No sign shall be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted or structurally altered without a zoning permit except those signs excepted in section 62-521 and without being in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. The sign shall also meet all the structural requirements of the building code.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-110)

All signs are prohibited in all residential, conservancy and agricultural districts except the following:

(1)

Signs over show windows or doors of a nonconforming business establishment announcing without display or elaboration only the name and occupation of the proprietor and not to exceed two feet in height and ten feet in length.

(2)

Real estate signs not to exceed six square feet in area which advertise the sale, rental, or lease of the premises upon which the signs are temporarily located.

(3)

Name, occupation, and warning signs not to exceed two square feet located on the premises.

(4)

Bulletin boards of up to 16 square feet for public, charitable or religious institutions, provided that all such signs must be located directly on the premises involved and at least 15 feet from the nearest sidewalk or street.

(5)

Memorial signs, tablets, names of buildings, and date of erection when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of metal and affixed flat against a structure.

(6)

Official signs, such as traffic control, parking restrictions, information, and notices.

(7)

Temporary signs or banners when authorized by the village board for a period not to exceed 30 days.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-111)

Signs are permitted in the business and industrial districts, subject to the following restrictions:

(1)

Signs prohibited in public ways. Except for traffic signs and signals, signs specifically permitted to project into the public way by this chapter, or any other sign so authorized by law, no signs shall be placed upon, over or in any public way. Except for signs projecting from business structures located on the front property line, any signs located upon, or encroaching upon, any public way shall be removed within one year of the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived. Permits for signs projecting into the right-of-way of any street shall be revocable as provided in Wis. Stats. § 86.04.

(2)

Lighting. No sign shall be illuminated by intermittent, rotating or flashing lights in any district, except as provided in section 62-525.

(3)

Ground signs. Ground signs will be permitted in lieu of signs mounted on building facades, subject to the size restrictions of the sign replaced, and must observe all applicable building setback lines and shall not exceed 30 feet in height.

(4)

Signs projecting into street. No sign shall project over any part of any street, except where a business structure is located on the front property line. In such case, a sign may not extend beyond the front face of curb.

(5)

Termination of business. At the termination of a business, commercial or industrial enterprise, all signs shall forthwith be removed from the public view. Responsibility for violation shall reside with the property owner, according to the latest official tax roll listing.

(6)

Shopping centers or industrial parks. In a shopping center or industrial park, one free-standing identification sign may be permitted, showing the name of the center or park and the represented businesses or industries. The area of the sign shall not exceed 100 square feet on one face and 200 square feet on all faces. The sign shall not be permitted within 20 feet of the right-of-way line of the street.

(7)

Wall signs. Wall signs placed against the exterior walls of a building shall not extend more than six inches outside of a building's wall surface, shall not exceed 200 square feet on area for any one premises, and shall not exceed 20 feet in height above the mean centerline street grade.

(8)

Projected signs. Projected signs fastened to, suspended from, or supported by structures shall not exceed 100 square feet in area for any one premises; shall not extend more than three feet into any required yard, shall not extend more than three feet into public right-of-way; shall not be less than ten feet from all side lot lines; shall not exceed a height of 20 feet in height above the mean centerline street grade; 15 feet above a driveway or an alley.

(9)

Ground signs. Ground signs shall not exceed 20 feet in height above the mean centerline street grade, shall meet all yard requirements for the district in which they are located, and shall not exceed 200 square feet on all sides for any one premises. Window signs shall be placed only on the inside of commercial buildings and shall not exceed 25 percent of the glass area of the pane upon which the sign is displayed.

(10)

Representations. All signs shall advertise, promote, or represent only establishments, goods, or services located, sold or manufactured within 100 feet.

(11)

Combination signs. Combination of any of the above signs shall meet all the requirements for the individual sign.

(12)

Number of signs. No more than one business or industrial sign shall be permitted on the front facade of any business or industrial building, including any advertisement permanently fastened to show window or display cases. Only one business or industrial sign shall be permitted on each side or rear wall of a business or industrial building.

(13)

Directional signs. Necessary directional ground signs, not exceeding four square feet in area, will be permitted. Permission to erect such signs must be obtained from the village board.

(14)

Lighting glare. Business and industrial signs may be internally lighted or illuminated by a hooded reflector; provided, however, that such lighting shall be arranged to prevent glare, and no sign shall have lighting of an intermittent or varying intensity. Except as provided in section 62-525, animated signs having moving parts, and signs which may be mistaken for traffic signal devices or which diminish the visibility or effectiveness of such traffic signal devices, are prohibited.

(15)

Obstruction of openings. Any sign so erected, constructed or maintained as to obstruct or be attached to any fire escape, window, door or opening used as means of ingress or egress, or for firefighting purposes, or placed so as to interfere with any opening required for legal ventilation is prohibited.

(16)

Street intersections. No sign or advertising device shall be erected or maintained at the intersection of streets in such a manner as to obstruct clear vision of the intersection.

(17)

Height. No sign shall be erected above the roofline of a building or more than 30 feet from the ground.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-112)

Signs shall not resemble, imitate, or approximate the shape, size, form or color of railroad or traffic signs, signals, or devices. Signs shall not obstruct or interfere with the effectiveness of railroad or traffic signs, signals, or devices. No sign shall be erected, relocated, or maintained so as to prevent free ingress or to egress from any door, window, or fire escape; and no sign shall be attached to a standpipe or fire escape. No sign shall be placed so as to obstruct or interfere with traffic visibility.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-113)

Signs lawfully existing at the time of the adoption or amendment of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived may be continued although the use, size or location does not conform to the provisions of this chapter. However, it shall be deemed a nonconforming use or structure; and the provisions of article IV of this chapter shall apply.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-114)

(a)

Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Animated sign means a sign permanently attached to the ground or to a wall with a fixed or changing display/message composed of a series of lights that may be changed by electrical, electronic or computerized process or remote control. An animated sign may include, but not be limited to, light emitting diodes (LED), video, television and plasma screens and holographic images. Signs or portions of a sign with a message content that is strictly limited to time, date, temperature, or gas prices shall not be construed to be animated.

