Kenmore City Zoning Code

Establishing standards that regulate the type, number, location, size, and lighting of signs;

Recognizing the private purposes of signs for the identification of businesses and promotion of products and services; and

Recognizing the public purposes of signs, which include considerations of traffic safety and economic and aesthetic welfare.

Except as otherwise permitted by this chapter, no sign shall be erected, altered or relocated without approval by the City.

No building permit shall be required for repainting, cleaning, or other normal maintenance and repair of a sign, or for sign face and copy changes that do not alter the size or structure of the sign.

By installing any sign in the City, whether or not a permit is required, the owner of the sign acknowledges responsibility for compliance with this chapter, for the safety of the sign, and for any and all damage to property or injury to person resulting from the sign.

Historic site markers or plaques, grave-stones, and address numbers;

Signs required by law, including but not limited to:

Plaques, tablets or inscriptions indicating the name of a building, date of erection, or other commemorative information, which are an integral part of the building structure or are attached flat to the face of the building, which are nonilluminated, and which do not exceed four square feet in surface area;

Incidental signs, which shall not exceed two square feet in surface area; provided, that said size limitation shall not apply to signs providing directions, warnings or information when established and maintained by a public agency;

State or federal flags;

Religious symbols;

Repealed by Ord. 21-0523; and

Signs, flags or banners installed on City-owned property or in the right-of-way by the City for purposes of providing information, directions, or decoration.

Portable signs including, but not limited to, mobile readerboard signs, but excluding A-frame and sandwich board signs and other signs permitted under KMC § 18.42.080 and 18.42.140;

Private signs on utility poles;

Signs which, by reason of their size, location, movement, content, coloring or manner of illumination, may be confused with traffic control signs or signals;

Signs located in the public right-of-way, except where permitted in this chapter or otherwise by law;

Posters, pennants, banners, strings of lights, blinking lights, balloons, searchlights and other displays of a carnival nature except where permitted in this chapter;

Changing message center signs, where the message changes more frequently than every eight seconds;

Billboards; and

Three-dimensional objects affixed or attendant to a permanent or temporary sign or display, such as vehicles, animals, instruments, or other figures; propellers, wind powered or other similar devices or objects; and air-filled figures other than balloons one foot or less in diameter.

Sign area for nonmonument freestanding signs shall be calculated by determining the total surface area of the sign as viewed from any single vantage point, excluding support structures.

Sign area for letters or symbols painted or mounted directly on walls or monument signs or on the sloping portion of a roof shall be calculated by measuring the smallest single rectangle which will enclose the combined letters and symbols.

Sign area for signs contained entirely within a cabinet and mounted on a wall, roof or monument shall be calculated by measuring the entire area of the cabinet.

All signs, except billboards, bulletin boards, community identification signs, and temporary signs, shall be on-premises signs; provided, that uses located on lots without public street frontage in business and office zones may have one off-premises directional sign of no more than 16 square feet.

Fuel price signs shall not be included in sign area or number limitations of KMC § 18.42.100 through 18.42.135, provided such signs do not exceed 20 square feet per street frontage.

Projecting and awning signs shall not be permitted for uses in the residential zones. Signs mounted on the sloping portion of roofs shall not be permitted in the residential, downtown residential, and downtown commercial zones. Allowances for projecting and awning signs in the downtown commercial zone are found in KMC § 18.42.100. In other zones, projecting and awning signs and signs mounted on the sloping portion of roofs may be used in lieu of wall signs, provided:

Changing message center signs, and time and temperature signs, which can be a wall or freestanding sign, shall not exceed the size permitted for a wall or freestanding sign, and shall be permitted only in the NB, CB west, UC, WC, and RB zones. Changing message center signs and time and temperature signs shall not exceed the maximum sign height permitted in the zone.

Directional signs shall not be included in the sign area or number limitation of KMC § 18.42.080; provided, they shall not exceed six square feet in surface area and are limited to one for each entrance or exit to surface parking areas or parking structure.

Sign Illumination and Glare.

Maximum height for wall signs shall not extend above the highest exterior wall or structure upon which the sign is located, except in the DC zone which is governed by KMC § 18.42.100.

Maximum height for projecting signs shall not extend above the highest exterior wall upon which the projecting sign is located.

Maximum height for awning signs shall not extend above the height of the awning upon which the awning sign is located.

Any sign attached to the sloping surface of a roof shall be installed or erected in such a manner that there are no visible support structures, shall appear to be part of the building itself, and shall not extend above the roof ridge line of the portion of the roof upon which the sign is attached.

Except as otherwise permitted by this chapter, off-premises directional signs shall not exceed four square feet in sign area.

Mixed use developments or multiple-family dwellings in the NB, CB, DC, UC, WC, or RB zones are permitted one permanent residential identification sign not exceeding 32 square feet in addition to the maximum sign area requirements in the zone where the development is located.

