(a)

Intent. The intent of the sign standards are to:

(1)

Create an attractive aesthetic environment in the city.

(2)

Enhance the quality and civic design of the community through the visual priority of buildings, open spaces, streetscapes, landscape, and other investments in the public realm.

(3)

Preserve the unique character of distinct areas by ensuring signs contribute to an appropriate sense of place.

(4)

Ensure safety of pedestrians, motorists or other users of the public rights-of-way with proper location, construction, design, operation and maintenance of signs.

(5)

Promote economic viability by assuring that the city is a visually pleasant place to visit, conduct business, and live.

(6)

Provide effective and efficient identification and communication for businesses, institutions, and other community destinations without excessive competition for visual attention.

(7)

Protect property values and investments by minimizing adverse effects of signs on adjacent property, such as light trespass, obstructing views and access, or visual clutter and blight.

(8)

Ensure that the constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech is protected through reasonable standards for signs as a way of public communication.

(b)

Applicability.

(1)

All new signs and replacement of existing signs that are visible from the right-of-way, from adjacent property, or from internal publicly accessible common or private spaces intended to serve as an extension of public-streets and open spaces shall require a sign permit demonstrating compliance with these sign standards, unless exempt from a permit by section 19.48.020. Ordinary maintenance, care, or repair of existing signs without altering the essential construction elements of an existing sign shall not require a permit for zoning and design standards, but any associated electrical or construction work may require permitting per applicable building codes.

(2)

Applications for a sign permit shall be signed by the owner or the owner's legal tenant, and include plans and specifications demonstrating compliance with all applicable standards of this chapter, and any other building and construction codes of the city. The Building Official is authorized to establish forms and submittal requirements, and may request any additional information on a particular site, building, or sign necessary to evaluate compliance with these standards.

(3)

Any owner of a site or building subject to property-specific sign standards approved by the city prior to December 1, 2019, may apply for a sign permit under these generally applicable standards and procedures. The owner may opt out of the previous property-specific standards by way of the application, and the owner shall issue a signed statement of that fact with the application. Upon approval of any sign applied for in this manner, the property-specific sign standards shall no longer be in effect, and any further property-specific standards shall only be enforced by the city subject to the standards and procedures in section 19.48.100.

(Ord. 2004, Sec. II, 2001; Ord. 2138, Sec. II, 2006; Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

The following signs are exempt from the permit process provided they meet all other applicable requirements of this chapter. Unless specifically noted, they are additional signs that do not count towards the sign allowance specified for the zoning districts. Any sign that exceeds the limits of the exemption may only be permitted within the allowances and standards of a specifically permitted sign type.

(a)

Property Identification Signs. Signs clearly indicating the property address or building identification are encouraged to enhance the ability of public safety, emergency services personnel, and the general public to locate the property. Property identification signs are subject to the following limitations:

(1)

Address Signs. Two per address up to two square feet each, only one of which may be ground mounted. Address signs on buildings shall be between four feet and nine feet high. Ground-mounted address signs shall be no more than 36 inches high.

(2)

Building Name Plate. Each building may have one name plate sign up to three square feet, except that a name plate sign such as engraved stone, bronze, brass or similar ornamental detail integrated with the architecture and associated with the permanence of the building, rather than a particular tenant, may be up to 24 square feet when approved by the planning commission as part of the construction or substantial modification of the building.

(b)

Public Safety, Traffic Control or Public Information. Signs designed and located to control traffic movement and safety of vehicles and pedestrians according to uniform traffic control device standards, signs required by the City's Building or Fire Code, or signs otherwise required to support any official action or legal obligation of a federal, state or local government, may be designed and located to meet the public purpose or requirements of other codes.

(c)

Flags. Up to three non-commercial flags may be permitted per lot. Flags shall be mounted to the building and below the building height or mounted on a permanent pole subject to the height restrictions of the zoning district and setback from the property line a distance equal to the height. Total flag area per property shall not exceed 80 square feet and no more than 40 square feet per flag for property zoned residential, and shall not exceed 200 square feet or 96 square feet per flag for property zoned non-residential.

(d)

Window Signs. Signs mounted to the interior of any first floor windows in non-residential districts, provided signs not exceed more than 33 percent of all first floor window area measured between two feet and ten feet above the first floor elevation, and at least 50 percent of the entire window area remains clear of any visual obstructions including the sign area.

(e)

Temporary Signs. Temporary signs are exempt from the sign permit process, provided they are within the allowances specified for the zoning district in Tables 19.48-2 and 19.48-3, and section 19.48.070C.

(f)

Accessory Signs. Accessory signs for non-residential uses or multi-family complexes, intended to convey messages guests, patrons, or other users of the site, such as parking instructions, internal directions, building names or unit numbers, security warnings, or other similar minor signs that are accessory if limited to:

(1)

No more than 20 square feet total sign allowance per site, or 30 square feet per acre, whichever is greater.

