Hudson Town Saint Croix County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
Signs
§ 105-20 Purpose.
A.
The purpose of this article is to protect and promote the general welfare, health, safety and order within the Town of Hudson through the standards, regulations and procedures governing the erection, use and/or display of devices, signs or symbols serving as visual communicative media to persons situated within or upon public rights-of-way or properties. Any sign which is not expressly permitted is not permitted.
B.
The provisions of this article are intended to encourage creativity, a reasonable degree of freedom of choice, an opportunity for effective communication and a sense of concern for the visual amenities on the part of those designing, displaying or otherwise utilizing needed communicative media of the types regulated by this article, while at the same time assuring that the public is not endangered, annoyed or distracted by the unsafe, disorderly, indiscriminate or unnecessary use of such communicative facilities.
§ 105-21 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A sign relating in its subject matter to the premises on which it is located, or to products, accommodations, services or activities on the premises on which it is located.
A freestanding sign which identifies the name of a neighborhood, a residential subdivision, a multiple residential complex consisting of three or more structures, a shopping center or area, an industrial area, an office complex consisting of three or more structures or any combination of the above that could be termed an area.
Attention-getting devices which may resemble flags and are of a nonpermanent paper, cloth or plastic like consistency. These are to be up no longer than three months. The same banner or pennant may not be used again for three months.
A large outdoor advertising structure mounted on one or more legs and designed to display posters or other composite graphic advertisements.
An accessory sign which announces goods or services available through the use of changeable letters and/or numbers.
A roof-like structure projecting over the entrance to a theater, store, gas pumps, bank drive-up, etc.
A sign which bears the address and/or name of a church and direction arrows pointing to a church location.
A sign which contains a traveling message, or a message which appears to be traveling, and usually in a horizontal manner. The characters incorporated into any message remain constant, and do not change in hue or intensity or appear to change in hue or intensity as they travel or appear to travel across or through the automatic changing copy area of the sign.
A sign which is placed in the ground and not affixed to any part of any structure.
Any sign which is illuminated by an artificial light source.
Any sign or bulletin board which identifies the name and other characteristics of a public or private institution on the site where the sign is located.
A sign which is erected on private property by the owner of such property for the purpose of guiding vehicular and pedestrian traffic within his property. Such sign bears no advertising information.
A sign located at the entrance to building/development area with the name and address of the tenants located in this area so customers can find business they are looking for.
Any sign which revolves, rotates or has any moving parts. Included in this category are searchlights used for advertisement.
A sign which bears the name and/or address of the occupants of the building, including area identification signs for major developments.
A sign other than an accessory sign.
A sign which does not conform to the newly enacted requirements of this article.
Any sign which identifies the name and other characteristics of a home occupation on the site where the sign is located. (This is for residential and agricultural districts.)
A sign which is permitted within a zoning district may be placed on someone else's parcel.
Any sign which is not a temporary sign.
A sign which is not permanently attached to the ground or any structure and so designed as to be movable from one location to another.
Any sign, all or any part of which extends over public property more than 12 inches.
Any freestanding area identification sign greater than 35 feet in height; if they are over 40 feet they are intended for freeway advertising.
A sign which bears the address and/or name of a recreational place and directional arrows pointing to that recreational location.
Any sign erected upon or projecting above the roofline of a structure to which it is affixed.
For fire, emergency or postal identification, whether written or in numeric form, and may include the Town of Hudson name.
Any letter, word or symbol, device, poster, picture, statuary, reading matter or representation in the nature of an advertisement, announcement, message or visual communication, whether painted, posted, printed, affixed or constructed, which is displayed outdoors for informational or communicative purposes.
That area within the marginal lines of the surface which bears the advertisement, or in the case of messages, figure or symbols attached directly to any part of the building, that area which is included in the smallest rectangle which can be made to circumscribe the message, figure or symbol displayed thereon. The stipulated maximum sign area for a freestanding sign refers to a single facing.
A sign which is erected or displayed for the stated limited period of time indicated in this article.
A sign which is erected by a governmental unit for the purpose of directing or guiding traffic.
The linear length of the side of a building, it includes all windows and doors.
Any sign which is affixed to a wall of any building.
§ 105-22 District regulations.
The following signs are permitted in each specific district and shall be regulated as to size, location and character according to the requirements herein set forth:
A.
Residential and Agricultural/Residential Districts.
