Whitman City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Signs
§ 240-9.1 Administration.
A.
No sign, including mobile and movable signs, as defined by this bylaw, in excess of four square feet in area shall be erected, replaced, located or relocated within the Town of Whitman without first obtaining a sign erection permit from the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings.
B.
Applications for signs not in accord with the specification set forth in this article shall be referred by the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings to the Board of Appeals for a special permit.
§ 240-9.2 General regulations.
A.
All signs shall be nonanimated, nonflashing, and permanently fixed. Exceptions may be permitted for short-term displays such as fairs, carnivals, parades and seasonal celebrations not to exceed 14 days each year.
B.
In all zoning districts, for safety reasons, signs or their illuminator shall not by reason of their location, shape, size or color interfere with traffic or be confused with or obstruct the view or effectiveness of any official traffic sign, traffic signal or traffic marking.
C.
No sign shall obstruct visibility in such a way as to constitute a hazard to the safety of persons traveling upon a public way.
D.
No commercial advertising shall be affixed upon or painted upon any rock, tree or utility pole within the Town of Whitman.
E.
Signs may be placed along traveled ways for the purpose of indicating directions to business or institutional facilities by special permit of the Board of Appeals which shall, in addition to other requirements for the granting of special permits, allow such signs only if they are reasonably needed for directional purposes.
F.
Signs may be no higher than 20 feet in height.
G.
Private signs shall not project over public streets and no more than four feet over public walks. No signs, whether permanent or temporary, shall be erected or affixed to any object in a public right-of-way. The lowest point of the sign shall be at least 10 feet - zero inch above the finished grade.
H.
All signs, whether erected before or after the effective date of this bylaw, shall be maintained in a safe condition to the satisfaction of the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings.
§ 240-9.3 Signs in residential districts.
In all residential districts, signs may be permitted as follows:
A.
One sign displaying the street number or name of the occupant on premises, or both, not exceeding two square feet in area. Such sign may be attached to a building or may be on a rod or post not more than six feet high and not less than three feet from the street line. Such sign may include identification of an accessory studio or professional office in the dwelling or on the premises, or may identify other permitted accessory uses, including customary home occupations.
B.
One bulletin or announcement board or identification sign for a permitted nonresidential building or use, not more than 10 square feet signboard area. For churches and institutions, membership clubs, funeral establishments, hospitals, other places of public assembly, community facilities or public utilities, one bulletin or announcement board or identification sign is permitted on each building.
C.
A "For Sale" or "For Rent" sign, not to exceed six square feet in area.
D.
A sign bearing the name of a subdivision or multifamily housing development located on the premises at the street entrance, limited to announcing the name of the subdivision or multifamily housing development. Such a sign shall not exceed 20 square feet in area.
E.
Contractor's, owner's, designer's or engineer's signs associated with actual construction on a site, such signs to be removed immediately upon completion of construction.
F.
No sign or advertising device shall be illuminated after 11:00 p.m.
§ 240-9.4 Signs in business and industrial districts.
In business and industrial districts, signs and or advertising devices are permitted only as follows:
A.
As permitted in residential districts.
B.
Wall signs.
(1)
One sign paralleling the street and attached flat to the facade of the establishment advertised as long as such sign does not exceed one square foot in area for each horizontal foot of building frontage and as long as such sign does not project more than 12 inches perpendicularly from the facade.
(2)
Open lot businesses, such as auto sales, in which the surrounding unenclosed property serves as a major display area for a relatively small building, may base such sign area on lot frontage such that the sign area does not exceed one square foot per foot of lot frontage, but not to exceed 32 square feet for each 100 feet of frontage.
(3)
One sign not to exceed 40 square feet in area on either side, perpendicular to the associated street or sidewalk and located immediately adjacent to or over the entrance to the store or business. Such sign shall not project more than five feet from the face of the building. If such establishment maintains a parking facility, this sign may be freestanding immediately adjacent to the parking lot entrance.
C.
Iconic or symbolic signs such as barber poles, clocks, etc., that carry no printed advertising and whose cross-sectional area does not exceed 15 square feet may be displayed in addition to those heretofore described.
D.
Stores of businesses sharing common private parking facilities such as shopping centers may cooperatively display one sign next to the public way not to exceed 100 square feet in area. Such sign shall be located adjacent to the parking entrance, shall be no taller than 20 feet nor lower than eight feet from the ground. A directory of participating stores or businesses may be associated with such sign, each store or business to be allotted not more than four square feet of space.
E.
Where a structure is set back at least 30 feet from the curbline, a freestanding sign of an area not in excess of 100 square feet on each side may be placed in such a manner that the edge of the sign is not less than 10 feet from the lot line and not higher than 20 feet nor lower than eight feet from the ground.
F.
There shall not be more than three exterior signs for each store or business, excluding exit and entrance signs.
§ 240-9.5 Special signs.
The following signs are exempt from the requirements of Article IX:
A.
Interior window displays or signs.
B.
A community bulletin board for the purpose of displaying notices such as public events, schedules and personal notices. Such bulletin boards are not to be used for the purposes named in § 240-9.3B. Bulletin boards may be 10 square feet on each side.
C.
Customary signs necessary to the operation of a filling or service station, including lettering over entrance doors not exceeding 10 inches in height and signs as part of the gas pumps and other signs required by law.
D.
A memorial sign or tablet indicating the name of a building or the date of its erection when cut into any masonry surface or constructed of bronze or other incombustible material.