The purpose of this section is to allow for the placement, maintenance and development features of on and off premise signs within the jurisdiction of the city.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

This section applies to the construction, placement, alteration and maintenance of all signs within the jurisdictional limits of the city. Signs shall not be permitted in any zoning district except as provided in this article.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The following signs shall be exempt from the provisions of this article:

1.

Construction signs required by law.

2.

Real estate signs of customary size and nature located on the advertising property and real estate directional signs placed in a manner as to not create a vision clearance hazard and place not earlier than noon of the Thursday prior and removed by noon of the Monday directly following the event.

3.

Government signs including but not limited to road signs.

4.

Signs promoting civic affairs or charitable activities previously approved by the board of public works and safety.

5.

Special project signs such as political signs, garage sales, and the like pursuant to the requirements contained elsewhere in this article.

6.

Signs not exceeding one (1) square foot containing only property numbers, box numbers, or names of residents.

7.

Directional signs in commercial or industrial districts designating enter/exit not greater than three (3) square feet, without obstructing vision clearance placed on the property and containing no additional advertising other than an identifying logo.

8.

Flags and insignias of any government.

9.

Legal notices, identification, information, or directional signs erected by or by the order of governmental bodies.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The following signs are hereby expressly prohibited for erection, construction, maintenance, repair, alteration, location or relocation within the jurisdictional area of the city except as may otherwise be exempt in this article:

1.

Attention-getting devices.

2.

Any sign or sign structure which is determined by the building inspector to be structurally unsafe or which constitutes a hazard to safety or health by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation or abandonment.

3.

Any sign which obstructs the vision of drivers or obstructs or detracts from the visibility of any traffic sign or traffic control device on public street by reason of size, coloring, location, or illumination of the sign.

4.

Any advertising sign in or on the city's park property without the consent of the city.

5.

Obsolete signs which advertise a business no longer conducted or a product no longer for sale on a premises on which the sign is located; provided however, a sign indicating a move of such business is permitted for a period of time not exceeding ninety (90) days from the date of discontinuance of the business at that location.

6.

Any sign on a motor vehicle which is parked within fifteen (15) feet of a street for the purpose of advertising a business, product or service of a business located on the premises where such vehicle is parked.

7.

Any sign which is placed or installed on fences, temporary structures or accessory buildings with less than twenty (20) foot setback from a property line or street right-of-way.

8.

Any portable sign in agricultural, residential and C-1A, Local Commercial—Professional Office zoned areas.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

A.

In any district, except as noted, the provisions of the section shall be applied to affect the safety of motorist and facilitate traffic movement.

1.

No sign shall be erected or maintained at any location where by reason of its position, wording, illumination, size, shape, or color, it may obstruct, impair, obscure, interfere with the view of, or be confused with any traffic control sign, signal or device.

2.

No sign shall contain or make use of any phrase, symbol, shape, for, or character in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead, or confuse moving traffic.

3.

No exterior sign shall be permitted to display flashing, intermittent or animated lighting or illumination, nor any illumination which simulates or displays motion, except those permitted electronic message centers.

4.

Except as elsewhere permitted by this section, portable signs are prohibited.

5.

All signs not expressly exempted or permitted by this section are prohibited.

B.

In all districts, the following provisions shall apply:

1.

No sign shall be permitted within fifty (50) feet of a property in any residence [residential] district unless the illumination of such sign is so designed that it does not reflect or shine onto such property.

2.

No part of any sign shall be erected to a height greater than that specified for other structures in the district in which the sign is located; rooftop signs shall not extend more than six (6) feet above the roof line or the height allowed by the district which, ever is lesser.

3.

The area of the sign shall be determined by the smallest circle, triangle, or rectangle that [can] be used to enclose the sign, exclusive of supporting members that bear no message.

4.

No freestanding sign shall be erected or maintained on or within any public or private right-of-way or easement without special permission in writing from the designated enforcement official.

5.

Vision clearance shall be provided at all intersections as follows:

a.

At intersections with streets having speed limits that are greater than or equal to forty (40) miles per hour, vision clearance shall be maintained within a triangle or triangles created along the right-of-way line each direction from the intersection measuring fifteen (15) feet by sixty (60) feet, with the longer dimension parallel to any street with a speed limit that is greater than or equal to forty (40) miles per hour. See figure below.

b.