(1)
Occupational signs: denoting only the name and profession of the occupant in a commercial building, public institutional building or dwelling, and may not exceed two square feet in locations where the speed limit of the street frontage is 35 mph or less and may not exceed six square feet in locations where the speed limit of the street frontage is 40 mph or greater.
(2)
Institutional and recreational signs: one sign or bulletin board per street frontage for public institutional use and for recreational use in Agricultural/Residential and Residential Districts; such sign or bulletin sign shall not exceed 24 square feet in area nor shall it be placed closer than 10 feet from the road right-of-way nor shall be placed in a location that would interfere with the safe movement of traffic.
(3)
Area identification signs: one sign per each major development, not to exceed 48 square feet in area.
(4)
Maximum height of freestanding signs: eight feet.
(5)
Nonaccessory freestanding and wall signs are prohibited except in areas especially designated in this article.
(6)
All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material that they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in this article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction of any sign not now permissible under this chapter or the Building Code of the Town of Hudson.
(7)
All illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source. Any sign illuminated and located within 50 feet of a lot line or a residential district shall be diffused or indirect so as not to direct rays of light into adjacent residence. All illuminated signs in commercial and commercial/light industrial districts, in close proximity to residential districts, shall be designed so as to illuminate the sign and not residential property to the extent practicable.
(8)
No sign, other than public traffic controls, church and recreational directional signs, street name signs, and rural address sign (house numbers), shall be erected or temporarily placed within any Town road right-of-way or upon any public easements.
(9)
A permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road or highway regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal, or of any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(10)
Temporary signs may only be allowed where specifically stated.
(11)
Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political candidate, may be placed on private property in any district. Such signs may be erected no more than two months prior to Election Day and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election.
(12)
Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of selling or promoting a residential project, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b)
Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which the property abuts.
(c)
Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed, sold or leased.
(d)
Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence not part of this project.
(13)
Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the purpose of selling or leasing individual lots or building shall be permitted, provided:
(14)
Portable, internally lit signs are not allowed as permanent or temporary signs.
(15)
Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any intersection of road right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical clearance for proper visibility by motorists on all affected roadways.
(16)
Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted, provided the total area of such signs shall not exceed six square feet per facing.
(17)
Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall be removed within seven days after the sale.
(18)
Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require permits or payment of fees.
(19)
Roof signs shall be prohibited.
(20)
Signs and components and elements of faces of signs that move, shimmer, or contain reflective devices are prohibited.
(21)
Substitution clause and sign content is permitted. Subject to the landowner's consent, noncommercial speech of any type may be substituted for any permitted commercial speech, provided the sign structure is legal without consideration of the message content. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval of permitting. This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this article. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a lot or parcel, nor does it affect the requirement that the sign structure be properly permitted.
B.
Commercial and Commercial/Light Industrial Districts.
(1)
Wall signs. The total area of all wall signs affixed to a building wall shall not exceed two square feet per linear foot of that wall. No individual wall sign shall exceed 150 square feet.
(a)
A wall sign shall not project more than 18 inches from the wall to which the sign is to be affixed. Furthermore, wall-mounted signs shall not exceed the roofline of any building.
(b)
Banners are temporary signs and are not part of the wall sign calculation. However, banners and temporary signs shall not exceed 50% of that wall area and may not be up longer than three months. The design and construction of all banners shall be professional looking and not be allowed to become torn or weathered.
(2)
Freestanding sign. One freestanding sign is permitted for each building for each road frontage.
(a)
The total area of a freestanding sign for a building having one road frontage shall not exceed 80 square feet. Where a building has two or more road frontages, each permitted freestanding sign in excess of one shall be no greater than 40 square feet.
(b)
No part of a freestanding sign shall be closer than 10 feet to the front property line or exceed 35 feet in height. The height shall be measured from the base of the sign or grade of the nearest adjacent roadway, whichever is lower.
(3)
Bulletin signs. The bulletin portion of that sign may use up to 50% of that signs total square footage. One nonilluminated bulletin sign up to 40 square feet is permitted. Such signs shall be located within the width of the storefront to which it is related and may be part of the freestanding or pylon sign, not in addition to.
(4)
Pylon signs. Retail and service establishments may erect one pylon sign in addition to their freestanding sign, not exceeding 150 square feet per side of display surface area. Maximum height is 40 feet. Retail and service establishments on property within 1,500 feet of Interstate 94 right-of-way and 500 feet from residential or agricultural/residential district property may erect one pylon sign not exceeding 150 square feet of display surface area in addition to their own freestanding sign. Maximum height in this area is 80 feet, however a special exception as outlined in § 105-33 is required for all signs over 40 feet in height.
