[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Rensselaer 8-7-1928. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 179.
No person, firm or corporation shall erect, maintain or cause to be erected or maintained, in whole or in part or in any manner or form, any billboard, sign or other advertising device or display within the City of Rensselaer, New York, without first complying with the provisions of this chapter, except as hereinafter provided by § 77-12 thereof.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes all structures, of whatever material the same may
be constructed, which are independently supported or placed on the
ground or upon buildings or upon roofs of buildings and are erected,
animated or used for the out-of-door public display of printed or
painted posters, signs, pictures or other pictorial or reading matter.
Every billboard, sign or other advertising device or display,
except signs two feet or less in height and two feet or less in width,
advertising real property to be for sale or for rent, advertising
the sale or rental of goods, wares or merchandise of the owner or
lessee of the real property on which such signs may be placed or signs
advertising the real property on which such signs may be placed shall
be registered on or before the 10th day of January of each year in
the office of the City Clerk of Rensselaer, upon a blank form prepared
and furnished for that purpose by the City, by the person, firm or
corporation erecting or maintaining the same. Each form shall bear
a different number for the purpose of identification, which shall
be termed the "registration number." The registration shall show the
name and post office address of such person, firm or corporation,
the location or proposed location of such billboard, sign or other
advertising device or display, its size, the material of which it
is constructed and such other information as the Clerk may require
to locate such structure and to show compliance with this chapter.
The first registration shall take place prior to the erection of such
structure in the case of a structure to be erected.
No person, firm or corporation shall erect or maintain, except as hereinafter provided by § 77-12 hereof, any billboard, sign or other advertising device on display more than six feet high or 50 feet long, including the molding thereon, or which will not bear a wind pressure of at least 20 pounds pressure to the square foot of surface area or a billboard located on the roof of any building, unless it is so constructed as to leave a clear space of at least five feet between the roof level and the lowest part thereof and is at least six feet from the face of the front and rear walls and does not interfere with any opening in the roof or any fire escape and, excepting the ornamental surface molding thereof, is constructed entirely of metal, including the uprights, supports and braces of the same, and will bear a wind pressure of not less than 30 pounds to the square foot of surface area subject to wind pressure, without the Common Council of the City having its discretion first authorized by resolution and such person, firm or corporation having first obtained, as hereinafter provided, a permit therefor; provided, however, that the vertical distance from the ground or roof level, to which the support or supports of any such structure may be attached, to the lowest part of any such structure, wherever located, shall not be greater than six feet, unless a permit therefor is first obtained.
Application for such permit shall be made on a blank form prepared and furnished by the City for that purpose, and the Common Council, if it shall approve the application, shall pass a resolution approving the same and authorizing the issuance of a permit. The application shall be made on at least one week's notice, in writing, of such application, served personally or by mail on the owners, occupants or agents of all houses and lots within a distance of 200 feet from the place where such billboard, sign or other advertising device or display is to be erected or is maintained, verified proof of service of which notice being presented with the application, unless the written consent of said owners, occupants or agents is obtained and presented. The applicant shall show the name and post office address of the person, firm or corporation erecting or maintaining the same, the location or proposed location of the billboard, sign or other advertising device or display, its size, the material of which it is constructed and such other information as the Common Council may require to enable it to determine the advisability of the issuance of a permit. Upon the approval of the application by the Common Council and the authorization by it of the issuance of the permit as hereinbefore provided, the City Clerk, after payment of the permit fee hereinafter provided for, shall issue to such applicant a formal permit to erect or maintain a billboard, sign or other advertising device or display, at the same time filing a duplicate of such permit in his office, but nothing in this section shall be construed as to excuse the registration provided for in § 77-3 of this chapter.
A fee of $1 shall be paid to the City Clerk by the person, firm or corporation registering on the registration provided for in § 77-3 of this chapter. An additional fee of $5 shall be paid to the City Clerk by the applicant therefor on the filing and issuance of the permit provided for by § 77-5 of this chapter.
