The following signs shall be permitted in all residential districts, subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth herein:

(1)

Signs not exceeding in the aggregate 16 square feet in area identifying a church, school, park, playground, library, museum or other nonresidential use permitted in a residential district. Such signs shall be attached flat against a main building or may include not more than one freestanding sign. In the case of a freestanding sign, an additional area not exceeding 16 square feet may be devoted to architectural elements which serve as support, border, or base for such sign and which are not a part of the message portion of the sign. No freestanding sign shall exceed a height of eight feet or be located within five feet of any street line, alley or driveway or within 15 feet of any other property line.

(2)

Freestanding signs identifying subdivisions of single-family detached dwellings, provided that such signs shall be subject to the requirements for freestanding signs set forth in paragraph (1) above. One such sign shall be permitted within the boundaries of the subdivision at each street entrance into the subdivision.

(3)

Signs not exceeding in the aggregate eight square feet in area identifying a multiple-family development, single-family attached development site, nursing home, or group home. Such signs shall be attached flat against a main building or may include not more than one freestanding sign, provided that no freestanding sign shall exceed a height of eight feet or be located within five feet of any street line, alley or driveway or within 15 feet of any other property line. In the case of multiple-family dwellings, single-family attached dwellings or nursing homes located on lots or development sites of one acre or more in area or with 200 feet or more of continuous frontage on any one street, permitted signs shall be as set forth in paragraph (1) of this section.

(4)

One or more temporary signs not exceeding in the aggregate six square feet in area pertaining to the sale, rental or lease of the premises on which they are located, provided that such signs shall not be illuminated, shall not be located within five feet of any street line, alley or driveway or within 15 feet of any other property line, and shall be removed when the sale, rental or lease of the premises is consummated.

(5)

Not more than three temporary signs not exceeding in the aggregate 32 square feet in area identifying the use to be made of a building under construction on the property on which such signs are located or identifying the contractor, subcontractors, architect or lending institution involved with such construction. Such signs shall not be illuminated, shall not be located within five feet of any street line, alley or driveway or within 15 feet of any other property line, and shall be removed upon completion or abandonment of the construction activity to which they pertain.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-171; Ord. No. 05-2022, 7-25-22)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 03-2017, adopted Sept. 26, 2017, deleted § 70-374 entitled "Permitted signs in the MHP District," which derived from Ord. of Mar. 27, 1989, § 15-172.

The following signs shall be permitted in B-1 Highway Business and SD-1 Special Development Districts, subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth herein:

(1)

Any sign permitted in the residential districts and set forth in section 70-373, provided that signs identifying uses which are permitted in any of the residential districts shall be subject to the regulations set forth in that section.

(2)

Signs attached flat against or painted on a vertical surface of a main building or accessory structure, other than a structure intended principally for sign purposes, when such signs do not extend beyond the extremities of the surface of the building or structure to which they are attached. The maximum permitted area of such signs shall be as set forth in subsection (6) of this section.

(3)

Signs attached to a mansard or other sloped roof of a main building, when such roof has a pitch of greater than 60 degrees to the horizontal, and when such signs are parallel to the building wall and do not extend beyond the extremities of the roof to which they are attached. The maximum permitted area of such signs shall be as set forth in subsection (6) of this section.

(4)

Signs suspended from a porte cochere, covered walkway or covered entranceway to a building, when such signs do not exceed in the aggregate eight square feet in area and are provided with an underclearance of not less than ten feet.

(5)

One freestanding sign along each street frontage of 100 feet or more, when the main building on the lot is set back 25 feet or more from the street line along such frontage, provided that:

a.

Not more than two freestanding signs shall be permitted on a lot.

b.

Where more than one freestanding sign is permitted on a lot having multiple street frontages, the distance between freestanding signs on the same lot shall be not less than 100 feet.

c.

No freestanding sign shall exceed 75 square feet in area or 25 feet in height.

d.

No freestanding sign shall be located within 50 feet of any lot in a residential district.

e.

No freestanding sign shall be located within five feet of any street line, alley, driveway or other property line.

(6)

One directory sign identifying shopping center sites, provided that:

a.

Sites containing five or more business establishments and having 200 feet or more of continuous frontage along any one street shall have a maximum area of 150 square feet, when no other freestanding signs are located on the lot.

b.

No directory sign shall be located within 50 feet of any lot in a residential district.

c.

No directory sign shall be located within five feet of any street line, alley, driveway or other property line.

d.

No more than 70 percent of sign area may be devoted to the identification of tenants.

(7)

Electronic display sign, provided that a special use permit shall be required as set forth in article XXII of this chapter.

(8)

The aggregate area of all signs attached to or painted on all surfaces of a main building or an accessory structure pursuant to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall not exceed 1½ square feet for each lineal foot of width of the main building facing a public street. In the case of a main building facing more than one public street, the maximum permitted sign area shall be determined by the building width having the greatest dimension facing a public street. In the case of a shopping center, the greatest building width facing the primary shopping center parking area shall determine the maximum permitted sign area.

(9)

The aggregate area of all signs located on a lot shall not exceed two square feet for each lineal foot of lot frontage on a public street. In the case of lots having more than one frontage on a public street, the maximum permitted sign area shall be determined by the frontage having the greatest dimension. The provisions of this paragraph shall not be applicable to shopping centers.

