23.050 Regulations for Permanent Signs

(Amended 03/31/20) A. Awning and Canopy Signs. Signs painted, printed, or sewn on the surface of awning material or on canopies shall be allowed provided: i. awnings are placed at street level only; ii. sign copy on a canopy does not exceed 15% of the canopy face; iii. the sign area is calculated as part of the allowable building wall sign area. B. Electronic Display Signs. 1. Electronic display signs shall be allowed only as part of a monument sign, canopy, marquee, permanent onpremise civic institutional sign, pylon sign, or conversion of an existing billboard or offpremises sign. Except for billboard or off-premises sign conversions, the electronic message display area shall not exceed 50% of the total allowed sign area and, if an onpremises sign, shall not exceed 50 square feet. i. The Zoning Administrator may approve EDSs if the EDS is 50 square feet or less. ii. The City Council shall approve all EDS over 50 square feet. 23-4 2. To protect the integrity of the historic commercial areas of the City, no EDS shall be located along Main Street from 500 East to 500 West, or along State Street from Center Street to 400 East. 3. Each EDS display shall remain “on” and static for a minimum of three seconds, except for video presentations. Flashing, starburst, and similar frame effects are prohibited. 4. Each EDS shall be equipped with a sensor or other device that automatically determines the ambient illumination and which is programmed to automatically dim according to ambient light conditions. 5. Each EDS shall have a default mechanism to turn off the sign within 24 hours of a reported malfunction. 6. The applicant shall submit a photometric matrix showing the dispersal in foot candles and showing that the EDS meets all the requirements of this section. i. Illumination levels shall not, at maximum display intensity, exceed 0.3 foot candles over ambient lighting conditions. Light cutoff devices shall minimize light above the EDS. Illuminance shall be measured with a meter set to measure foot candles accurate to at least two decimals. Illuminance shall be measured with the EDS off, and again with the EDS displaying a white image for a full color capable EDS, or a solid message for a single- color EDS. All measurements shall be taken perpendicular to the face of the EDS at the distance determined by the total square footage of the EDS as set forth in Table 23.050.B. TABLE 23.050.B SIGN AREA VERSUS MEASUREMENT DISTANCE FOR EDS ON-PREMISES SIGNS AREA MEASUREMENT OF SIGN DISTANCE (feet) (sq. ft.) 10 32 15 39 20 45 25 50 30 55 35 59 40 63 45 67 50 71 On-premises signs having areas other than those listed in this table shall have their distance measured as the √Area of Sign (sq. ft) x 100. OFF-PREMISES SIGNS AREA MEASUREMENT OF SIGN DISTANCE (feet) (sq. ft.) 0-100 100 101-350 150 351-650 200 Over 650 250 C. Marquees. Marquees shall be allowed provided: 1. The bottom of the marquee is at least eight feet above the sidewalk or finished grade and 23-5 the sign area does not exceed 80 percent of each sign face. 2. Marquees extending over a public sidewalk shall be limited to a projection distance not to exceed two-thirds of the width of the sidewalk. 3. There shall be only one marquee per building. D. Monument Signs. Monument signs shall be allowed as follows: 1. The parcel on which the sign is to be erected shall have a minimum of 60 lineal feet of frontage on a public street, measured at the front property line. 2. Monument signs may be allowed at entrances of residential subdivisions or commercial developments subject to any required clear view area restriction. 3. The maximum sign height and area for monument signs shall be based on the amount of street frontage, calculated according to Table 23.050.D. TABLE 23.050.D. Street Maximum Frontage Monument (in feet) Height including pedestal (in feet) 60 to 6 175 176 to 8 200 201 to 11 225 226 or 14 more Maximum Monument Sign Area (in square feet) 60 80 110 140 4. When a site includes significant grade differences, the Zoning Administrator may allow additional height or reduce the overall height. For signs placed on a low point, below the elevation of the street curb or sidewalk, additional height up to the level of the sidewalk may be allowed. For signs above the elevation of the street curb or sidewalk, the overall sign height may be reduced by half the elevation of the ground from the street curb or sidewalk by the Zoning Administrator. 5. The width of a monument sign shall not exceed 12 feet, measured at the widest point of the sign. 6. Each monument sign shall have a minimum one-foot-high opaque pedestal designed as the base of the sign, which conceals any pole support. The base shall be as wide as or wider than the sign face. There shall be no sign copy on the pedestal. The pedestal shall utilize materials and design elements that relate the sign to the associated building. 7. Commercial projects or parcels with frontage on more than one street shall be allowed a monument sign on each associated frontage. Monument signs shall be separated from each other by at least 80 feet as measured diagonally across the property from center to center of both signs and shall be no closer than 60 feet to any other sign located on the same frontage. Corner lots may combine the total frontage for the construction of only one sign. 8. Commercial pads within or part of a multi-tenant project 23-6 may have a separate monument sign provided: a. the pad is contiguous to an arterial street and has at least 60 feet of street frontage; b. the sign is at least 60 feet away from any other sign located on the same frontage; E. Project Placemaking Sign. Project placemaking signs shall be allowed for residential or commercial developments per the following: 1. located only at multi-tenant or multi-parcel residential projects a