(2)

No more than four total signs per site, or ten per acre, whichever is greater.

(3)

No single sign may be more than ten square feet;

(4)

Signs shall be no more than six feet high, whether ground mounted or building mounted;

(5)

Signs shall be setback at least 20 feet from all property lines; and

(6)

Grouping or arranging minor signs to have the effect of a larger permitted sign or to convey messages and increase visibility to the general public (as opposed to guests, patrons or other users of the site) makes all signs ineligible for this exemption.

(g)

Construction Signs. Signs associated with a temporary non-residential or multi-family construction project and erected to promote public information or public relations regarding the project if limited to:

(1)

Up to 80 square feet total sign allowance per public street frontage;

(2)

No more than three signs per street frontage.

(3)

Signs shall be mounted on a trailer, building or fence, or if mounted on the ground it shall limited to no more than ten feet high; and

(4)

The signs shall only be posted for the duration of a valid permit associated with the project.

Construction signs for single-family and two-family structures in the residential zoning districts are required to meet the applicable temporary sign standards for those districts.

(h)

Sale or Lease Signs. One sign shall be permitted for any lot or building being offered for sale if limited to:

(1)

No more than 12 square feet for residential lots one acre or less.

(2)

No more than 20 square feet for non-residential property, or any residential property on larger than one acre.

(3)

No sign shall be more than five feet high if mounted on the ground, and no higher than 20 feet high or the top of the building, whichever is less, if mounted on a building.

(4)

Only the period where the property is actively on the market or pending the finalization of a contract for sale or lease.

(i)

Interior Signs. Any sign that is not visible from the right-of-way, from any point along the perimeter of the property or from adjacent property, or from publicly accessible common or private spaces intended to serve as an extension of public-streets and open spaces are exempt from permits and these standards, other than those applicable by building codes or construction standards.

(Ord. 1952, Sec. I, 1998; Ord. 2138, Sec. II, 2006; Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

The following general sign types are distinguished for the purposes of the sign allowances requirements in this chapter.

Table 19.48-A Sign Types

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

The following signs are permitted in the residential zoning districts (R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3 or R-4), for any planned version of these districts, and for any residential building or use permitted in a non-residential district.

Table 19.48-B: Residential District Sign Allowances

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

The following signs are permitted in the commercial zoning districts (C-O, C-1, C-2, and C-3), and for any planned version of these districts.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

(a)

Public Health, Safety and Maintenance.

(1)

All signs shall be designed, constructed, located and maintained in a manner that is compliant with all other building codes, and in no way presents any potential risk to public safety in the judgment of the Building Official.

(2)

No sign shall imitate or resemble government signs for traffic direction or any other public safety symbol.

(3)

No sign shall be placed in any sight triangle applicable to public streets, internal access streets, or driveway access points using the sight distance provisions of article 13-2A of the City Code.

(4)

Any sign projecting over a walkway or other active area in front of a building or other area where people may walk shall maintain at least seven feet six inches vertical clearance.

(5)

All signs and any surrounding grounds or landscape, shall be maintained in good condition, free of any debris, weeds, disrepair or other unsightly conditions.

(b)

Specific Designs Prohibited.

(1)

No sign shall be placed on any vehicle or trailer, when such vehicle or trailer is placed or parked visible from the right-of-way, and the primary purpose of the sign is to deviate from the standards or criteria of this chapter.

(2)

No sign shall be attached to any public utility pole or shall be installed within the right-of-way of a public road or street, except as permitted by the public authority or where specifically exempt from the right-of-way prohibition by this chapter.

(3)

No sign shall include balloons, streamers, pennants or other air activated elements and animated elements, whether animated by mechanical, electrical, or environmental means, except as authorized through any temporary use or special event permit.

(4)

No sign shall have any electronic message, video display or other digital display, except the planning commission may approve the following through the site plan review:

a.

Time and temperature displays, provided it is in place of an allowed wall sign and is a static display.

b.

Digital display of prices for gas station monument signs provided no other information than price is displayed.

c.

In each case, the planning commission shall consider the intent of these standards, and the potential impacts of the lighting or digital display on adjacent property.

(5)

Obscene signs are prohibited. "Obscene" is considered to be any material that:

a.

The average person, when applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; or

b.

The work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and

c.

The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

(6)

Any sign with a business message shall be located on the site of the business activity.

(c)

Illumination.

(1)

Any illumination shall be designed to eliminate negative impacts on surrounding rights-of-way and properties. In general, any direct source of light shall not be visible from the public street or adjacent residential property.

(2)

The light from an illuminated sign shall not flash or oscillate, or create any negative impact on adjacent property in direct line-of-sight to the sign.