Community bulletin board signs shall not exceed 32 square feet per side;

Community bulletin board signs may be internally illuminated;

Community bulletin board signs may be electrically controlled and may contain messages that change at intervals of five seconds or greater. All such signs shall be turned off between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.;

Community bulletin board sign messages are limited to those notifying the public of community events and public services. No commercial advertising shall be permitted on community bulletin board signs. Lettering shall be only one color;

Community bulletin board signs shall not be located in the right-of-way and shall not impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic;

Wall signs and freestanding signs are permitted; and

The maximum height for freestanding signs shall not exceed 15 feet.

Sign does not exceed six square feet per face;

Sign is only displayed between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., or during business hours, whichever is earlier;

Sign must be displayed on-premises, except as expressly permitted in this chapter;

Sign must not be located in the right-of-way or impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic;

Only one sign for each street frontage shall be permitted, up to a maximum of two signs; and

No banners, streamers, balloons or pennants may be attached to any sign.

Nonresidential Use.

Residential Use.

Wall signs are permitted, provided they do not total an area more than 10 percent of the building facade on which they are located and provided they are limited to building facades with street frontage or to building facades with a business entrance if the business has an exterior facade which does not face a street. A maximum of two wall signs may be permitted per allowed facade, except that multitenant buildings may have one wall sign per business. The wall sign shall be placed on the facade not more than 25 feet above grade, measured to the top of the sign, except that properties fronting SR-522 may have one wall sign above 25 feet above grade if the sign is limited to the name and/or logo of the business(es) or development.

Freestanding Signs.

Awning Signs. An awning sign(s) may be used in place of a wall sign or freestanding sign. A maximum of 50 square feet of copy may appear on the vertical face area; the drop edge of the awning shall not exceed 12 inches in height. The maximum height of an awning shall be 10 feet. Awnings may extend over the right-of-way and have clearances according to the terms of the adopted International Building Code. The awning sign shall be unlit or externally illuminated. Directed lighting under an awning for purposes of lighting a business entrance is allowed. Backlighting of awnings for sign purposes shall not be permitted.

Projecting Signs. A projecting sign(s) may be used in place of a wall sign or freestanding sign. Such projecting signs shall not exceed 12 square feet in size if unlit or externally lit, or six square feet if internally lit. Such signs shall be located on building facades with street frontage or to building facades with a business entrance if the business has an exterior facade which does not face a street. A projecting sign may extend over the public right-of-way by no more than four feet from the wall it is mounted on. When projecting over a public right-of-way, a minimum of eight feet clearance above the surface of the sidewalk is required.

Wall signs are permitted, provided they do not total an area more than 10 percent of the building facade on which they are located;

Freestanding Signs.

Wall signs are permitted, provided they do not total an area more than 15 percent of the building facade on which they are located;

Freestanding Signs.

Wall signs are permitted, provided they do not total an area more than 15 percent of the building facade on which they are located;

Freestanding Signs.

One community bulletin board sign is permitted at properties located within the public/semi-public zones with the property owner’s permission, provided the sign conforms with KMC § 18.42.070;

No temporary sign may be placed on properties within the public/semi-public and golf course zones without the property owner’s permission. No temporary sign or display may be placed and/or left unattended on City-owned property (not including a City right-of-way), within the public/semi-public zones, except for City-owned signs and City-owned displays for City business purposes;

Properties located within the public/semi-public zones are permitted one sign per facility entrance, which may be located in the setback. Two additional wall signs attached directly to the facility are permitted; and

Signs in the golf course zone shall meet the standards of the nearest adjoining zone to which the sign faces.

General Provisions. All temporary signs are subject to the placement, size, and height requirements of this chapter, and the requirements set forth in the underlying zone, provided:

Temporary Signs in Residential Zones. Temporary signs are permitted in all residential zones, subject to the conditions set out in this chapter and the following:

Temporary Signs in Nonresidential Zones. Temporary signs are permitted in the downtown commercial zones, waterfront commercial, neighborhood business and community business Juanita subarea, community business west subarea, urban corridor, waterfront commercial, and regional business zones, subject to the conditions set out in this chapter and the following:

Any billboard which was legally in existence on the effective date of this section, which is December 5, 2017, is declared to be a nonconforming billboard and may remain, subject to the provisions of this section and any other applicable regulations.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a nonconforming billboard that is not located within the jurisdiction of the Washington Scenic Vistas Act, Chapter 47.42 RCW, shall be discontinued and removed within 10 years from the effective date of this section, in order to allow the owner to amortize the value of the billboard over the 10-year period. Upon the expiration of this 10-year amortization period, the billboard shall be removed immediately.