This Chapter is intended to protect and further the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Newaygo; to maintain and improve the appearance of the City; to conserve community character; to prevent traffic hazards; to provide safer conditions for pedestrians; and to promote economic development by regulating the construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, size, location, and number of signs. The City also recognizes that the proliferation of signs is unduly distracting to motorists and non-motorized travelers, reduces the effectiveness of signs directing and warning the public, causes confusion, reduces desired uniform traffic flow, and creates potential for accidents. The City further recognizes that the principal intent of commercial signs, to meet the purpose of these standards and serve the public interest, should be for identification of an establishment on the premises, and not for advertising special events, brand names or off-premise activities, as these can be advertised more appropriately by other methods.

A.

Awning: A retractable or fixed shelter constructed of non-rigid materials on a supporting framework that projects from the exterior wall of a building.

B.

Awning sign: A sign affixed flat against the surface of an awning.

C.

Balloon sign: A sign composed of a non-porous bag of material filled with air.

D.

Banner sign: A fabric, plastic, or other sign made of non-rigid material without an enclosing structural framework.

E.

Billboard: A sign which advertises an establishment, product, service, or activity not available on the premises on which the sign is located.

F.

Canopy: A freestanding roof-like structure built on one (1) or more support posts, designed to offer protection from the weather.

G.

Canopy Sign: A sign painted or attached directly to and parallel to the exterior face of a canopy roof and extending no greater than twelve (12) inches from the exterior face of the canopy to which it is attached.

H.

Construction Sign: A sign which identifies the owners, financiers, contractors, architects, and engineers of a project under construction.

I.

Directional Sign: A sign which gives directions, instructions, or facility information for the use on the lot on which the sign is located, such as parking or exit and entrance signs.

J.

Electronic Signs: Any sign whose graphic, pictographic, symbolic, numerical, or alphabetical information content or display can be changed or altered on a display surface composed of electrically illuminated or mechanically driven changeable segments. Examples include digital, L.C.D., L.E.D., trivision, electronic lighting, computer driven and similar sign displays.

K.

Freestanding Sign: A sign supported on poles not attached to a building or wall.

L.

Government Sign: A temporary or permanent sign erected by the City of Newaygo, Newaygo County, or the state or federal government.

M.

Ground Sign: A sign resting directly on the ground or supported by short poles not attached to a building or wall.

N.

Incidental sign: A sign that identifies street address, entrances and exits, safety precautions, identifying logos without text, and other such incidental information, and which sets forth no other advertisement intended to be read from the street.

O.

Marquee: A permanent structure constructed of rigid materials that projects from the exterior wall of a building.

P.

Marquee Sign: A sign affixed flat against the surface of a marquee.

Q.

Mural: A design or representation painted or drawn on a wall which does not advertise an establishment, product, service, or activity.

R.

On-Premise Sign: Any sign which pertains solely to the use of the property on which it is located, such as to an establishment, product, merchandise, good, service or entertainment which is located, sold, offered, produced, manufactured or furnished at the property on which the sign is located.

S.

Placard: A sign not exceeding two (2) square feet which provides notices of a public nature, such as "No Trespassing" or "No Hunting" signs.

T.

Political Sign: A temporary sign used in connection with a noncommercial message or an official City, school district, county, state, or federal election or referendum.

U.

Portable sign: A sign designed to be moved easily and not permanently attached to the ground, a structure, or a building.

V.

Projecting Sign: A double-faced sign attached to a building or wall that extends more than eighteen (18) inches but not more than seventy-two (72) inches from the face of the building or wall.

W.

Reader Board: A portion of a sign on which copy is changed manually or electronically.

X.

Real Estate Sign: A sign advertising the real estate upon which the sign is located as being for sale, rent, or lease.

Y.

Roof Line: The top edge of a roof or parapet wall, whichever is higher, but excluding any cupolas, chimneys, or other minor projections.

Z.

Roof Sign: A sign erected above the roof line of a building.

AA.

Sign: A device, structure, fixture, or placard using graphics, symbols, and/or written copy designed specifically for the purpose of advertising or identifying an establishment, product, service, or activity.

BB.

Special Event Sign: Temporary and portable signs containing messages concerning special events.