(3)

3 External light sources shall be directed and shielded to limit direct illumination of any object other than the sign.

(4)

Exposed incandescent, neon or other tube lighting shall be limited to window signs mounted to the inside of the building, or as an accent of less than ten percent of the sign area of other signs.

(5)

High pressure sodium, low-pressure sodium, and fluorescent lighting are prohibited.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

(a)

Monument Signs.

(1)

All monument signs shall require sign plan and permit approved by the planning commission according to these standards and criteria.

(2)

Monument signs shall be located within a landscape area at least three feet in all directions from the base of the sign, or be located in a large landscaped yard.

(3)

Monument signs shall have a base at least 75 percent of the width of the widest part of the sign. The base shall not count as part of the sign area provided it contains no messages or other component of the sign, and is otherwise integrated into the site as a landscape feature.

(4)

All monument signs and bases shall be constructed with durable, quality materials that complement the building and other site elements in terms of material, colors, and ornamentation.

(5)

All monument signs shall be accompanied by a landscape plan that integrates the sign area into the overall site, softens the view and appearance of the structural elements, and otherwise improves the view of the sign and property from the streetscape.

(6)

The Planning Commission shall consider the intent of this chapter and the objectives of the Design Guidelines in section 19.48.080 in approving a sign plan and permit. Deviations from the specific design guidelines may be approved for any sign plan that equally or better meets the intent or design objectives of this chapter.

(b)

Wall Signs. Wall signs are subject to the following additional limitations:

(1)

Signs attached to a building shall not extend vertically above the highest portion of the wall plane of the facade it is mounted on or the roofline, whichever is less. No portion of a building wall may be built above the roofline, that serves no other structural or architectural purpose, other than to mount a sign or expand the sign area allowance.

(2)

Signs attached to a building shall not project more than 12 inches off the surface it is mounted on unless specifically exempt from this limit by this chapter.

(c)

Temporary Signs. Temporary signs are subject to the following additional limitations:

(1)

Any temporary sign shall be placed with the permission of the property owner, and it is the responsibility of the person placing the sign and the property owner to ensure the sign meets all standards and is removed when the applicable display time limit has expired.

(2)

Temporary signs shall not be illuminated or painted with a light-reflecting paint.

(3)

Temporary signs shall be constructed of rigid material, designed to resist quick deterioration from the elements, and securely anchored so as not to pose a distraction or hazard to drivers. Non-rigid materials (such as banners) shall be secured by a support or frame to avoid distraction of flapping and set back at least 20 feet from the pavement edge of the fronting roadway, or may be attached securely to a building or structure.

(4)

No temporary sign shall be displayed for more than 90 consecutive days, without 30 days intervening, and any temporary sign related to a particular event shall be removed within seven days from the end of that event.

(5)

The period of time when a property has more than one temporary sign displayed shall not be more than 120 days in a calendar year.

(6)

Relocation of a temporary sign, removal of the sign for a short period, or removal and replacement with a substantially similar sign to expand the time periods is prohibited.

(7)

The building official shall be authorized to require the removal of any temporary sign that pertains to an expired event.

(d)

Multi-tenant Buildings and Sites.

(1)

All signs for multi-tenant buildings or sites shall require a sign plan and permit approved by staff according to these standards and criteria.

(2)

The sign plan shall demonstrate coordination of all signs on the building and site, and allow sufficient flexibility for the replacement of signs or new tenants without the need for a new sign plan. Any proposed signs that do not comply with an approved sign plan shall not be given a permit, unless a new sign plan for the entire building or site is approved demonstrating coordination of all signs.

(3)

The wall sign allowance may be apportioned to any tenant with a separate exterior entrance. In the case where all tenants share a common entrance, the wall sign allowance may be apportioned to no more than two signs per façade.

(4)

The monument sign allowance for the building(s) and site shall meet the standards of section 19.48.070(a); however, the copy within the allowed sign may be apportioned to multiple tenants.

(5)

Staff shall consider the intent of this chapter and the objectives of the design guidelines in section 19.48.080 in approving a sign plan, or any sign permit under an approved sign plan. A proposed sign plan that does not meet the guidelines in section 19.48.080 may be referred by staff to the planning commission according to the procedures and criteria in chapter 19.32, and the planning commission may approve a sign plan if it finds that the plan equally or better meets the intent of this chapter and the objectives of section 19.48.080.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019; Ord. No. 2464, § III, 12-20-2021)

All signs shall be designed to convey durability and a quality appearance. Signs should meet the following design guidelines, and where the building official determines that a sign presents a substantial deviation from these guidelines and could conflict with the intent of this chapter, the building official may require that the sign permit application be reviewed by the planning commission, according to the procedures and criteria in chapter 19.32.