All billboards, signs or other advertising devices or displays
shall be properly secured, supported and braced and shall be constructed
in a safe and workmanlike manner. Every such structure shall have
displayed thereon a strip showing the name of the person, firm or
corporation maintaining same and the registration number of such billboard;
such strip, if upon the top, shall not be included in the height herein
specified, but may be in addition thereto, provided that such strip
shall contain only the information required by this section.
No billboard, sign or other advertising device or display shall
be erected, constructed or maintained within the boundaries of any
public street, avenue, highway, alley or public ground of the City,
nor shall any such structure be erected in violation of any Zoning
Ordinance of the City of Rensselaer.[1]
No billboard, sign or other advertising device or display shall
be so erected or maintained upon any building as to cover the doors
or windows of the building or otherwise prevent free ingress or egress
to or from any window, door or fire escape thereof.
Any person, firm or corporation which shall erect or maintain
on any vacant lot or any premises a billboard, sign or other advertising
device or display shall be subject to the same duties and responsibilities
as the owner of such lot or premises with respect to keeping the same
clean, sanitary, inoffensive and free and clear from all obnoxious
substances in the vicinity of such structure and with respect to snow
and ice on the sidewalk and curb in front thereof; and, in addition,
any such person, firm or corporation shall be liable civilly to the
City to pay any sum which the City has been held to pay be reason
of the failure of the person, firm or corporation to comply with any
of the provisions of this section or to remove snow and ice from the
sidewalks and curb in front of such lot or premises.
[Amended 8-15-1990 by L.L. No. 4-1990]
Should any billboard, sign or other advertising device or display
become insecure or in danger of falling or otherwise unsafe, in the
opinion of the Building and Zoning Administrator, the owner thereof
or the person maintaining the same shall, upon notice from the Building
and Zoning Administrator, immediately, in the case of immediate danger,
and in any case within 10 days, secure the same under the supervision
of and in a like manner approved by the Building and Zoning Administrator
in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
This chapter shall apply to billboards, signs or other advertising devices or displays already existing, and the same must be made to conform to its provisions within 60 days after the date when this chapter shall become effective, unless the permit provided for by §§ 77-4 and 77-5 hereof has been obtained. The first registration of any such structure already existing shall take place, as provided for by § 77-8 of this chapter, also within 60 days from the date when the same shall become effective.
[Amended 8-15-1990 by L.L. No. 4-1990]
Any billboard, sign or other advertising device or display which
is erected or maintained contrary to any provisions of this chapter
may be removed by the Building and Zoning Administrator at the expense
of the person, firm or corporation maintaining the same.
[Amended 8-15-1990 by L.L. No. 4-1990]
The City Clerk and the Building and Zoning Administrator shall
have the power to do all things and make all regulations incidental
to the efficient carrying out through the respective offices of the
intents and purposes of this chapter not inconsistent herewith, and
it shall be the duty of the City Clerk and the Building and Zoning
Administrator to do all things which under the provisions of this
chapter they may do to carry out its intents and purposes.
The Common Council may, be resolution, at any time for a violation
of this chapter, revoke any permit authorized by it, and thereafter
such permit shall become null and void. If any permit shall be so
revoked, no refund or any portion of the fee hereinafter provided
for shall be made. Notice of such revocation and the reason or the
reasons therefor, in writing, shall be served by the City Clerk, under
the direction of the Common Council, upon the person indicated as
applicant in the application by mailing the same to the address given
therein.
[Amended 8-15-1990 by L.L. No. 4-1990]
Any person violating the provisions of this chapter or any part
thereof shall be liable for and forfeit a penalty to the City not
exceeding $250 for each offense, said penalty to be exclusive of any
liability to the City elsewhere prescribed by the provisions of this
chapter, or be imprisoned for not more than 15 days, or both.
This chapter is passed for the purpose of promoting the safety,
comfort and general welfare of the residents of said City.