(10)

The maximum number of signs located on a lot shall not exceed one sign for each 20 feet of lot frontage, or major fraction thereof, on a public street. In the case of lots having more than one frontage on a public street, the maximum number of signs shall be determined by the frontage having the greatest dimension. In the case of a shopping center, there shall be no limit on the number of signs on the lot, provided that the maximum number of signs attached to any building shall not exceed one sign for each 20 feet of building frontage, or major fraction thereof, devoted to each tenant. In no case shall the provisions of this paragraph restrict any lot or any shopping center tenant to less than two signs.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-173; Ord. No. 02-04, 6-28-04; Ord. No. 03-2017, 9-26-17)

The following signs shall be permitted in the B-2 Central Business District, subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth herein:

(1)

Any sign permitted in the residential districts and set forth in section 70-373, provided that signs identifying uses which are permitted in any of the residential districts shall be subject to the regulations set forth in that section.

(2)

Any sign permitted in the highway business and special development districts subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth in section 70-375, except that:

a.

Not more than one freestanding sign shall be permitted on a lot.

b.

No freestanding sign shall exceed 40 square feet in area or 20 feet in height.

(3)

Signs attached to and projecting not more than five feet from the face of a main building, when such signs do not extend above the wall to which they are attached, provided that:

a.

Not more than one sign with a projection greater than 15 inches from the face of a building shall be permitted for each building.

b.

Projecting signs shall be provided with an underclearance of not less than ten feet.

c.

Projecting signs may extend over a street right-of-way, but shall not extend beyond a vertical plane two feet inside the curb line or edge of pavement of an adjacent street, and shall conform with all other applicable requirements of the Virginia Uniform State-wide Building Code.

d.

Projecting signs shall be included in all calculations for purposes of determining the aggregate area of all signs attached to the building, the aggregate area of all signs located on the lot, and the total number of signs located on the lot or attached to the building as set forth in subsections 70-375(6), (7) and (8).

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-174)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 03-2017, adopted Sept. 26, 2017, deleted § 70-377 entitled "Permitted signs in the B-3 District," which derived from Ord. of Mar. 27, 1989, § 15-175.

The following signs shall be permitted in the M-1 Light Industrial and M-2 Heavy Industrial Districts, subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth herein:

(1)

Any sign permitted in the residential districts and set forth in section 70-373, provided that signs identifying uses which are permitted in any of the residential districts shall be subject to the regulations set forth in that section.

(2)

Any sign permitted in the highway business and special development districts, subject to the regulations and restrictions set forth in section 70-375, except that on lots having 200 feet or more of continuous frontage along any one street, the maximum permitted area of a freestanding sign located along such frontage shall be 150 square feet.

(3)

For industrial parks containing uses permitted in the M-1 or M-2 Zoning Districts, there may be one monument sign located at each major entrance to the development, provided that:

a.

No such sign shall contain any information other than the name of the development and the names of the tenants.

b.

No such sign shall exceed an area of 150 square feet or 20 feet in height.

c.

No more than 70 percent of sign area may be devoted to the identification of tenants.

d.

No such sign shall be internally illuminated.

e.

Off-site entrance signs may be located on adjacent property in any commercial or industrial district, provided that the sign shall be located no greater than 200 feet from the development and shall not be located within 50 feet of any lot in a residential district.

(4)

Electronic display sign, provided that a special use permit shall be required as set forth in article XXII of this chapter.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-176; Ord. No. 02-04, 6-28-04; Ord. No. 03-2017, 9-26-17)

(a)

Directional signs, as defined in article II of this chapter, shall be permitted in any district and shall be exempt from regulations pertaining to freestanding signs and shall not be included in calculations determining the aggregate area or maximum number of permitted signs, provided that no directional signs exceeding three feet in height shall be located within five feet of any street line, alley, driveway or other property line. No commercial off-site directional sign shall be permitted in any zoning district except for Town of West Point governmental signs.

(b)

Temporary sale, announcement or merchandising sign, as defined in article II of this chapter and not exceeding eight square feet in area, shall be permitted in any district and shall not be included in calculations determining the aggregate area or feet in area or do not otherwise conform to the definition thereof shall be subject to all sign regulations or restrictions applicable in the district in which they are located.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-177; Ord. of 12-29-97; Ord. No. 04-09, 6-29-09; Ord. No. 02-11, 5-23-11)

Billboard signs, and portable signs, as defined in article II of this chapter, and such other signs as may be prohibited by the general laws of the commonwealth or the town shall not be permitted in any district.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-178; Ord. No. 03-2017, 9-26-17)

Illumination of signs shall conform to the restrictions set forth in section 70-342 and no bulb, lamp or other source of illumination shall be directly exposed to any street, alley, driveway or adjacent property, nor shall the exterior of any building, structure or portion thereof be illuminated by outlining such with lights, except for temporary seasonal decoration purposes.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-179)

One sign identifying a nonconforming use located in a residential district shall be permitted, provided that such sign shall be attached flat against the building occupied by such use and shall not exceed eight square feet in area. Signs identifying nonconforming uses located in districts other than residential districts shall conform to the sign regulations applicable in the district in which the use is located.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-180)

(a)

Except as otherwise provided herein, a nonconforming sign, as defined in article II of this chapter, may remain and may be maintained and repaired, provided that such sign shall not be moved, replaced, structurally altered or modified as to size, shape or height except in conformity with the provisions of this article. The face of a nonconforming sign or the copy thereon may be changed when all other provisions of this section are met.

(b)

Any sign which is nonconforming due to lighting or animation shall be eliminated or made to conform with the regulations pertaining to lighting or animation within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter.

(c)

Any nonconforming portable sign or nonconforming temporary sign shall be eliminated or made to conform with the regulations set forth in this article within 30 days from the effective date of this chapter.

(d)

Any sign which identifies or pertains to a use which has vacated the premises on which such sign is located or any sign structure which no longer contains any message shall be removed from the premises within 90 days from the date on which the use to which it pertains last occupied the premises.

(Ord. of 3-27-89, § 15-181)