(a)

Materials, particularly for the frames, casings or bases of signs, should be chosen to compliment the architecture of the building, and coordinate with other accent materials or architectural details of the building. In general, natural construction materials such as wood, metals, ceramic, and stone should be used for frames of all wall signs and bases of monument signs. Synthetic materials should only be used if they are designed to resemble the recommended natural materials. Plastic or acrylic is discouraged as the primary component of signs, except when used for sign panels that are accompanied by frames or individual letter casings that add architectural details to compliment the building.

(b)

Simple 2- and 3-color contrasting colors schemes should be used between the color of the background, letters, and accents to ensure legibility and quality appearances. Symbols and logos may incorporate other colors. Colors or color combinations that interfere with the legibility of the sign copy should be avoided. Fluorescent colors should be limited to accents and typically less than ten percent of the sign area.

(c)

The location of all permanent signs should be incorporated into the architectural design of the building. Placement of signs should be considered part of the overall facade design. Sign locations should be carefully considered, and align with major architectural features such as marquees, building name plates, storefront sign bands, cornices and parapets, entrance features, windows, canopies and other similar architectural features.

(d)

Buildings that have multiple wall or ground signs should coordinate all signs for the building or site. Coordination may be established by combinations of two or more of the following:

(1)

The same fonts, in terms of color, scale, and style. However, a primary and secondary font may be incorporated into signs.

(2)

The same sign background in terms of material and color or coordinated colors.

(3)

The same casing or framing in terms of materials and style, provided it is prominent enough to be a visible coordinating element across multiple signs.

(4)

A consistent scale, orientation, shape or placement of signs. For example, all oval signs, or all signs located within a sign band across storefronts.

(5)

Other elements specific to a proposed sign package.

(6)

Limited deviations in the consistency are allowed for:

a.

Any one sign may reserve up to 33 percent of the sign area for logos or icons that are unique to the tenant and deviate from the consistency elements.

b.

Any building with three or more significant tenant spaces, or other similar large building or sites, may have one gateway sign per facade that deviates from the consistency elements provided it is associated with a prominent point of entry or similar point of architectural emphasis.

c.

Pedestrian signs may deviate according to section 19.48.080(e) below.

(e)

Pedestrian signs should help create architectural variety and unique business identities from establishment to establishment. In multi-tenant buildings, pedestrian signs should be used to create interest and variety of the tenants, while overall building and site signs should create consistency and identity of the place and building.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

Shopping centers, office parks or other multi-tenant projects with three or more buildings or four or more acres may propose a property specific sign plan. The sign package shall be based on the intent, types of signs, and standards of this chapter, but the planning commission may approve deviations to these standards where they find that the plan:

(a)

Promotes a unique character for the area, and improves the image and identity of the project as it relates to the surrounding community.

(b)

Presents uniform designs to coordinate multiple components of the project, and where there are distinctions in the type and design of the signs, they are well-coordinated in light of the overall plan.

(c)

The plan has clear and explicit standards for the size, location, design and quality of the signs, and it anticipates future tenants or changes in tenants without requiring amendments to the plan.

(d)

The property owner or landlord has authorized the plan, and any changes to the plan will require the property or landlord to submit a new application to be approved by the planning commission.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)

The following shall be used in interpreting dimensional standards for signs:

(a)

Sign Area. Signs mounted on or displayed as a standard geometrical shape shall be measured by the standard mathematical formula for that shape. Signs mounted on or displayed as an irregular shape shall be measured by the smallest area of up to two standard geometrical shapes that can encompass the entire sign mounting.

(b)

Detached Signs. The area of the sign shall be computed by the entire area of the face of the structure, cabinet or module enclosed by the border of the frame.

(c)

Wall, window or other building-mounted signs. Any building mounted sign mounted on a background shall be measured by the area of the background. If mounted directly on the wall, the area shall be computed by means of the smallest single and continuous perimeter of up to two standard geometric shapes that enclose the outer limits of the writing, emblem or other display.

(d)

Wall Area. The area of a wall for determining that wall sign allowance shall be the continuous plane of the facade that a sign is mounted on, or when apportioned to multiple tenants the exterior wall area associated with each tenants gross leasable floor area. Structures built solely to expand the wall plane for the purpose of increasing the sign area or mounting a sign shall not count towards the wall area.

(e)

Window Area. The area of a window for determining the window sign allowance shall be the actual surface of the clear glass inside the window casing. Larger windows or glass panels shall only count this area between two feet and ten feet above the finished floor elevation.

(f)

Double-faced Signs. Where the sign faces of a double-faced sign are no more than three feet apart at any location, only one face will be measured in computing sign area. If the two faces of a double-faced sign are of unequal area, the area of the sign will be the area of the larger face. In all other cases, the areas of all faces of a multi-faced sign or the surface area of objects will be added together to compute the area of the sign.

(Ord. 2407, Sec. XIX, 2019)