CC.

Temporary Sign: A sign not permanently attached to the ground, a structure, or a building. Temporary signs may include banners, portable signs, and any other sign displayed for a limited period of time.

DD.

Wall Sign: A sign painted or attached directly to and parallel to the exterior wall of a building extending no greater than eighteen (18) inches from the exterior face of the wall to which it is attached.

EE.

Window Sign: A sign installed inside a window and intended to be viewed from the outside.

A.

No person shall erect, alter, place or permit to be placed, or replace any sign without first obtaining a zoning permit, provided the following signs shall not require a zoning permit:

1.

Directional signs of six (6) square feet or less in area

2.

Government signs

3.

Placards

4.

Temporary signs of six (6) square feet or less in area (One (1) per street frontage per business. Sign shall not be displayed for more than 60 days in a calendar year.)

5.

Window signs

6.

Political signs (Must remove signs 10 days after election)

B.

Signs shall be maintained free of peeling paint or paper, fading, staining, rust, or other condition which impairs legibility or intelligibility.

C.

Sign supports, braces, guys and anchors shall be maintained in such a manner as not to cause a hazard.

D.

Signs may be internally illuminated or if externally illuminated, except for home occupation signs which shall not be illuminated, the source of the light shall be enclosed and directed to prevent the source of light from shining directly onto traffic or residential property.

E.

No sign shall be placed in, upon or over any public right-of-way, alley, sidewalk or other public place, except as may be otherwise permitted by this Chapter.

F.

No light pole, utility pole, or other supporting member shall be used for the placement of any sign unless specifically designed and approved for such use.

G.

No sign shall be erected in any place where it may, by reason of its position, shape, color, or other characteristic, interfere with, obstruct the view of, or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal, or device, or constitute a nuisance per se.

H.

No commercial vehicle, which in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator has the intended function of acting as a sign, shall be parked in any area abutting the street, unless no other parking area is available.

I.

No sign shall employ any flashing, moving, oscillating, blinking, or variable intensity light. However, variable time-temperature signs and intermittent electronic signs may be permitted, provided each message or image shall not change more often than once every five (5) seconds. Message transition time shall be a maximum of one (1) second. Scrolling or moving of messages is prohibited.

J.

No sign shall contain any moving or animated parts nor have the appearance of having any moving or animated parts.

K.

No wall sign shall extend beyond the edge of the wall to which it is affixed, and no wall sign shall extend above the roof line of a building.

L.

Any sign not expressly allowed by this chapter is prohibited.

The following signs shall be exempt from the provisions of this Ordinance.

A.

Government signs.

B.

State and National Historical markers.

C.

Memorial signs or tablets.

D.

Murals.

E.

Signs not visible from any street.

F.

Signs for essential services.

G.

Placards not exceeding two (2) square feet.

H.

Signs with address, owner, or occupant name, of up to one (1) square foot in area attached to a mailbox, light fixture or exterior wall.

I.

Flags or insignia of any nation, state, county, city, community organization, or educational institution.

J.

Scoreboards for public or private school or publicly owned and operated athletic fields.

A.

Every permanent sign which does not conform to the height, size, area, or location requirements of this section as of the date of the adoption of this Ordinance, is hereby deemed to be non-conforming.

B.

Non-conforming signs may not be altered, expanded, enlarged, or extended; however, non-conforming signs may be maintained and repaired so as to continue the useful life of the sign.

C.

For purposes of this article, a non-conforming sign may be diminished in size or dimension or the copy of the sign amended or changed without jeopardizing the privilege of non-conforming use. If a sign is nonconforming in its setback, this section shall not apply, and the sign may not be replaced.

D.

Any non-conforming sign destroyed by fire or other casualty loss shall not be restored or rebuilt if reconstruction will constitute more than fifty (50) percent of the value of the sign on the date of loss.

E.

Any sign which for a period of six (6) months or more no longer advertises a bona fide business conducted or product sold, shall be removed by the owner of the building, structure, or property upon which such sign is located, within thirty (30) days of receipt of written notice by the Zoning Administrator.

F.

A sign, accessory to a non-conforming use, may be erected in the City in accordance with the sign regulations for the subject zoning district.