(5)
Canopy and marquee signs shall be no greater than two square feet per linear foot, up to a maximum size of 100 square feet per side of the canopy or marquee. Canopies and marquees shall be considered to be an integral part of the structure to which they are accessory. Signs may be attached to a canopy or marquee. When calculating the allowable sign size, the canopy or marquee linear length of the side is separated from the wall sign calculation.
(6)
Temporary special event signs are permitted for no more than three months. Such signs shall include banners, pennants, flying signs and air-inflated devices, searchlights, bulletin signs, streamers and other signs approved by the Town Board.
(7)
Monument sign is to provide business location information for businesses in the development area so customers can find their business. Each tenant panel may not exceed three feet high by eight feet wide, and may only indicate business name, logo, address and phone number. The information in the tenant panels of the monument sign does not count as part of each individual business's overall available square footage for advertising signage.
(a)
A monument sign may not exceed 30 feet in height and the overall width may not exceed 16 feet, two tenant panels wide, plus the materials to build the monument sign and monument base. The monument sign may be two sided, parallel to the road or perpendicular to the road so the sign may be read by the traveling public from both directions.
(b)
The monument sign may have an electronic message center (EMC), not to exceed six feet high by 16 feet wide, the equivalent of four tenant panels. Temporary advertising information may be shown on the EMC for a limited period of time, no longer than 21 calendar days. Temporary information includes sales items, civic events, amber alerts, community events, etc.
(c)
The monument sign may be placed on an outlot, so all businesses using the monument sign may share in the overall cost of the monument sign. The physical area of the outlot shall be included in the subdivision average lot size calculations.
(d)
All monument signs require site plan approval.
(8)
Off-premises freestanding and wall signs are permitted. The off-premises sign(s) counts toward the total number of permitted signs allowed on the parcel of land the sign(s) are located on.
(9)
All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material that they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in this article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction of any sign not now permissible under this chapter or the Building Code of the Town of Hudson.
(10)
Illumination standards.
(a)
Externally illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source which is downward directed.
(b)
Illuminated signs shall be designed so as not to direct any light or produce glare onto adjacent properties or toward navigable waters.
(c)
The Town may specify the hours a sign may be illuminated and limit its brightness while illuminated. The hours of illumination or brightness limitations may be established at any time, including during the life of the sign.
(d)
Signs and sign components and elements of faces of signs shall not flash or use animation.
(e)
Unless a sign's only illumination is external and uncolored, the following additional regulations shall also apply to that sign:
[1]
No illuminated off-premises sign which changes in color or intensity of artificial light at any time while the sign is illuminated shall be permitted.
[2]
No illuminated accessory sign which changes in color or intensity of artificial light at any time while the sign is illuminated shall be permitted, except one for which the changes are necessary for the purpose of correcting hour-and-minute, date, or temperature information.
[3]
A sign that regularly or automatically ceases illumination for the purpose of causing the color or intensity to have changed when illumination resumes shall fall within the scope of the prohibitions of Subsection B(10)(e)[1] and [2] above.
(11)
No sign, other than public traffic controls, church and recreational directional signs, street name signs and rural address sign (house numbers), shall be erected or temporarily placed within any Town road right-of-way or upon any public easements.
(12)
A permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road or highway regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal, or of any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(13)
Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political candidate, may be placed on private property in any district. Such signs may be erected no more than two months' prior to Election Day and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election.
(14)
Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of selling or promoting a commercial project, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b)
Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which the property abuts.
(c)
Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed, sold or leased.
(d)
Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence not part of this project.
(15)
Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the purpose of selling or leasing individual lots or building shall be permitted, provided:
(16)
Portable, internally lit signs are only allowed as temporary signs and may not be up for more than three months and are not allowed as permanent signs.
(17)
Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any intersection of road right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical clearance for proper visibility by motorists on all affected roadways.
(18)
The total sign area of any multifaced freestanding or projecting wall sign shall not exceed two times the permitted area of a two-sided sign or three times the area of a three-sided sign. All applications for signs of more than two sides shall be reviewed by the Plan Commission and the Town Board.
(19)
Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted, provided the total area of such signs shall not exceed six square feet per facing.
(20)
Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall be removed within seven days after the sale.
