No sign shall be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted or structurally altered without a sign permit or without being in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, except those signs excepted in other provisions of this chapter. The sign shall also meet all the structural requirements of chapter 10.

(Code 1993, § 17.50)

No sign shall be placed upon, over or in any public way, in any residential or agricultural districts provided that this section shall not be construed to prohibit the erection or placing of any authorized traffic sign, traffic signal or other traffic device or any other sign authorized by law or specifically permitted to project onto the public way by this chapter. All signs are prohibited in all residential and agricultural districts, except the following:

(1)

Signs over shop 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 eight square feet in area which advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises upon which such signs are temporarily located.

(3)

Name, occupation and warning signs are temporarily located on premises.

(4)

Bulletin boards for public, charitable or religious institutions not to exceed 25 square feet in area, located on the premises.

(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 other than political candidate signs, may be posted on private property for five days or less in a 30-day period providing they are no closer than 20 feet to a traffic sign. Signs may be posted in the parkway of another property owner with the permission of that property owner. No sign may be posted on the parkways or boulevard adjacent to any federal or state trunk highways (U.S. 12 & 16 and STH 21 & 131) within the city limits.

(8)

Signs for yard sales or rummage sales may be posted for five days or less in a 30-day period in the parkway between the sidewalk and curb of the street providing they are adjacent to the property of the sale, and are no closer than 30 feet to a traffic sign. Signs may be posted in the parkway of another property owner with the permission of that property owner. No sign may be posted on the parkways or boulevards adjacent to any federal or state trunk highways (U.S. 12 & 16 and STH 21 & 131) within the city limits.

(9)

Political candidate signs may be posted on private property with the permission of the owner in accordance with state statutes for duration of posting.

(10)

Electronic message centers shall be permitted pursuant to the requirements of section 52-152(18).

(Code 1993, § 17.51; Ord. No. 2014-09-10-D, § 2, 9-9-2014)

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

(1)

No sign shall be placed upon, over or in any public way, provided that this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the erection or placing of any authorized traffic sign, traffic signal or other traffic device or any other sign authorized by law or specifically permitted to project onto the public way by this chapter. Signs, awnings, canopies or marquees may be permitted on, over or in the public way as a conditional use as provided under this chapter.

(2)

No sign shall be erected on any location where it may, by reason of its position, shape, color or other characteristics, interfere with, obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, sign, traffic signal or other traffic device, nor shall any sign make use of the words: "STOP, "LOOK", "DRIVE IN", "DANGER" or any other word, phrase, symbol or character in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.

(3)

Ground signs shall not be located within ten feet of any property line and shall observe the height restrictions pursuant to section 52-40 for principal structures. Ground signs shall not exceed 200 square feet on one side, nor 400 square feet on all sides for any one premises.

Exception: Ground signs located in the B2 highway business district shall not exceed 70 feet in height and shall not exceed 300 square feet on one side, nor 600 square feet on all sides for any one premises.

(4)

Vacant lots upon which advertising signs now exist or which are erected pursuant to this chapter shall be maintained in an orderly fashion by the frequent and periodic removal of rubbish and maintenance of any vegetation growing on the lot.

(5)

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 more than five feet into any street.

(6)

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

(7)

In a shopping center or industrial park, one freestanding identification sign may be permitted, showing the name of the center or park and represented businesses or industries. The area of the sign shall not be permitted within 20 feet of the right-of-way line of the street.

(8)

The total surface display area of business or industrial signs on the front facade of a building shall not exceed in square feet two times the number of linear feet of width of the building frontage. In the case of a building located on a corner lot, such square-foot display area on the side facing the secondary street may be increased by one time the number of linear feet of the length of the building which faces the secondary street. Such increased permitted display area shall be used only for the erection of a permitted sign on the length of the building that faces the secondary street. Where the premises abut a parking lot, the total of linear feet of the width or length of the building fronting on such parking lots. Such increased display area shall only be utilized by the erection of a permitted sign on that part of the building which abuts such parking lot. In no case shall more wall area usable for sign display be in excess of 200 feet and in no case shall more than one of the criteria stated in this subsection be used to calculate allowable sign area on any one building facade.

(9)

Business and industrial signs mounted on buildings shall not be permitted to project more than five feet beyond the building line.