A.

The area of a sign shall be measured as the area within a single, continuous perimeter composed of any straight line geometric figure which encloses the extreme limits of writing, representation, emblem, logo, or any other figure of similar character, together with any frame or other material or color forming an integral part of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the background against which it is placed, excluding only the structure necessary to support the sign.

B.

The area of a freestanding, ground, or projecting sign that has two (2) or more faces shall be measured by including the area of all sign faces, except if two (2) such faces are placed back-to-back and are of equal size, the area of the two (2) back-to-back faces shall be counted as one (1) face. If the two (2) back-to-back faces are of unequal size, the larger of the two (2) sign faces shall be counted as the one (1) face.

C.

The height of a sign shall be measured as the vertical distance from the highest point of the sign to the grade of the adjacent street or the average grade of the ground immediately beneath the sign, whichever is less.

D.

For buildings with multiple tenants, the sign areas for wall signs, marquee signs, projecting signs, and awning signs shall be determined by taking that portion of the front wall of the building, applicable to each tenant space, and computing sign requirements for that portion of the total wall. In the case of a corner lot, the wall area adjacent to the tenant space on the second street frontage shall be used to calculate the sign area for a second wall sign, awning sign, or projecting sign. Each sign shall be attached to the same wall which is used to determine its size.

A.

Portable or temporary signs are prohibited, except as may be otherwise permitted by this Chapter.

B.

Portable or temporary signs may be permitted during major community events (i.e., festivals, celebrations, etc.). The size of the sign shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area.

C.

All ground, wall, projecting and freestanding signs may include reader boards.

D.

Any sign, including awnings to which signs are affixed or displayed; not resting directly on the ground shall maintain a minimum clear space of eight (8) feet from the bottom of the sign to the ground.

E.

Balloons, strings of light bulbs, pennants, streamers, inflatable bags, or flags (other than those of a governmental nature not used for the purpose of commercial advertisement or attraction) hung overhead to draw attention to a business or its merchandise on display, shall be prohibited, except as may otherwise be permitted by this Chapter.

F.

Real estate signs shall be removed within seven (7) days after completion of the sale or lease of the property.

G.

Construction signs are permitted within any zone district, subject to the following restrictions:

1.

Two (2) signs may be placed on the lot where the construction is taking place, each of which shall be no larger than sixteen (16) square feet in area, and not exceed eight (8) feet in height. In a case where two (2) or more firms utilize a sign, the sign shall be no larger than twenty-four (24) square feet in area, and not exceed eight (8) feet in height.

2.

Construction signs shall not be erected until a building permit has been issued for the project which is the subject of the proposed sign and construction activity has begun.

3.

Signs must be setback at least fifteen (15) feet from the front property line.

4.

Construction signs shall be removed within fifteen (15) days of the issuance of any Occupancy Permit for the building or structure which is the subject of the construction sign.

H.

Special event signs, including banner signs, light bulbs, streamers and flags, are permitted in any zone district, subject to the following restrictions:

1.

No more than five (5) such signs shall be displayed for each special event. Such signs may be located either on or off the lot on which the special event is held.

2.

The display of such signs shall be limited to the twenty-one (21) days immediately preceding the special event which is being advertised.

3.

Such signs shall have a maximum size of thirty-two (32) square feet in area. Such signs shall have a maximum height of three (3) feet if placed within fifteen (15) feet of the road edge.

4.

Such signs shall be removed within forty-eight (48) hours of the conclusion of the special event which is being advertised.

I.

Directional signs are permitted subject to the following restrictions:

1.

A directional sign may contain a logo of an on-premise establishment, but no advertising copy.

2.

No such sign shall exceed six (6) square feet in area or four (4) feet in height.

3.

Directional signs shall be limited to traffic control functions.

J.

Garage and estate sale signs are permitted subject to the following restrictions:

1.

One (1) sign per lot or parcel is permitted, located on the lot or parcel on which such sale is being conducted, or on any other lot or parcel with the written permission of the property owner, and erected outside of any public street right-of-way.

2.

Such sign shall not exceed six (6) square feet in area.

3.

