Reeseville City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Signs and Billboards
§ 480-54 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to establish minimum standards to safeguard life and property and promote public welfare and community aesthetics by regulating the appearance, construction, location and maintenance of all signs and billboards.
§ 480-55 Prohibited characteristics of signs.
No sign shall be so placed as to interfere with the visibility or effectiveness of any official traffic sign or signal, or with driver vision at any access point or intersection.
No sign shall contain, include, or be illuminated by flashing lights. No sign will be permitted that resembles the size, shape, form, or color of official traffic control signs, signals, or devices.
No sign shall contain, include, or be composed of any conspicuous animated or moving part.
No sign shall contain more than 500 square feet in gross area.
No sign shall be painted directly on the building walls, except water towers, which may display the name or symbol of the owner or operator.
No sandwich signs.
No abandoned signs.
Temporary signs. Two double-faced sandwich or movable signs are permitted when meeting all other applicable requirements and when their use is limited to 30 days of a ninety-day period. Such signs shall be set back at least five feet from the street property line and shall not be larger than eight square feet per face except that the area of one such sign may be increased by one square foot for each three linear feet of frontage over 50 feet on a street, to a maximum of 24 square feet per face.
Vehicle advertising.
Parking of advertising vehicles is prohibited. No persons shall park any vehicle or trailer on a public right-of-way or public property or on private properties so as to be seen from a public right-of-way, which has attached thereto or located thereon any sign or advertising device for the basic purpose of providing advertisement of products or directing people to a business activity located on the same or nearby property or any other premises.
This section shall not prohibit "For Sale" signs on vehicles for sale, provided the vehicle is not parked on a public right-of-way.
§ 480-56 Exceptions to sign regulations.
The following signs and related items shall not be included in the application of the regulations contained in this article:
Signs not exceeding one square foot in area and bearing only property numbers, postbox numbers or names of occupants of premises.
Flags and insignia of any government, except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion.
Legal notices, identification information or directional signs erected by governmental bodies.
Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts or moving lights.
Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property, but bearing no advertising matter.
Signs erected by national, state, county or municipal governmental agencies, including traffic and informational signs.
§ 480-57 Dangerous and abandoned signs; violations.
Removal. All signs shall be removed by the owner or lessee of the premises upon which the sign is located when a business which it advertises has not been conducted for a period of six months or when, in the judgment of the Village Board, such sign is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous or unsafe, whichever occurs first. If the owner or lessee fails to remove it, the Village Board may remove the sign at cost of the owner, following adequate written notice. The owner may appeal the Village Board's decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Alterations. Any sign which was erected before the adoption of this sign article shall not be rebuilt or relocated without conforming to all of the requirements of this article.
Violations. All signs constructed or maintained in violation of any of the provisions of this article are hereby declared public nuisances within the meaning of this Code of Ordinances. In addition to the penalty provisions for violation of this chapter, the Village Board may bring an action to abate the nuisance in the manner set forth in the Wisconsin State Statutes.
§ 480-58 Variances or exceptions.
Variances or exceptions to these sign regulations may be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and decisions by the Village Board may be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
§ 480-59 Construction and maintenance regulation for signs.
Installation. All signs shall be properly secured, supported and braced and shall be kept in reasonable structural condition and shall be kept clean and well-painted at all times. Bolts or screws shall not be fastened to window frames. Every sign and its framework, braces, anchors and other supports shall be constructed of such material and with such workmanship as to be safe and satisfactory to the Village Board or Building Inspector.
Prohibitions.
No sign shall be erected so that any portion of the sign or its supports attach to or interfere with the free use of any fire escape, exit, any required stairway, door, ventilator or window.
No sign shall be erected that will interfere with, obstruct, confuse or mislead traffic.
At no time shall signs be permitted within a vision clearance triangle in such a manner as to restrict vision or impair safety.
No sign located within 150 feet of a highway or street right-of-way shall contain, include or be illuminated by a flashing or rotating beam of light.
Signs on public rights-of-way. Signs shall not be permitted on public rights-of-way except for traffic control, parking and directional signs and as otherwise specified in this chapter.
§ 480-60 Nonconforming signs.
Signs eligible for characterization as legal nonconforming. Any sign located within the Village of Reeseville limits on the date of adoption of this chapter or located in an area annexed to the Village of Reeseville hereafter which does not conform with the provisions of this article is eligible for characterization as a legal nonconforming sign and is permitted.
Loss of legal nonconforming status. A sign loses its nonconforming status if one or more of the following occurs:
The sign is structurally altered in any way, except for normal maintenance or repair, which tends to or makes the sign less in compliance with requirements of this article than it was before alteration;
The sign is relocated;
The sign fails to conform to the Village requirements regarding maintenance and repair, abandonment or dangerous or defective signs;
On the date of occurrence of any of the above, the sign shall be immediately brought in compliance with this article or shall be removed.
Legal nonconforming sign maintenance and repair. Nothing in this article shall relieve the owner of a legal nonconforming sign or the owner of the property in which the sign is located from the provisions of this article regarding safety, maintenance and repair of signs.
§ 480-61 Wind pressure and dead-load requirements.
All billboards, signs and other advertising structures shall be designed and constructed to withstand a wind pressure of not less than 30 pounds per square foot of area and shall be constructed to receive dead loads as required in Chapter 203, Building Code, or other ordinances of the Village of Reeseville.
§ 480-62 Abandoned billboards and signs.
Except as otherwise herein provided, all billboards and/or sign messages shall be removed by the owner or lessee of the premises upon which an off-premises sign/billboard is located when the business it advertised is no longer conducted where advertised. If the owner or lessee fails to remove the sign/billboard, the Village Board shall give the owner 60 days' written notice to remove said sign/billboard and thereafter, upon the owner's or lessee's failure to comply, may remove such sign/billboard, any costs for which shall be charged to the owner of the property or may be assessed as a special assessment against the property, and/or the Village Board may take any other appropriate legal action necessary to attain compliance.