(21)
Signs with changing electronic messages are allowed as part of the total area of a permitted sign. Signs with an electronic message center in them require site plan approval.
(22)
Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require permits or payment of fees.
(23)
Roof signs shall be prohibited.
(24)
Signs and components and elements of faces of signs that move, shimmer, or contain reflective devices are prohibited.
(25)
Internal traffic directional signs shall be permitted provided the total area of each sign shall not exceed 20 square feet.
(26)
Substitution clause and sign content is permitted. Subject to the landowner's consent, noncommercial speech of any type may be substituted for any permitted commercial speech, provided the sign structure is legal without consideration of the message content. Such substitution of message may be made without any additional approval of permitting. This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this article. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total amount of signage on a lot or parcel, nor does it affect the requirement that the sign structure be properly permitted.
C.
Industrial Districts.
[Added 3-13-2024 by Res. No. 2024-17]
(1)
Freestanding identification signs. One identification sign is permitted for each building, not to exceed 80 square feet in area. No part of a freestanding sign shall be closer than 10 feet to the front property line or exceed 15 feet in height. The height shall be measured from the base of the sign, or grade of the nearest adjacent roadway, whichever is lower.
(2)
Wall signs. One additional wall identification sign is permitted for each tenant having a private entry to a multitenant building, such sign being displayed at or near the tenants' entrance and not to exceed one square foot of space per linear foot of that wall.
(3)
Temporary special event signs are permitted for no more than 90 calendar days. Such signs shall include banners, pennants, flying signs and air-inflated devices, searchlights, portable bulletin signs, streamers and other signs approved by the Town Board.
(4)
Monument sign is to provide business location information for businesses in the development area so customers can find their business. Each tenant panel may not exceed three feet high by eight feet wide, and may only indicate business name, logo, address and phone number. The information in the tenant panels of the monument sign does not count as part of the business's overall available square footage for advertising signs.
(a)
A monument sign may not exceed 40 feet in height and the overall width may be 16 feet, two tenant panels wide, plus the materials to build the monument sign and monument base, The monument sign may he two sided, parallel to the road, perpendicular to the road, or V-shaped so the sign may be read by the traveling public from both directions.
(b)
The monument sign may be placed on an outlot so all businesses using the monument sign may share In the overall cost of the monument sign. The physical area of the outlot, shall be included in the subdivision average lot size calculations.
(5)
Non-accessory freestanding and wall signs are prohibited in all districts, except in area
(6)
All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material that they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in this article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction of any sign not now permissible under the Zoning or Building Code of the Town of Hudson.
(7)
All Illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source. Any sign illuminated and located within 50 feet of a lot line or a Residence District shall be diffused or indirect so as not to direct rays of light into adjacent residence. All illuminated signs in Commercial and Commercial/Light Industrial Districts, in close proximity to Residence Districts, shall be designed so as to illuminate the sign and not residential property to the extent practicable.
(8)
No sign, other than public traffic controls, directional, or street name signs and house numbers, shall be erected or temporarily placed within any street right-of-way or upon any public easements, except campaign yard signs as provided in Subsection F below.
(9)
A permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road or highway regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal or of any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(10)
Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political candidate, may be placed in any district. Such signs may be erected no more than two months prior to Election Day and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election. Such signs shall be limited to 24 square feet and four feet in height above the grade of the posting area, or as determined acceptable by the Town Board review. The signs shall be set back a minimum of five feet from the edge of the road. Candidates shall be provided a copy of this article upon filing for office.
(11)
Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of selling or promoting a residential project, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b)
Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which the property abuts.
(c)
Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed, sold or leased.
(d)
Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence not part of this project.
(12)
Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the purposes of leasing individual lots or building shall be permitted, provided:
(13)
Portable, internally lit signs are not allowed as permanent signs in any district.
(14)
Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any Intersection of road right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical clearance for proper visibility by motorists on all affected
(15)
The total sign area of any multifaced freestanding or projecting wall sign shall not exceed two times the permitted area of a two-sided sign or three times the area of a three-sided sign. All applications for signs of more than two sides shall be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Committee and the Town Board.
(16)
Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted in all districts, provided the total area of such signs shall not exceed six square feet per facing.
(17)
Canopies and marquees shall be considered to be an integral part of the structure to which they are accessory. Signs may be attached to a canopy or marquee. When calculating the allowable sign size, the canopy or marquee linear length of the side is separated from the wall sign calculation.
(18)
Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall be removed within seven days.
