Detached. A detached sign which shall include any permanent sign supported by uprights or braces placed upon, or in, or supported by the ground and not attached to any building.

Projection. Projecting signs shall include any sign which is attached to a building and extends into the required setback area for the building. Projecting signs are subject to the following:

Wall. Any sign attached to and erected parallel to the face or the outside wall of a building shall not extend more than twelve (12) inches from the building wall. A wall sign may not extend beyond the wall or above the roof of the building on which it is located.

Flashing signs, except those with the limited capacity of showing time and temperature indicators;

Animated signs;

Signs which produce noise or sounds or emit smoke, flame vapor, particles or odor;

Pennants, banners, streamers and all other fluttering, spinning or similar type signs and advertising devices with the exception of a flag no larger than three (3) feet by five (5) feet, mounted on a pole, attached to the front facade of the business or organization, and displayed only when the on-premises business or organization is open to the public. For each business or organization, the number of flags allotted is one (1). Other exceptions are national flags or flags of political subdivisions or the United States or the State of Delaware;

Signs with intermittent lights resembling or seeming to resemble the flashing lights associated with danger or such as are customarily used by police, fire or ambulance vehicles, or for navigational purposes;

Signs located and so illuminated as to provide a background of colored lights blending with traffic signal lights to the extent of confusing a motorist when viewed from a normal approaching position of a vehicle at a distance up to three hundred (300) feet;

Signs in any location which obstruct a motorist's view of traffic control signals;

Signs attached to trees or utility poles;

Signs attached to any vehicle, parked primarily for display purposes;

Off-premises signs;

Neon tubes, bent to form shapes, letters or symbols, unless placed inside a premises;

Bare bulbs of any size;

Signs illuminated in any manner which may constitute a traffic hazard or be a nuisance; and

Signs that provide blinking, moving, animation, revolving, chaser lights or moving spotlights.

Electronic variable message boards, other than those for municipal, police, fire, and ambulance buildings, and those with the limited capacity of showing time and temperature indicators;

Bandit signs;

Roof signs; and

Trailer signs.

Permanent subdivision identification signs shall be approved by site plan approval and shall not exceed a total of forty (40) square feet of sign area per street entrance.

Temporary real estate sale or rental signs of the premises on which it is located with a maximum area of six (6) square feet, minimum setback of ten (10) feet from the front property line, nonilluminated and no more than one (1) sign for each street frontage on which the premises abuts. Sold signs shall be removed within seven (7) days of final sale;

Temporary construction sign identifying those businesses engaged in construction, with a maximum total area of thirty-two (32) square feet, minimum setback of (10) feet from the front property line, maximum height of five (5) feet, and nonilluminated. One (1) sign is permitted per business and only while construction by that business is in progress and on the property where construction is taking place; however, the maximum total sign area for all such signs on the project's property shall not exceed sixty-four (64) square feet, and all such signs shall be located within an area of twenty-four (24) linear feet;

Temporary yard sale signs erected on the premises of the yard sale. Yard sales may be held twice a year for a period of no longer than two (2) consecutive days and removed immediately after the sale is over. Signs may be posted for a maximum period of seven (7) days prior to each sale; and

Electronic variable message boards for municipal buildings, police, fire and ambulance departments.

Political signs.

No sign permitted herein shall be erected, constructed, posted, painted, altered, maintained or relocated except as provided in this article and in these regulations until a permit has been issued by the Millville Code Enforcement Officer. Before any permit is issued, an application provided by the Town of Millville shall be filed, together with two (2) sets of drawings and specifications (one (1) to be returned to the applicant) as may be necessary to fully advise and acquaint the Code Enforcement Officer or his designee with the location, construction material, manner of illuminating and/or securing or fastening, and number of signs applied for and the wording of the sign or advertisement to be carried on the sign. All signs shall be erected on or before the expiration of six (6) months from the date of issuance of the permit; otherwise, the permit shall become null and void and a new permit shall be required. Each sign requiring a permit shall be clearly marked with a permit number. Fees for sign permits shall be in accordance with the schedule adopted by the Millville Town Council, a copy of which is maintained in the Town Office.

The following signs may be erected or constructed without a permit:

The Code Enforcement Officer, upon application, may issue temporary permits for the above signs for a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days, when in his opinion the use of such signs and displays would be in the public interest and would not result in damage to private property.

The owner and/or tenant of the premises and the owner and/or erector of the sign shall be held responsible for any violation of these regulations. Where a sign has been erected in accordance with these regulations, the sign company shall be relieved of further responsibility under these regulations after final approval of the sign by the Code Enforcement Officer.

All signs shall be maintained in good condition and appearance. After due notice has been given as provided below, the Code Enforcement Officer or his designee may cause to be removed, at the owner's expense, any sign which shows gross neglect or becomes dilapidated, or which may threaten the public safety.

The Code Enforcement Officer or his designee shall remove or cause to be removed, at the owner's expense, any sign, other than a bandit sign, erected or maintained in conflict with these regulations, if the owner or tenant of either the site or the sign fails to correct the violation within thirty (30) days after receiving written notice from the Code Enforcement Officer. Removal of a sign shall not affect any proceedings instituted prior to removal of such sign.

The Code Enforcement Officer or his designee shall remove or cause to be removed any bandit sign erected in violation of the provisions of this chapter, and issue a notice to the owner for the violation in the amount of $25 per sign. Whenever possible, within twenty-four (24) hours of the removal of the sign, the Code Enforcement Officer or his designee shall notify the owner of the sign in writing that the sign has been removed and a fine has been issued. The owner of the sign shall have 10 days to pay the fine and retrieve the sign. If, after ten (10) days, the owner of the sign does not retrieve the sign from the Town, the Code Enforcement Officer may dispose of the sign. If, after ten (10) days, the owner has not paid the fine, then the Code Enforcement Officer may enforce this article pursuant to Article XII of this chapter.

Signs permitted in an R1 — Residential District and an R2 — Single Family and Two Family Residential District:

Signs permitted in C1 — Route 26 Corridor/Town Center Commercial District:

Signs permitted in the C2 — Town Commercial District:

Signs permitted in the C1 — Route 26 Corridor/Town Center Commercial District and C2 — Town Commercial Districts:

Signs permitted in an AR — Agricultural District:

No sign may be enlarged or altered in any way which increases its nonconformity;

If the sign is destroyed by any means to an extent of more than fifty percent (50%) of its replacement cost, it shall not be reconstructed except in compliance with the provisions of this article;

Every sign, billboard or other advertising structure in existence on the date of the adoption of this chapter which violates or does not conform to the provisions hereof shall be removed, altered or replaced so as to conform with the provisions of this chapter within two years. After two years' time, the Town can remove the signage with the cost of removal borne by the sign owner;

Any sign, including its supporting structure, which advertises or identifies a closed or abandoned business, shall be removed by the owner of the property or the person having beneficial use of the property upon which the abandoned sign is located within sixty (60) days after the business closes. After the sixty-day period, the Code Enforcement Officer shall remove the sign or have the sign removed at the property owner's expense, provided that the owner has been issued a notice ten (10) days prior of the violation, in writing, by the Code Enforcement Officer.