Such sign shall be erected no more than seven (7) days prior to the day(s) of the sale and shall be removed within one (1) day after the completion of the sale.

K.

Incidental signs pertaining to any conforming accessory activity being conducted on the premises are permitted in any District, subject to the following restrictions:

1.

No individual sign shall exceed four (4) square feet in area.

2.

Only those signs which, in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator, are necessary to indicate entrances, exits, safety precautions, including identifying logos without text, and other such incidental language shall be permitted.

Signs in each Zoning District shall be subject to the following regulations:

A.

Special Land Use. The erection of any billboard requires special land use approval per Chapter 21 of this Ordinance, conditioned upon the terms of this and other City Ordinances. Following a special land use approval, a sign permit may be granted, subject to compliance with all of the following standards:

1.

Allowable Zoning Districts. Billboards are allowed as a principal use subject to special land use approval in the B-2 Zoning District abutting M-37 and M-82 on a premises where no other principal structure exists. The sign must be oriented in such a manner as to be viewed primarily from the state highway and not from auxiliary roadways, side streets, traffic intersections, or residential areas.

B.

Billboard Construction Details. A billboard shall be constructed according to building standards and codes then in effect for the City of Newaygo that may apply to it and its surrounding premises.

C.

Height. A billboard shall comply with all of the following height requirements:

1.

A maximum height of twenty (20) feet in height above the median ground level within a five hundred (500) feet radius of the site.

2.

Shall be prohibited from:

a.

Extending above the tree line or horizon when viewed from any portion of the roadway that it faces.

b.

Being located on or over the roofs of buildings.

c.

Projecting over any public easement or right-of-way.

D.

Surface Display Area. A billboard shall have a maximum of two hundred (200) square feet in surface display area and shall be limited to one (1) face. Signs with less than two (2) feet between the sign faces count as one (1) face. Faces may not be joined horizontally or vertically.

E.

Spacing, Setbacks and Location. A billboard shall maintain all of the following spacing and setback requirements:

1.

A minimum of two thousand (2,000) feet between any other billboard on the same or opposite side of the street, measured in all directions and including billboards in adjacent municipalities;

2.

A minimum of one hundred (100) feet between any billboard and any allowable on-premises sign; and

3.

Setbacks. Billboards shall comply with all setback requirements for a structure in the zoning district in which they are located.

4.

Location. Any billboard shall comply with all of the following:

a.

Shall be located at least three hundred (300) feet from any residentially zoned area, park, school, church, hospital, cemetery, historic district or outdoor park/recreational facility.

b.

The premises must have a roadway easement to a primary or secondary road such that the persons maintaining and servicing the sign may reach the site without danger from high speed traffic.

F.

Sign Face Limitations. A billboard shall be prohibited from having moving, flashing, oscillating parts or intermittent lighting.

G.

Colors. Billboard colors used shall not include fluorescent or brilliant shades that may be distracting, except that company logo colors may be used if the logo does not exceed five percent (5%) of the face area of the sign when including these fluorescent or brilliant colors.

H.

Illumination. A billboard may be illuminated subject to all of the following requirements:

1.

Illumination must be directed in such a manner that all incidental light generated falls on the sign face;

2.

All lights must be shielded such that the light source is not visible to traffic or surrounding homes, businesses, or vegetation;

3.

The intensity of the lighting shall be low enough and a color such that the reflected lights from the sign do not create a traffic hazard nor interfere with the normal vegetation growth on the billboard site; and

4.

Billboards within view of any residentially zoned property may not be illuminated between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

I.

Landscaping. The billboard site shall be planted with low growing shrubbery in front of and at the road end of the sign and evergreen trees behind the sign such that the framework or superstructure of the sign is generally not readily visible to passing traffic.

J.

Maintenance and Unsafe Conditions. Any billboard that collapses, topples or disintegrates shall be made safe within thirty (30) days or the site shall be cleared of the debris.

K.

State Compliance Required. All billboards shall comply with applicable requirements and conditions of P.A. 106 of 1972 as amended, "The Highway Advertising Act of 1972."

L.

Identification Plate. The framework, foundations or superstructure of the billboard shall have a metal identification plate, as defined in P.A. 106 of 1972, firmly attached thereto.