The purpose of this chapter is to promote and protect the public health, welfare and safety by regulating existing and proposed advertising signs and outdoor signs of all types. It is intended to protect property values, to create a more attractive economic and business climate, to enhance and protect the physical appearance of the community and to preserve the scenic and natural beauty of designated areas. It is further intended to reduce sign or advertising distraction and obstructions that may contribute to traffic accidents, to reduce hazards that may be caused by signs overhanging or projecting over public rights-of-way, to provide more open space, to curb the deterioration of the natural environment, and to enhance community development.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Any sign placed on land or on a building for the purposes of identification or protection of the same or for advertising a use conducted thereon or therein shall be deemed to be accessory and incidental to such land, building or use.

No sign requiring a permit shall be erected, re-erected, constructed, altered or maintained until after a permit has been issued by the Building Official and the payment of a fee pursuant to the fee schedule adopted by the Village has been made.

Signs located near federal aid primary roads and any highway that is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the state Department of Transportation.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A.

Official Signs. Any traffic, fire, and police signs, signals, and devices of the state, county, or village.

B.

Public Signs. Including notice, warning, traffic control, historic, civic, or memorial signs authorized by a valid and applicable federal, state, or local law, regulation or ordinance.

C.

Building Marker. Any sign indicating the name of a building, date and incidental information about its construction which sign is cut into a masonry surface or made of bronze or other permanent material. The sign shall not exceed six square feet and shall be attached to the building.

D.

Interior Building Signs. Any sign inside a building that is not attached to a window or door, and is not intended to be viewed from the exterior.

E.

Manufacturer's Labels. Labels on farm structures and buildings standard to the assembly of the product.

F.

Directional Sign (On Site). Signs of three square feet or less intended to facilitate the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on private property. A directional sign marking a vehicular entrance or exit may include a commercial message or logo of one square foot or less pertaining to an establishment located on the site, but is limited in number to one per entrance and one per exit. A "Drive-Through" sign of three square feet or less and placed adjacent to or directly over the drive-through lane shall be treated as a directional sign; otherwise they will count as a freestanding or building sign, whichever is applicable.

G.

Traffic Control Signs on Private Property. The face of which meet Department of Transportation standards and which contain no commercial message. Signs shall be in accordance with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

H.

Religious Symbols. Religious symbols attached to religious buildings or located on private church property.

I.

Holiday Lights and Decorations. Holiday lights and decorations with no commercial message, but only 30 days prior to and 30 days after a traditionally accepted civic, patriotic, or religious holiday in the commercial and industrial districts.

J.

Descriptive Signs. Descriptive signs on merchandise/inventory for sale in the commercial and industrial districts.

K.

Flags. Flags, emblems, or insignia of governmental, or other noncommercial organizations having a size of less than 60 square feet in area, and mounted on poles not to exceed 40 feet in height. Residential zones are limited to one pole and three flags per zoned lot. All other zones are limited to three poles and three flags per zoned lot.

L.

Identification Signs. A sign containing only a name and/or an address and limited to two square feet in area. Name may be personal, or identify an organization.

M.

Incidental Sign. A sign, generally informational, that has a purpose secondary to the use of the zone lot on which it is located, such as "no parking," "loading only," "telephone," menu boards, and other similar directives. No sign with a commercial message or logo legible to a normal person of average height on any property line of the zone lot on which the sign is located shall be considered incidental.

N.

Window Sign. Any sign, pictures, symbol, or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service that is placed directly on the surface of the window panes or glass or is hung from the window frame and is visible from the exterior of the window.

O.

Signs on private property not subject to view from other properties or from public property.

P.

Works of art approved by the Village Board.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A.

Any sign placed in or protruding into the public right-of-way.

B.

Animated Signs. Any sign or advertising device such as pinwheels, streamers, wind operated devices, or fluttering signs, beacons, etc.

C.

Signs painted or posted directly upon the surface of any rocks, trees, or other natural features.

D.

Any sign erected in any location where by reason of its location, will obstruct the view of any authorized traffic sign, signal, or other traffic control device. No sign shall be erected in the sight triangle or any other location where it will obstruct the vision of the public right-of-way to a vehicle operator during ingress or egress from public roadways.

E.

Flashing signs, not including electronic message centers that have a special use permit or digital time and temperature signs involving only that information and no further or additional information of any advertising nature.

F.

Signs containing characters, cartoons, statements, works of art or pictures of an obscene, indecent, pornographic, or immoral character.

G.

Strings of lights not permanently mounted to a rigid background, except holiday lights.

H.

Signs attached to or painted on vehicles visible from the public right-of-way unless vehicle is used for normal day-to-day transportation operations of the business.

I.