At intersections with streets having speed limits that are less than or equal to thirty-five (35) miles per hour, vision clearance shall be maintained within a triangle or triangles created along the right-of-way line measuring fifteen (15) feet by forty-five (45) feet with the longer dimension parallel to any street with a speed limit that is less than or equal to thirty-five (35) miles per hour. See figure 11.06 below.

c.

In no case shall any sign be placed closer than ten (10) feet from the back edge of a curb or edge of pavement of a street.

d.

Nothing shall be placed within this vision clearance triangle area except those items that are placed at a height less than three (3) feet or placed at a height greater than twelve (12) feet as measured from the road surface. A single structure, such as a pole or column, may be placed within this area to support a sign structure providing the diameter of, or the largest dimension of, the structure does not exceed eight (8) inches.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

In any residential district, the provisions of this section shall apply:

1.

Multi-family developments may display identification signs indicating the name and/or address of the premise and/or the name of the management. Such sign shall not exceed fifty (50) square feet in size and shall comply with building line setbacks.

2.

Home occupation signs shall be permitted indicating name and/or address of the premise, and schedule of services or other information relevant to the operation of the premises. Such sign shall not exceed two (2) square feet in size and must be a wall sign.

3.

Signs may be illuminated unless such illumination creates a distraction or driving hazard, and does not shine on adjacent properties.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

In any commercial district, the provisions of this section shall apply:

1.

Signs may be installed on-site, providing that no portion of the sign encroaches onto any public or private right-of-way or easement.

2.

Signs shall be installed so as to provide adequate vision clearance at all ingress and egress drives to the premise and not to impair on adjacent property vision clearances.

3.

Signs shall be permitted to a size not to exceed one hundred and fifty (150) square feet, provided that vision clearance is maintained.

4.

Each property shall be allowed one (1) sign for each five hundred (500) feet of road frontage, corner lots may provide one (1) sign per frontage providing greater than one hundred (100) feet of frontage.

5.

Wall mounted signage shall be allowed not [to] exceed two (2) square feet for each lineal foot of building wall on which the sign shall be attached or shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet, whichever is lesser.

6.

Shopping center complexes shall be permitted one (1) sign not to exceed three hundred (300) square feet for each one thousand (1,000) feet of road frontage provided.

7.

Electronic message centers shall be allowed with the following restrictions:

a.

No electronic message shall change more rapidly than once every one and one-half seconds.

b.

No message shall require more than ten (10) seconds to display any message in its entirety.

c.

The message shall not display or appear to move toward or away from the viewer, expand or contract, bounce, rotate, spin, twist or otherwise portray movement or animation as it comes onto, is displayed on, or leaves the message center.

d.

The message center shall not appear to flash, undulate, pulse, or portray explosions, fireworks, flashes of light or blinking or chasing lights.

e.

Electronic message centers are allowed at community centers, schools, fire stations regardless of zoning classification.

f.

One (1) electronic message center per lot or parcel is allowable.

g.

The maximum height of an electronic message center shall not exceed the height allowable in the district.

h.

Electronic message centers are prohibited in Local Commercial—Professional Office Districts (C-1A), Agricultural Districts (A), and Residential Districts (R-1, R-2, RS and AR).

i.

The allowable size of an electronic message center shall be in accordance with Table 7.07.

Table 7.07:

Note: Street classification shall be determined by the road on which the message center will be viewed.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

In any industrial district, the provision of section 7.07 shall apply.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

In agricultural districts, the provision of this section shall apply:

1.

No off-premise sign shall be placed in an agricultural district regardless of size.

2.

Signs relevant to the agricultural use are permitted to a size not greater than thirty (30) square feet and placed not closer than five hundred (500) feet apart.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Signs allowed in this section shall be allowed in any district under the provisions provided herein:

1.

"For Sale" or "For Rent" signs not exceeding twelve (12) square feet in area, and not exceeding two (2) separate signs, placed on the property.

2.

One (1) sign, not exceeding twelve (12) square feet in area, placed by contractors, developers, etc. designating work being done on that property, and removed within thirty (30) days after completion of the work being performed.

3.

One (1) portable sign may be placed on the property for a period not to exceed forty-five (45) days provided said sign does not create a vision clearance obstruction.

4.