minimum of ten acres in size; 2. located only on parcels fronting arterial roads, state highways, or I-15; 3. design is artistically unique and does not fit the typical boxcabinet, monument, or pylon sign design requirements; 4. copy shall not exceed 200 square feet; and 5. height, design, scale, and context are deemed appropriate to the site. F. Projecting and Suspended Signs. Projecting and suspended signs shall be allowed as follows: 1. have a maximum sign area of two percent of the total square footage of the building wall or 20 square feet, whichever is less; 2. not extend more than four feet from the attached vertical wall and be no more than 12 inches thick; 3. have eight feet minimum clearance from the sidewalk or finished grade; 4. not have an electronic message display or changeable copy; 5. be allowed only for street level tenants; and 6. have a minimum horizontal distance of 30 feet between projecting signs. G. Vintage or Antique Style Roof Signs. Vintage or Antique Style Roof Signs shall be allowed subject to the following requirements: 1. Maximum total height above the roofline shall be five feet. 2. Maximum total width of the sign shall be 45 feet or 75 percent of the width of the wall below the roof sign, whichever is less. 3. No other signage shall be allowed on the wall underneath the roof mounted sign. 4. Vintage or Antique Style Roof Signs shall only be allowed on buildings that have a vintage or antique architectural style. 5. Sign lettering shall utilize a vintage or antique style font. H. Pylon Signs. On-premises pylon signs shall be allowed subject to the following: 1. On commercial lots of three acres or larger, one pylon sign may be approved on each collector or arterial street frontage and shall be placed for viewing on that frontage. 2. A pylon sign may be placed on a commercial project less than three acres in size where: 23-7 a. the lot is within 300 feet of the I-15 right-of-way; b. the lot is within 1,000 feet of an I-15 interchange; c. the sign is owned by a hotel, gas station, or restaurant. 3. Pylon signs shall be allowed on any commercial project having at least 300 feet of collector or arterial street frontage measured at the front property line. 4. a. Pylon sign height shall not exceed 25 feet, except the height may be increased as per subsection 23.050.H.4.b. for commercial uses located both within 300 feet of the I-15 right-of-way and 1,000 feet of an I-15 interchange. b. Businesses that are adjacent to a freeway overpass or similar viewobscuring structure may request review and approval of an exception by the City Council for additional height. The City Council shall approve only minimal additions to height to provide reasonable visibility above the viewobscuring structure. In all cases, the City Council shall determine the allowable additional height, if any, on a site specific, case-by-case basis. In the determination of allowable additional height, the burden of proof shall be the responsibility of the applicant. In no case shall the height of a pylon sign exceed 70 feet. 5. When a site includes significant grade differences, the Zoning Administrator may allow additional height or reduce the overall height. For signs placed on a low point, below the elevation of the street curb or sidewalk, additional height up to the level of the sidewalk may be allowed. For signs above the elevation of the street curb or sidewalk, the overall sign height may be reduced by half the elevation of the ground from the street curb or sidewalk. and 5% of a secondary wall. Only one wall of a building shall be considered the primary wall. All other walls shall be considered secondary walls. Each secondary wall may have a separate sign based on 5% of the wall area. 2. Allowable square footage for wall signs may be spread between several different signs, which includes signs from multiple tenants in a shared office or commercial building. 6. The maximum size of a pylon sign shall not exceed 200 square feet. The City Council may approve an exception to allow additional sign area on a case-by-case basis, based on the number of tenants displayed on the sign. In no case shall the total size of the pylon sign exceed 600 square feet. 7. Pylon signs shall not extend over any pedestrian or vehicular access area. 8. Structural supports for pylon signs shall be covered or concealed with pole covers. For signs with one pole, the pole cover shall be a minimum of 48 inches wide. For a sign with two poles, the pole covers shall be a minimum of 36 inches wide each. Support covers shall be architecturally and aesthetically designed to match the building or associated development. I. Wall Signs. Wall signs shall be allowed as follows: 3. Wall signs shall not cover distinct architectural features on buildings. 4. Banners shall not be allowed as permanent wall signs and shall only be allowed as temporary signs. 5. Painted signs or murals applied directly to any building facade shall be approved by the Zoning Administrator, except if the building is in a recognized historic district then the Historic Preservation Commission shall first provide review and recommendation with approval by the Zoning Administrator. 6. No part of any wall sign or sign structure shall project above or below the highest or lowest part of the wall upon which the sign is mounted or painted, neither shall it project more than 18 inches from the face of the building to which it is attached. J. Wayfinding Signs. Wayfinding signs shall be allowed provided: 1. Wall signs may occupy up to 15% of a primary wall or 600 square feet, whichever is less, 23-8 1. they shall not exceed four square feet in area and four feet in height, except that wayfinding signs for multitenant projects may combine their allowed sign area for each tenant; and 2. the maximum number allowed shall be two per entrance from a public street.