Inflatable signs and tethered balloons, except when used as temporary sign.

J.

Portable signs, except when used as a temporary sign.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Signs shall be allowed on private property in the Village in accordance with the tables and text contained in this section and all other applicable provisions of this chapter.

A.

Freestanding Signs. Freestanding signs shall only be permitted in the monument sign style. The following restrictions apply to the number, area, height and setback requirements for freestanding signs on private property in each district including banners and animated signs but excluding building markers, flags, directional signs, incidental signs, identification signs, community signs, subdivision or development identification signs, temporary signs and other exempted signs.

TABLE 8-11-5 (A) (1)

B.

Building Signs. The following restrictions apply to the number, area, height and setback requirements for building signs in each district except for building markers, window signs, flags, directional signs, incidental signs, identification signs, community signs, temporary signs and other exempted signs.

TABLE 8-11-5 (B) (1)

C.

Permitted Building Signs by Type. All signs contained in this section count against the number and area limits found in Table 8-11-5 (B) (1).

TABLE 8-11-5 (C) (1)

D.

Building Sign Types and Characteristics.

Banner. Any sign of lightweight fabric or similar material that is permanently mounted to a pole or a building by a permanent frame at one or more edges. National flags, state or municipal flags, or the official flag of any public institution conforming to Section 8-11-3 shall not be considered banners.

Canopy Sign. Signs that are part of or attached to an awning, canopy, or other fabric, plastic, or structural protective cover over a door, entrance, window, or outdoor service area. Includes both fixed and movable awning signs. Content shall be limited to name and/or logo of the establishment utilizing the canopy. Letters and logos shall be permanently mounted and flush with the surface of the canopy and shall not protrude above, below, or beyond the sides of the canopy. Canopy signs five inches or less in height shall not be counted against total permitted area (or number).

Marquee Sign. A sign attached to or part of a building that projects beyond the structure sheltering the entrance of a theater or other use advertising scheduled events. Marquee signs must have a vertical clearance of seven and one-half (7.5) feet above the adjacent sidewalk and extend no higher than 36 inches above the marquee.

Projecting Sign. Any sign affixed to a building or wall in such manner that its leading edge extends more than six inches (to a maximum of 48 inches) beyond the surface of such building or wall. Projecting signs are only permitted if a freestanding sign is not or cannot be located on the subject property; only one projecting sign per building is permitted. Projecting signs must be mounted perpendicular to the wall whose total sign allotment the sign shall count against. Projecting signs must provide a minimum overhead clearance of seven and one-half (7.5) feet measured from the sidewalk and nine feet above traffic areas.

Residential Sign. A sign located in a residential district and used for single family residential uses that contains a noncommercial message except advertising for goods or services legally offered on the premises where the sign is located, if offering such services at such location conforms to all requirements of this Title. Residential signs shall be a maximum of six square feet in area and may either be freestanding or wall mounted, not both, and only one residential sign is permitted per residence. The use of changeable copy on a residential sign is prohibited.

Roof Sign. Any sign erected and constructed wholly on and over the roof of a building and supported by the roof structure. Signable area for below-peak roof signs is limited t20 feet above base of building unless mounted flush with vertical roof surfaces below roof peak that is integral to the roof itself. Above-peak roof signs are not permitted.

Suspended Sign. A sign that is suspended from the underside of a horizontal surface such as a canopy and is supported by such surface. The number of suspended signs shall be limited to one per entrance and must provide a minimum overhead clearance of seven and one-half (7.5) feet (measured from the sidewalk). A single suspended sign of two square feet or less and containing only the name and/or address of an establishment shall not count against the total number or area of permitted building signs, unless an identification sign is located elsewhere on that building face.

Wall Sign. Any sign attached parallel to, but within six inches of, a wall, painted on the wall surface or erected and confined within the limits of an outside wall of any building or structure, supported by such wall or building, and displaying only one sign surface. Wall signs shall not cover any part of windows, doorways, or architectural detail.

FIGURE 8-11-5 (D) (1)

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

The following principles shall control the computations of sign number, sign area and sign height.

A.

Computation of Area of Individual Building Sign. The area of a sign face shall be computed by means of the smallest rectangle, triangle, circle, or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, emblem, or other representation, together with any material or color forming an integral background to the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop. Area does not include any supporting framework, bracing, or decorative wall or fence when such wall or fence is clearly incidental to the display itself.

B.

Computation of Number and Area for Freestanding Signs. All writing, emblems, decorative framework, or other representations mounted on a single sign support structure shall be regarded as one sign. All writing, emblems, decorative framework, or other representations facing the same direction shall be counted as one sign face. Area of a sign face and total freestanding sign area shall be computed by means of the smallest single rectangle that will encompass all elements, including intervening support elements.