Political, charitable, religious, school related, and governmental agency signs may be placed for a period of thirty (30) days prior to the event and removed within five (5) days following the event.

5.

Garage sale signs, yard sale signs, etc. shall be allowed to be placed in the right-of-way when placed on an independent pole or stick, measuring not more than two (2) square feet, and not obstructing vision clearance. Such signs may be placed not more than two (2) days prior to the event, and removed within two (2) days after the event.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Off-premise signs shall only be permitted in areas zoned for commercial and industrial purposes.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

No off-premise sign shall be permitted in areas zoned for residential or agricultural use, nor shall any sign be permitted in any area which is designated as public property used primarily for purpose of recreation or public parks.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Each off-premise sign face shall contain no more than three hundred (300) square feet nor exceed twelve (12) feet in height and twenty-five (25) feet in length, and no off-premise sign shall have more than two (2) faces.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The maximum height of an off-premise sign above the road grade from which the sign is to be viewed shall not exceed twenty-eight (28) feet from the road grade level to the top of the sign.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The distance between lawfully erected off-premise sign structures shall be a lineal measure taken along the right-of-way line on that side of the street on which the sign is to be located:

1.

The required separation of one sign from another on the same side of the street is one thousand (1,000) feet.

2.

The required separation of an off-premise sign from any residence zone is two hundred (200) feet.

3.

The required separation of an off-premise sign from a church, school, or health care institution is three hundred (300) feet.

The separation requirement need not be met where a physical obstruction exists which prevents viewing of the signs at the same time and the separation requirement set out by this section have been specifically waived by the commission.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The perpendicular distance from the right-of-way line to the leading edge of an off-premises sign structure shall be in a manner consistent with state law and in no case shall extend beyond the public or private right-of-way line or recorded easement.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Lighting for off-premise signs shall be indirect, non-flashing, and shall not cause interference or danger to any public roads or highways.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

The individual or company responsible for the placement or construction of an off-premise sign is solely and completely responsible for the sign's maintenance and repair and shall keep the sign in good order and free from any and all peril to the general public. Further, if at any time the person responsible for the placement or construction of the sign decides to terminate the use of the sign, then it shall be that individual's or company's responsibility to remove the sign and restore the premise on which it was located to its condition prior to the placement or construction of the sign.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Any person responsible for the placement of a sign under this article is responsible for removing that sign within a reasonable period of time after the activity has been closed.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

A.

All permanently attached or affixed signs legally existing prior to the adoption of this appendix, but no longer conforming to the provisions of this article shall be regarded as legal nonconforming signs and may be continued, subject to being properly repaired and maintained as well as meeting the conditions set forth in this article.

B.

The board shall permit variances allowing the erection or maintenance of a nonconforming sign only upon the grounds established by the law for the granting of zoning variances or upon a finding that the granting of a variance will reduce the degree of nonconformity on an existing sign or will result in the removal of one (1) or more lawfully nonconforming signs and replacement by a sign more in keeping with the spirit, purpose, and provisions of this article.

C.

In addition, the board may permit a variance to this section if a sign meets one (1) of the following criteria:

1.

A sign having traditional or historic value.

2.

A sign having an aesthetic value which does not create a distraction or devalue adjacent properties.

3.

Economic hardship limited to on-premise sign where the elimination of a sign would create an economic hardship on the proprietor or owner of the business. Request for additional or larger signs than allowed to potentially increase business will not meet the criteria of the section.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

All regulations and requirements stated in this article shall comply with the Highway Beautification Act as implemented in 23 Code of Federal Regulations CFR 750.708(b) and the Indiana Department of Transportation sign regulations.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

Prior to the placement, construction, or relocation of a sign within the jurisdiction of the city, an improvement location permit/building permit shall first be applied for and obtained under the provision and requirements for the issuance of said permit. All fees required by the obtaining of said permit shall be paid in full prior to commencing construction, placement, or relocation of any sign.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

A.

Any party may appeal an adverse decision to the board which may reverse, revise or alter the decision of the designated enforcement official for good cause shown and such cause shall be entered into the minutes of the board.

B.

Any party seeking relief from a final decision of the board may appeal such decision pursuant to Indiana law.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any of the provisions of this article. Any sign found to be in violation of this article may be cited under the Ordinance Violation Bureau as described in section 1-8 of the City Code of Kendallville.

(Ord. No. 1205, 11-21-17)