(10)

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

(11)

Necessary directional ground signs, which shall not exceed four square feet in area, shall be permitted. Permission to erect such signs shall be obtained from the director of public works and utilities.

(12)

Business and industrial signs may be internally lighted or illuminated by a good reflector, provided such lighting is so arranged as to prevent glare, and no sign shall be lighted by a lighting of intermittent or varying intensity. Flashing signs, signs which may be mistaken for traffic signal devices or diminish the visibility or effectiveness of traffic signal devices are prohibited.

(13)

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.

(14)

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.

(15)

a.

Billboards, outdoor advertising signs and any business or industrial signs not located on the same property as the business or industry advertised shall be allowed only in commercial business and industrial zones and shall comply with the following: Minimum distance from grade to bottom of sign shall be eight feet. The sign erector shall furnish drawings indicating a minimum design of 30 pounds per square foot wind load capacity (100 mph wind). The maximum size of a sign shall be 300 square feet. Signs shall be spaced a minimum of 300 feet apart when on the same side of the roadway. Measurements shall be taken along the right-of-way. Signs shall be a minimum distance of 100 feet from an occupied residential dwelling. No signs larger than 50 square feet shall be erected on Superior Ave. between Veterans and Clifton Sts. In all other respects signs shall comply with state rules and regulations.

b.

Digital billboards shall require a conditional use permit and subject to the following requirements:

1.

Restricted to the B2-highway business district and any industrial zoned districts.

2.

Brightness limited to 5,000 nits daytime, 500 nits nighttime.

3.

Signs shall be equipped with an automatic dimmer control.

4.

Malfunctioning signs shall be equipped to freeze in one position.

5.

Change in messages shall be limited to one second or less.

6.

Each message shall be in a fixed position for at least 7.5 seconds

7.

Digital billboards shall not exceed 300 square feet.

8.

Digital billboards shall provide a minimum of five hours of public service announcements per month.

9.

Digital billboards are prohibited from scrolling, flashing, animation or the appearance of movement.

(16)

Signs shall be permitted to hang from canopies or covered walks in business or industrial districts, provided there is only one sign not to exceed five square feet for each business and the sign is at least eight feet above ground level.

(17)

"Special Sale" or poster signs are permitted to be posted in store windows in the business district.

(18)

Electronic message centers shall be permitted in the following zoning districts subject to all applicable requirements prescribed by the zoning district in which the subject property is located and subject to the following:

a.

In C and I zones such signs may display animation so long as flashing is prohibited.

b.

In M1, M2, M#, and B zones such signs shall display static images for a period of at least one second before transitioning to another static image. The use of frame effects is permitted so long as flashing and animation are prohibited.

c.

All electronic message centers shall come equipped with automatic dimming technology which automatically adjusts the sign's brightness in direct correlation with ambient light conditions.

d.

No electronic message center shall exceed a brightness level of 0.3 foot candles above ambient light as measured using a foot candle (Lux) meter at a preset distance depending on sign area measured as follows:

The square root of the product of the sign area and one-hundred.

Measurement distance = √(12 sq. ft. × 100) = 34.6

(Code 1993, § 17.52; Ord. No. 2013-09-04-D, § 1, 9-10-2013; Ord. No. 2014-09-10-D, §§ 3—6, 9-9-2014)

All signs or similar advertising structures that do not conform to the regulations of this chapter shall be removed by the person owning such nonconforming signs or the owners of property on which such signs are located within ten years from the date of the passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived. Should the owner of a nonconforming sign or the owner of property on which a nonconforming sign is located fail to remove such a sign within ten years, the building inspector shall, following 60 days' written notice to the owner of the sign and the owner of the property on which the sign is located, cause the sign to be removed at the expense of the owner of the sign.

(Code 1993, § 17.53)

Before a permit is granted, every applicant for a permit for a sign, awning, canopy or marquee shall execute a surety bond in a sum to be fixed by the director of public works, not to exceed $25,000.00, of a form and type approved by the city attorney, indemnifying the city by reason of the erection, construction or maintenance of such sign, awning, canopy or marquee. A liability insurance policy issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the state and conforming to the requirements of this section may be permitted by the city attorney in lieu of a bond.

(Code 1993, § 17.54)