C.

Computation of Area of Multi-faced Signs. The sign area for signs with surfaces facing more than one direction shall be computed by adding the area of all sign faces visible from any one point. When two identical sign faces are placed back to back so that both faces cannot be viewed from any one point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same structure, and are not than 42 inches apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the faces.

D.

Computation of Height. The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed as the grade after construction, exclusive of any earth altering activity solely for the purpose of locating or elevating the sign.

E.

Computation of Maximum Total Sign Area for a Zone Lot. The permitted number and area of all individual signs on a zone lot shall be determined by applying the formulas contained in the Table 8-5-11B.1. Lots fronting on two or more streets are allowed the permitted sign area for each frontage; however, the total sign area that is oriented toward a particular street may not exceed the portion of the lot's total sign allocation derived from the street or wall area frontage on that street.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

All signs shall be mounted in one of the following ways.

A.

Flat against a building or wall.

B.

Back to back so that the back of the sign shall be screened from public view.

C.

Mounted so that the backs of all signs or sign structures showing to public view shall be painted and maintained in a color that blends with the surrounding environment.

D.

With the exception of signs identifying a business, no sign shall be painted or posted directly upon the surface of any building or structure. No sign shall be painted or posted directly upon the surface of any rocks, trees, or other natural features.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Off-site signs shall be permitted by special use permit only.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Seasonal banners, pennants and display boards are limited to one temporary sign up to 200 feet of linear road frontage. One additional temporary sign is allowed for each additional 200 feet. One additional temporary sign is allowed for a lot that supports more than one business. The maximum size is 32 square feet.

No more than one inflatable sign, portable signs and other temporary signs that are larger than 32 square feet are allowed per incident, with a combined total of no more than 60 days per calendar year. When inflatable signs or other portable signs are displayed concurrently, each sign shall be counted toward this maximum. An interval of 30 days is required between the use of portable or mobile signs for all businesses or organizations.

Portable signs must be anchored and supported in a manner that reasonably prevents the possibility of the signs becoming hazards to the public health and safety as determined by the Zoning Administrator. Portable signs are not permitted on lots used for residential purposes.

The land owner must contact the Building Official or designee and provide the name and address of the applicant, the description and location of the sign(s) prior to actual installation. A sign permit shall be required upon approval of the temporary sign.

Lots fronting on two or more streets are allowed the permitted signage for each street frontage; but, signage cannot be accumulated and used on one street in excess of that allowed for lots with only one street frontage.

Temporary signs described in items A. through D. below are allowed without permit, subject to the restrictions contained herein.

A.

For Each Lot. One sign pertaining to the sale, lease, or rent of real estate on that lot or any political signs or election signs, subject to the following area restrictions.

1.

Six square feet for residential districts.

2.

Thirty-two square feet for nonresidential districts.

B.

For each subdivision. If approved in accordance with the Village subdivision regulations, one development sign not to exceed 32 square feet in area, and only during actual construction. Such sign shall not be located closer than 30 feet from the public right-of-way.

C.

For Construction on or Development of a Lot. One sign not more than 32 square feet in area, indicating the name of the contractors, engineers, or architects or products being used in construction, but only during the time that actual construction is under way.

D.

Temporary Events. Events of public interest (e.g. neighborhood garage sales, church fairs), one sign of not more than 32 square feet in area and located on the site of the event. Sign shall not be erected more than 30 days prior to the event and shall be removed immediately after the event.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Changeable copy signs are permitted in all districts, except for lots in residential use.

The changeable copy portion of a freestanding sign, including background materials, shall be not greater than 50 percent of the total freestanding sign area.

Changeable copy signs with information that changes more than eight times a day shall be treated as animated signs. Animated signs except for holiday lights as specified are prohibited.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Community information signs shall require a special use permit within all zoning districts, but are not permitted on lots used for residential purposes. Such signs shall not be counted against the permitted number and area of signs otherwise permitted in this chapter.

Community sign types are.

A.

Murals. Defined as a work of art or a painting applied to a wall or ceiling.

B.

