Geneva Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
Signs
§ 165-59 General provisions.
No sign or other device for advertising purpose of any kind may be erected or established in the municipality except and provided in the following sections.
§ 165-60 Sign content.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, any sign erected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or otherwise lawfully existing with a commercial message may, at the option of the owner, contain a noncommercial message in lieu of a commercial message. The noncommercial message may occupy the entire sign face or any portion thereof.
§ 165-61 AG Agricultural District.
No sign or other device for advertising purposes of any kind may be erected or established except and provided as follows:
Permitted nonresidential uses and legal nonconforming nonresidential uses may display no more than one sign pertaining to the use of property, provided that:
Such signs shall have an aggregate total face area of not more than 64 square feet and not projecting beyond the principal building of such use to which they are attached more than 24 inches.
If a freestanding sign, it shall have a face area of not more than 32 square feet per side, and not more than 64 square feet in total face area, shall not exceed eight feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line.
Dwellings for five or more families may display nonilluminated signs identifying the premises, having an aggregate total face of not more than 12 square feet and not projecting beyond the principal building on the lot more than 24 inches.
No illuminated, flashing or directly illuminated signs shall be permitted, and any indirectly illuminated sign shall be illuminated using downcast light designed in a manner that no light or glare extends beyond any property boundary.
No representational sign shall have an aggregate total face area exceeding 64 square feet, shall not exceed eight feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line. Sign face area shall be the sum of the areas of all the vertical faces of the smallest polyhedron that will encompass the sign structure.
Any sign or emblem that is part of the original manufacturer's design for a structure, including but not limited to buildings, silos and grain storage bins, shall not be considered a sign for the purpose of this Code, provided that it does not exceed the maximum permitted size allowed in the zoning district.
§ 165-62 R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, and R-5 Residential Districts.
No sign or other device for advertising purposes of any kind may be erected or established except and provided as follows:
Permitted nonresidential uses and legal nonconforming nonresidential uses may display no more than one sign pertaining to the use of property, provided that:
Such signs, when consisting of a single face of side and attached to a residence or other building, shall have an aggregate total face area of not more than 12 square feet and not project beyond the principal building of such use to which they are attached more than 24 inches.
If a freestanding sign, it shall have a sign face area of not more than 12 square feet, shall not exceed eight feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line.
Dwellings for five or more families may display nonilluminated signs identifying the premises, having an aggregate total face of not more than 12 square feet.
No illuminated, flashing or directly illuminated signs shall be permitted, and any indirectly illuminated sign shall be illuminated using downcast light designed in a manner that no light or glare extends beyond any property boundary.
No representational sign shall have an aggregate total face area exceeding 12 square feet, shall not exceed five feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line. Sign area shall be the sum of the areas of all the vertical faces of the smallest polyhedron that will encompass the sign structure.
§ 165-63 B General Business District, TC-1 Town Center Mixed-Use District or TC-2 Town Center Arterial District.
No more than two signs per business unit, having an aggregate total face area of not more than one square foot per lineal foot of width of the principal frontage of the lot, may be displayed, but not to exceed a total area of 150 square feet, and provided that:
No signs shall project more than five feet beyond the principal building on the lot;
There shall be no more than one projecting sign per business unit;
No projecting or wall sign shall extend more than 20 feet above the ground level or exceed the highest part of the building housing the business or service advertised, whichever is less restrictive.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a freestanding sign with a sign face not to exceed 75 square feet in size may be erected on the premises with lettering and/or symbols on all sides, provided that:
The maximum height of a freestanding sign and support shall be 20 feet;
No part of a freestanding sign shall extend into vehicular traffic areas;
Any portion of a freestanding sign extending over pedestrian traffic areas shall have a minimum clearance of eight feet;
Freestanding signs shall be placed in front yards only and shall be located no nearer than 10 feet from any property line;
No part of a freestanding sign shall encroach onto a street or highway right-of-way, or extend over a public street or sidewalk.
Dwellings for five or more families may display nonilluminated signs identifying the premises, having an aggregate total face of not more than 12 square feet.
No representational sign shall have an aggregate total face area exceeding 72 square feet, shall not exceed 20 feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line. Sign area shall be the sum of the areas of all the vertical faces of the smallest polyhedron that will encompass the sign structure.
§ 165-64 I-1 General Industrial District; I-2 Light Industrial District.
No more than two signs having an aggregate total face area of not more than 150 square feet may be displayed for each establishment, provided that:
Freestanding signs shall be placed in front yards only and shall be located no nearer than 10 feet from any property line; such signs shall not extend more than 20 feet above ground level or more than five feet above the height of the roof of a building at the point of location of the sign, whichever is less restrictive.