(19)
Signs with moving or changing electronic messages are allowed as part of the total area of a permitted sign.
(20)
Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall be exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require permits or payment of fees.
(21)
Roof signs shall be prohibited in all districts.
§ 105-23 Vehicle signs.
A vehicle used as a sign or as the base for a sign where the primary purpose of the vehicle in that location is its use as a sign shall be prohibited.
§ 105-24 Billboards.
A.
Billboards may be erected along and intended to be viewed from only Interstate 94. Billboards are allowed only in the following zoning districts: Commercial and Commercial/Light Industrial Districts.
B.
The maximum allowable size of any billboard is 700 square feet. The maximum allowable extensions shall not exceed 15% of the total sign area. All skirting and perimeter material shall be counted as part of the sign area.
C.
The maximum allowable height of any billboard is 40 feet. If an interstate highway served by a billboard is elevated above the surface on which it is placed, the Town Board may grant a special exception to this regulation according to its discretion.
D.
The minimum allowable distance in any direction between billboards is 5,280 feet.
E.
The minimum allowable proximity of any billboard to any residential zoning district is 500 feet.
F.
The minimum allowable distance of any billboard to any interstate right-of-way is 50 feet.
G.
The minimum allowable distance of a billboard to any building shall be 25 feet.
H.
No portion of any billboard shall occupy air space above any driveway or parking area.
I.
No billboard may display any moving parts nor shall it be illuminated with any flashing or intermittent lights.
§ 105-25 Administration and enforcement.
A.
Permits. Except as provided below, the owner or occupant of the premises on which a sign is to be displayed, or the owner or installer of such signs, shall file an application provided by the Town of Hudson Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator for permission to display such sign. Permits must be acquired for all new, relocated, modified or redesigned signs except those specifically excepted below. The applicant shall submit with the application a complete description of the sign and a sketch showing its size, location, manner of construction and such other information as shall be necessary to inform the Town of Hudson Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator of the kind, size, material, construction and location of the sign. The Town of Hudson Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator may approve sign permits. The applicant shall also submit the fee at the time of application as set forth in the Building Code Ordinance. If a sign authorized by a permit has not been installed within six months after the date of issuance of said permit, the permit shall become null and void.
B.
Exemptions. The exemptions permitted by this section shall apply only to the requirements of a permit and shall not be construed as excusing the installer of the sign or the owner of the property upon which the sign is located from complying with the other provisions of this article. No permit is required under this section for the following signs:
§ 105-26 Notice of violation; assessment of costs.
If the Town of Hudson Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator or his deputies finds that any sign regulated by this article is prohibited as to size, location, content, type, number, height or method of construction, or is unsafe, insecure or a menace to the public, or if any sign has been constructed or erected without a permit first being granted to the installer of said sign or to the owner of the property upon which said sign has been erected, or is improperly maintained, or is in violation of any other provisions of this article, he shall give written notice of such violation to the sign owner and/or benefiting business being advertised by said sign thereof.
§ 105-27 Appeals.
A.
A sign permit applicant or permit holder may appeal any order or determination made by the Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator or his deputy pursuant to this article by filing a notice of appeal with the Town Clerk and requesting a hearing before the Board of Adjustment for the Town of Hudson.
B.
The Board of Adjustment will hear:
(1)
Appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the administrative officer in the enforcement of this article.
(2)
Requests for variances from the literal provisions of this article. The application shall demonstrate:
(a)
That special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure or building involved and which are applicable to other lands, structures or building in the same district.
(b)
That literal interpretation of the provisions of this article would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this subsection.
(c)
That the special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant's request.
(d)
That granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this article to other lands, structures or building in the same district.
(e)
That granting of the variance is necessary to the reasonable use of the land and granting the variance will not adversely affect the existing or potential use of adjacent land.
§ 105-28 Nonconforming signs.
A.
Any nonconforming temporary or portable sign existing on December 4, 2007, or on the date of a subsequent amendment to this article shall be made to comply with the requirements set forth herein or shall be removed within six months after December 4, 2007, or on the date of a subsequent amendment to this article.
B.
Nonconforming permanent signs lawfully existing on December 4, 2007, or on the date of a subsequent amendment to this article shall be allowed to continue in use and may change the message. However, if the sign needs to be replaced, it must comply with the current sign ordinance at that time.
C.
Whenever the use of a nonconforming sign has been discontinued for a period of six months, such use shall not thereafter be resumed unless in conformance with the provisions of this article.