Others. Any other sign or bulletin board which only displays copy regarding events and information of general interest to the community.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A subdivision or development identification sign is defined as a freestanding sign that is permanent and located at a major entrance of a residential, office, commercial, or industrial subdivision with more than eight lots, a planned community development, or a multi-family development with more than ten dwelling units. Such a sign is permitted within all zoning districts and may identify only the name of the subdivision, development, or planned community development, the subdivision's or development's logo, and the name of the subdivision. A subdivision or development identification sign shall not contain advertising material or messages. The sign is permitted only at a major entrance of a subdivision/development (not within the public right-of-way) and shall be setback a minimum of ten feet from any lot line. There shall be a maximum of two signs per subdivision/development and no more than one sign at a major entrance. A subdivision or development identification sign shall not exceed 60 square feet in surface area nor exceed six linear feet in structure height. Such a sign may be lighted provided that the sign is in compliance with Section 8-11-14. The number and surface area of a subdivision or development identification sign shall not limit the number or surface area of other allowable signage on a zoning lot.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Signs legally existing as of the effective date of this chapter which do not conform to the provisions of this Title shall be non-conforming signs and shall be subject to the following provisions.

A.

Maintenance. Non-conforming signs may be maintained. No non-conforming signs shall be altered or moved to a new location without being brought into compliance with the requirements of this chapter.

B.

Removal. Non-conforming signs shall be removed when the principal structure located on the premises undergoes a change of use. Closing business must remove their signs within 60 days of closing.

C.

Alteration. Non-conforming signs shall be removed if altered for the following reasons: a change to the exterior of the sign frame, supporting structure, sign face, height or location.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A.

External. Light sources for externally illuminated signs shall be located, shielded and directed in such a manner that the source is not directly visible from the surrounding property. The use of exposed lighting mounted directly on a sign face is prohibited.

B.

Neon. Signs may be illuminated through the use of tubular lighting (such as neon signs) internal to the sign and filtered by translucent material.

C.

Animated. Except for portions of a sign showing only time or temperature, the use of flashing lights or lights used in messages that change more than eight times per day shall be treated as animated signs and are prohibited.

D.

Prohibited. Off-site and temporary signs shall not be illuminated.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A.

Notice. The Code Enforcement Officer may order the removal of any sign erected or maintained in violation of this chapter. The Officer shall prepare a notice which shall describe the sign and specify the violation involved, and which shall state that if the sign is not removed or the violation corrected within 30 days, the sign shall be removed by the Village. Such notice may be mailed by certified mail, or hand delivered, with a return receipt required. Any time period provided in this section shall commence on the date of receipt of the notice, as attested by the date of the return receipt. All costs incurred by the Village in removing such a sign shall be paid by the sign owner.

B.

Signs Not Requiring a Permit. Garage sale signs, real estate signs, political and public issue signs and any other signs not requiring a permit, erected in a public right-of-way, in violation of this chapter shall be considered public property and shall be summarily removed and disposed of. Signs erected or maintained on private property in violation of this chapter shall be subject to a three day notice to remove, under the procedure described in subsection A. of this section.

C.

Emergency. The Code Enforcement Officer may remove a sign immediately and without notice when, in the opinion of the Officer, the condition of the sign or structure is defective or dangerous or the placement of the sign is dangerous so as to present an immediate threat to the safety of the public. Any sign removed shall be at the expense of the owner of the sign or owner of the property and shall become the property of the Village. The sign may be disposed of in any manner deemed appropriate and authorized by state statute.

D.

Abandoned Signs. Abandoned signs shall be removed by the owner or lessee of the premises upon which the sign is located within ten days from the date on which it is determined to be an abandoned sign. If the owner or lessee fails to remove the sign, the designated Village Official shall proceed as set forth in subsection A. of this section. Failure to remove the sign after service of the written notice as described in subsection A. of this section shall be just cause for the Code Enforcement Officer to act as provided in subsection C. of this section.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

A.

Any sign located within the Village limits shall obtain a permit prior to erection unless it is specifically exempted under Section 8-11-3.

B.

Only those permanent or temporary signs which have been granted a permit by the Code Enforcement Officer in accordance with the provisions of this section may be erected, installed, constructed or maintained, unless specifically exempted or allowed without permit in the previous sections.

C.

Whenever there is a change in user (except off-site advertising signs), owner, or property owner, the new user or owner shall notify the Code Enforcement Officer of the change. No new sign permit is required unless there is modification of the sign face or sign structure.

D.

All applications for permanent sign permits and special use permits must include.

1.

Name and address of the applicant.

2.

Site plan and sign plan, drawn to scale, showing the location, dimensions, design of the signs(s) requested, as well as the site, building and landscaping and all other signs requiring a permit.

3.

Applicable sign permit fee.

E.

All applications for temporary sign permits must include.

1.

Name and address of applicant;

2.

A description and/or drawing of the proposed sign and its location;

3.

Applicable temporary sign deposit, to be refunded upon retirement of the sign.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)

Violation of the provisions of this chapter or failure to comply with any of its provisions shall constitute a petty offense with a fine up to $500.00. Any person who violates this chapter or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $500.00 and costs. Each day the violation continues shall be a separate offense.

(Ord. 2012-012, 3-13-2012)