The maximum height of a freestanding sign and support shall be 20 feet;
No part of a freestanding sign shall extend into vehicular traffic areas;
Any portion of a freestanding sign extending over pedestrian traffic areas shall have a minimum clearance of eight feet;
No part of a freestanding sign shall encroach onto a street or highway right-of-way or extend over a public street or sidewalk;
No representational sign shall have an aggregate total face area exceeding 72 square feet, shall not exceed 20 feet in height, and shall be no nearer than 10 feet to any property line. Sign area shall be the sum of the areas of all the vertical faces of the smallest polyhedron that will encompass the sign structure.
§ 165-65 CO-Conservation Overlay District; LV Lake View Overlay District.
Within the Conservation Overlay and Lake View Overlay Zoning District, all signs shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of the underlying zoning district.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Table 3, District Sign Standards, which is included as an attachment to this chapter.
§ 165-66 Business directional signs.
In any zoning district where business directional signs are allowed, there shall be allowed no more than two such signs within the Town of Geneva for any one business, and further:
No business directional sign shall exceed nine square feet in area, nor exceed five feet in height at the top of the sign;
No business directional sign shall be placed more than 500 feet from the intersection at which prospective customers are being directed to turn off the road or highway along which said sign is located;
No business directional sign shall be located more than two miles from the business that it advertises;
All business directional signs shall be designed and constructed to conform to New York State Department of Transportation specifications, including specifications related to breakaway sign posts.
§ 165-67 Off-premises signs.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, signs not pertaining to the use, sale, rental or lease of property on the same lot and signs not representing construction or subdivision activity as allowed are not permitted in any district.
§ 165-68 Subdivision signs.
Any person offering lots for sale in a subdivision may erect nonilluminated informational signs within the limits of the subdivision or adjoining property in the same ownership, having an aggregate total face area of not more than 50 square feet. The permit for such signs shall be issued for a period of one year and may be renewed for successive periods of one year each following a determination by the Code Enforcement Officer that the signs have been repainted or are in good condition in each case.
§ 165-69 Exemptions.
The following signs are exempt from the regulations of this article:
Real estate signs which advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises upon which said signs are located, having an aggregate total face of not more than six square feet, within any residential district and business district, or signs of not more than 20 square feet within any industrial district.
One professional or business name plate not exceeding one square foot in area for any one professional or business establishment where such signs would not otherwise be a permitted use.
One sign denoting each architect, engineer, financing entity, contractor or materials supplier when placed upon work under construction and not exceeding 24 square feet in area, and shall not be posted for more than 90 days.
Memorial signs or tablets, names of buildings and dates of erection when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze, stainless steel or similar material.
Traffic or other municipal signs, legal notices and such temporary, emergency or nonadvertising signs as may be authorized by the Town Board.
Old business signs or replicas thereof, or artistic representations of signs collected and displayed for ornamentation purposes only and not to advertise an active business on the premises or elsewhere.
§ 165-70 Illuminated signs.
Directly illuminated signs are prohibited in the AG Agricultural, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 Residential, I-1 General Industrial and I-2 Light Industrial Zoning Districts. Wherever permitted, any illuminated sign, including a directly or indirectly illuminated sign, or lighting devices, shall employ only lights emitting a light of constant intensity, and no sign shall be illuminated by or contain flashing, intermittent, rotating or moving light or lights or produce direct glare beyond the limits of the side property line. Colored lights of such shape and hue that they may be confused with official traffic lights and signals shall be prohibited. All bare incandescent light sources and immediately adjacent reflecting surfaces shall be shielded from view.
§ 165-71 Temporary signs.
Banners and similar devices are prohibited, except nonpermanent ones displayed for the occasion of special events, which shall be displayed no longer than for a three-week period.
Temporary, nonpermanent posters covering such things as political events, sporting events, shows and elections shall not be displayed until four weeks prior to the event and must be removed within two weeks after the event.
Signs advertising home garage sales and private sales are permitted, provided the sign face is no more than six square feet in area, there are no more than two signs per property, and no sign shall be displayed longer than three weeks in the calendar year.
§ 165-72 Removal of defunct signs.
Any sign then or thereafter existing which no longer advertises a bona fide business conducted or a product available for purchase by the public on the premises shall be taken down and removed by the owner, agent or person having the beneficial use of the building or structure upon which such sign may be found within 10 days after written notification from the Code Enforcement Officer, and upon failure to comply with such notice within the time specified in such order, the Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized to cause removal of such sign, and any expense incident thereto shall be paid by the owner of the building or structure to which such sign is attached.