In this subchapter:

Banner means a commercial sign consisting of characters or graphics applied to any kind of fabric with only non-rigid material for background and hung between two rigid points.

Canopy sign means a roof-like covers that project from the wall of a building. Canopies may be freestanding, such as a covering over a service station island.

Copy area means the entire face of a sign including the advertising surface, any framing, trim, molding, void or unused area between multiple sign faces, architectural, or decorative feature, but not including the support structure. On a banner, the copy area is the flexible material that does not include the permanent fixtures.

Development sign means a permanent sign at the entrance of a residential neighborhood or commercial development identifying the development by the given name of that development.

Directional sign means an on-premises sign without a commercial message or advertising slogan that assists individuals with directions regarding entrances, exits, rights-of-way, road directions, or road numbers.

Direction of travel means the direction a vehicle travels on a public road. Two-lane roads allowing travel in opposite directions have two directions of travel.

Disrepair means, as it pertains to signs, the presence of loose materials including excessive peeling paint, wood, or other material, rust, rot, vibration, lack of structural integrity, and any facility that is deemed to cause an unsafe condition.

Double-sided sign means any sign that has two surfaces of copy area that face different directions. For the purposes of this chapter, double-sided signs shall be identified as two separate signs.

Electronic message sign means any sign, which may or may not include text, where the sign face is electronically programmed and can be modified by electronic processes including television, plasma, and digital screens, holographic displays, multi-vision slatted signs, and other similar media.

Farm crop identification sign means a sign that identifies a crop that is growing in farm fields.

Farm identification sign means any sign displaying the name, owners, cooperative, or family of an operating agricultural operation.

Government sign means any sign authorized by a unit of government for the purpose of displaying government related information or providing traffic control.

Ground sign means any sign supported by means attached to the ground. Ground signs can be supported by pylons, uprights, ground cables, cribs, and landscaping means. Ground signs are self-supporting and not attached to a building.

Height means the total height the erected sign stands from the top of the highest point of the sign to the lowest point of the ground elevation directly below the sign. Mounding of soil or other material directly below the sign shall not be included in any height calculation.

Home-based business sign means an on-premises sign that directs attention to a home-based business.

Inflatable sign means a sign designed to be inflated or airborne and tethered to the ground, a vehicle, or any structure.

Nit means a unit of measurement of luminance, or the intensity of visible light, where one nit is equal to one candela per square meter.

Notification sign means non-commercial signs that inform the public of hazards, rights-of-way such as bike or snowmobile trails, or are used to control access to property.

Obscene sign means any sign which displays any matter which appeals to a prurient interest in sex, as determined by the average person applying contemporary community standards or portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Off-premises sign means any sign on a separate parcel from the facility, establishment, or entity, which the sign is advertising, displaying, or giving directions to.

On-premises sign means any sign on the same parcel as the facility, establishment, or entity that the sign identifies, advertises, or gives direction to.

Political sign means any sign with a political message as defined in Wis. Stats. § 12.04(1)(b).

Portable sign means a sign on trailers, trucks, vehicles, and other mobile systems that are on a parcel for longer than 72 hours where the main purpose of the vehicle in that location is to be interpreted as a sign.

Real estate sign means a temporary sign displaying the sale, rental, or lease of real property.

Roof sign means any sign, which projects above the roof line of that building.

Rummage sale sign means a sign directing attention to the sale of personal property inside or outside a building. This includes garage sale, estate, and auction signs.

Sign means any object, structure, erected image, flag, or wall portraying a message, advertising slogan, directional aide, or identification symbol visible to the public. Letters or numbers painted on or attached to buildings portraying the occupants, fire numbers, or road addresses are not considered to be signs.

Sign owner means the person, company, entity partnership, association, corporation, trustee, and any legal successors owning the sign on a specific piece of property, as well as the property owner.

Special event sign means a sign advertising or announcing a special community-wide event or activity. Such events and activities include concerts, plays, festivals, community gatherings, community sidewalk sales, and farmers' markets. Commercial sales of one individual business are not considered a special event.

Wall sign means any sign, which is erected and mounted on the exterior wall of a building.

Way-finding sign means an off-premises sign that guides the public from roads to civic, cultural, visitor, recreational, or commercial destinations. For purposes of this definition, way-finding signs shall only include the name of the destination, arrow, and distance, except that more than one destination name, arrow, and distance may be included on collocated signs.