.
The following types of signs are exempted from the permitting requirements of this chapter, provided the sign meets all other applicable requirements of this section:
A.
Official street and traffic signs and any other signs required by law.
B.
Incidental signs, provided that such signs are spaced at intervals of no less than 100 feet and do not exceed two square feet in area.
C.
Real estate signs, provided the following standards are met:
(1)
The maximum area on any side of the sign shall not exceed six square feet.
(2)
The total area of the sign shall not exceed 12 square feet.
(3)
Not more than two signs are placed on a property under single ownership.
(4)
Such signs shall be removed not more than five business days following the sale or rental of the premises.
D.
Contractors signs, provided the following standards are met:
(1)
The maximum area of any one side of the sign shall not exceed six square feet.
(2)
The total area of the sign shall not exceed 12 square feet.
(3)
Not more than one such sign for each contractor, painter, or similar artisan shall be erected on any property under single ownership.
(4)
The sign shall be removed within five days of the completion of the work.
G.
Government signs.
H.
Flags, provided the following standards are met:
§ 230-69 Prohibited signs.
The following types of signs and/or sign design features are prohibited in all districts:
A.
Flashing signs.
B.
Flashing and/or rotation lights.
C.
Signs that resemble traffic control signs in terms of size, shape, or color.
D.
Revolving, rotating, or otherwise moving signs. This prohibition shall not include feather signs or flags.
E.
Animated signs, where a component of the sign structure is designed to physically move. This prohibition shall not include feather signs or flags.
F.
Changeable copy signs, except when copy is changed manually. Electronic message center signs, when permitted in accordance with the standards of § 230-73, are excluded from this prohibition.
G.
Portable signs, whether mounted on a trailer, vehicle, temporary base, or similar such devise.
H.
Roof signs.
I.
Streamers, pennants, inflatable, or lighter than air signs. This prohibition shall not include feather signs or flags.
J.
Strings or light bulbs, search lights, or other lighting intended to attract attention to a nonresidential use, other than traditional holiday decorations.
§ 230-70 Signs permitted in all districts.
The following types of signs are permitted in all districts:
A.
Off-premises directional signs:
(1)
The maximum area of any one side of a sign shall not exceed 10 square feet.
(2)
The total area of the sign shall not exceed 20 square feet.
(3)
The maximum height of the sign shall not exceed 10 feet.
(4)
Within the AG, RC, RL, and RM Districts, sign illumination shall be limited to external illumination.
(5)
If three or more off-premises directional signs are proposed on the same property, consolidation of the individual signs on a single off-premises directional sign shall be required. Compatibly designed business logos shall be required. In addition, the following size requirements shall be required:
(6)
Where the applicant for an off-premises directional sign does not own the property where said sign is proposed, the property owner shall be a coapplicant for the zoning permit necessary to authorize said sign.
B.
Public/semipublic use signs:
(1)
The maximum area of any one side of the sign shall not exceed 32 square feet.
(2)
The maximum area of all sides of the sign shall not exceed 64 square feet.
(3)
If a freestanding sign is used, the maximum height of the sign shall not exceed 10 feet.
(4)
Sign illumination may include internal illumination.
(5)
Changeable copy may be permitted, provided the changeable copy complies with the requirements of § 230-69F.
§ 230-71 Signs permitted in AG, RC, RL and RM Districts.
Within the AG, RC, RL, and RM Districts, the following sign regulations shall apply.
A.
Home occupation signs, provided that the following requirements are met:
(1)
The maximum area of any one side of the sign shall not exceed four square feet.
(2)
The total area of the sign shall not exceed eight square feet.
(3)
Sign illumination shall be limited to external illumination.
(4)
The maximum height of a freestanding sign shall not exceed six feet. Wall signs or projecting signs are permitted, provided that said sign does not extend above the eave of the building.
§ 230-72 Signs permitted in CC and LI Districts.
Within the CC and LI Districts, the following sign regulations shall apply:
A.
For a property with one nonresidential use, the following sign standards shall apply:
(1)
One freestanding sign shall be permitted in accordance with the following requirements:
(3)
Where the nonresidential use is located at the intersection of two public streets, excluding alleys, one sign meeting the requirements of § 230-72A(1) and one sign meeting the requirements of § 230-72A(2) may be erected along each street.
(4)
The signs authorized in § 230-72A(1) above may include an electronic message center component, provided that such component complies with the electronic message center standards established in § 230-73.
B.
For a property with more than one nonresidential use, the following sign standards shall apply:
(1)
One freestanding sign shall be permitted in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
The maximum area of any one side of a freestanding sign shall not exceed 30 square feet.
(b)
The total area of a freestanding or projecting sign shall not exceed 60 square feet.
(c)
The freestanding sign shall not exceed eight feet in height.
(d)
The freestanding sign shall be designed to accommodate signage for all nonresidential uses of the property.
(2)
One wall sign shall for each nonresidential use be permitted in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
The maximum area of each wall sign shall be 30 square feet or 15% of the surface area of the wall, whichever is less.
(b)
The cumulative area of all wall signs shall not exceed 60 square feet or 30% of the surface area of the wall, whichever is less.
(c)
Wall signs shall not extend above the eave of the building and shall not be placed over windows.
(3)
Where the nonresidential use is located at the intersection of two public streets, excluding alleys, one sign meeting the requirements of § 230-72B(1) and one sign for each nonresidential use meeting the requirements of § 230-72B(2) may be erected along each street.
(4)
The signs authorized in § 230-72B(1) above may include an electronic message center component, provided that such component complies with the electronic message center standards established in § 230-73.
§ 230-73 Electronic message center standards.
Where authorized, electronic message centers shall comply with the following standards:
A.
Where an electronic message center is authorized, the electronic message center shall be incorporated into an existing or proposed sign that complies with the sign type, sign height, and sign area requirements of the underlying zoning district. Under no circumstances shall an electronic message center be permitted to be incorporated into a nonconforming sign.
B.
The electronic message center shall not exceed more than 50% of the total sign area of the sign into which the electronic message center is being incorporated.
C.
No more than one electronic message center shall be permitted per property.
D.
The electronic message center shall not employ streaming video.
E.
The electronic message center shall not employ text or images which flash, pulsate, or scroll. The electronic message center may include animated graphics.
F.
Each complete message must fit on one screen.
G.
Any message on an electronic message center shall have a minimum hold time of eight seconds.
H.
Message transitions on an electronic message center shall occur instantly, and no transition graphics (for example, fades or dissolves) may be employed.
I.
The electronic message center shall be equipped with a default mechanism that will freeze the message when a malfunction in the electronic programming occurs.
J.
Audio speakers on electronic message centers are prohibited.
K.
Electronic message centers shall not exceed a maximum illumination of 5,000 nits (candelas per square meter) during daylight hours and a maximum of 500 nits (candelas per square meter) between dusk to dawn. The sign shall be equipped with an automatic dimmer control that produces a distinct illumination change from the higher allowed illumination level to the lower allowed illumination level for the time period between a half hour before sunset and a half hour after sunrise.
L.
The owner of every electronic message center shall coordinate with local authorities to display, when appropriate, emergency information important to the traveling public, including but not limited to amber alerts or alerts concerning terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Emergency information messages shall remain in the advertising rotation according to the protocols of the agency that issues the information.