Flashing sign means a sign, the illumination of which exhibits sudden or marked changes in lighting effects. Electronic message centers and time and temperature signs that are operated in accordance with all applicable regulations shall not be considered flashing signs.

(b)

Separate sign permit. All fixed animated signs shall require the issuance of a separate sign permit. A one-time fee shall be payable to the village upon the filing of a request for a special permit pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Fixed animated signs shall be permanently fixed to the ground or to a wall. Fixed animated wall signs shall only be permitted in the business and industrial zoning districts. No permit shall be issued for a movable animated sign.

(c)

Special permit application and approval process for fixed animated sign.

(1)

A fixed animated sign shall not be installed or made operational in the village until so authorized pursuant to the terms and conditions of a special permit by the village plan commission.

(2)

An application for a special permit shall be filed either with the village clerk-treasurer or building inspector, which shall include the following attachments:

a.

Scaled site plan identifying the location of the proposed sign and sign structure at a property in addition to the location of the following within a radius not less than 100 feet from the proposed sign: property lines, right-of-way lines, traffic signal lights, driveway entrances and exits, distance to existing signage on the site, and distance from residential land uses;

b.

Scaled drawing of the sign structure;

c.

Model and serial numbers of the sign structure;

d.

Lamp wattage and luminance levels in NITS, footcandles or equivalent measurement acceptable to the building inspector;

e.

Specifications regarding construction, height, placement, color technology, light source/illumination and changeable copy (text and graphics) systems.

(3)

If an animated sign is to be replaced, enlarged or relocated at the same property, it shall require the review and approval by the building inspector and public works and utilities director.

(4)

The village plan commission may attach conditions to a special permit granted hereunder in order to ensure that the requested use will remain in conformity with the purposes of this section, as well as to ensure compliance with regulations of the particular zoning district within which the animated sign would be located. Compliance conditions may include, but shall not be limited to, matters of assignability, restrictions upon hours of operation, authorization for the building inspector and director of public works and utilities to check sign settings when deemed necessary, revocation and termination, and other conditions deemed applicable by the village plan commission.

(5)

Where a special permit is approved, an appropriate record shall be made by the building inspector and public works and utilities director of the land use and structures permitted. A copy of each special permit shall be mailed to the parties in interest.

(6)

If the circumstances warrant, when the conditions of a special permit under this section are not complied with and a public safety issue is created as a result thereof, the permit may be revoked by the building inspector at any time.

(d)

Location regulations.

(1)

Animated signs shall not be permitted in A-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, C-1 and PUD zoning districts.

(2)

Animated signs shall be permitted in the B-1 General Business, I-1 Light Industrial and I-2 General Industrial Districts, subject to compliance with the following conditions:

a.

A sight distance of at least 150 feet between any existing single- and two-family residential land uses as measured from the edge of the proposed animated sign to the lot line of such a residential land use;

b.

The animated portion of an animated sign shall not exceed 30 percent of any sign permitted for the same zoning district;

c.

Animated signs adjacent to county highways shall comply, if required, with Wis. Stats. § 84.30, regulation of outdoor advertising;

d.

The color and illumination of an animated sign may not interfere or conflict with the effectiveness of, or obscure, any official traffic sign, device or signal;

e.

All animated signs shall be equipped to automatically adjust the brightness of the sign; and

f.

Undue brightness is prohibited, and is defined herein as illumination of an animated sign in excess of the following intensity levels:

1.

Daylight hours: 5,000 NITS or equivalent candelas per square meter or footcandles. (NIT is a measurement of light emitted from a device. The sun is 4,000 NITS. One NIT equals one candela per square meter);

2.

Dusk to dawn (time of day between sunrise and sunset): 500 NITS or equivalent candelas per square meter or footcandles;

3.

For animated signs using incandescent lamps, no more than 15 watts per lamp;

g.

To ensure compliance, animated signs must have installed an automated light monitor or dimmer, which must be used to adjust the brightness level of the animated sign based on ambient light conditions. The applicant for a special permit shall provide written certification to the village from the sign manufacturer that the light intensity has been factory preset to not exceed the levels specified herein, and that the intensity level is protected from end-user manipulation by password-protected software or other methods acceptable to the village plan commission;

h.

For an animated sign, individual letters or messages must hold or be illuminated for a minimum of 1½ seconds, otherwise it is a flashing sign.

(e)

Prohibited animated signs. The following animated signs are specifically prohibited:

(1)

Any sign displaying adult text or graphics;

(2)

Any sign emanating audio onto a public right-of-way unless the audio is only audible by the general public within the property's frontage;

(3)

Any sign which expels steam or other visual or olfactory distraction;

(4)

Any sign which projects a holographic or other image onto a freestanding surface;

(5)

Signs that, by their position, working, brightness, illumination, size, shape or color, obstruct, conflict, impair or interfere with traffic signal lights or other traffic control or emergency vehicle lights;

(6)

Signs that are a nuisance or cause glare onto traffic or adjacent property; and

(7)

Flashing signs.

(Ord. of 7-15-2014, § 10-1-115)