City of Normandy, MO Sign Regulations

Any parcel or tract of land accessible by means of a street. It may mean a single parcel separately described by plat or may include a part or combinations of parcels utilized as a single parcel of ground as shall be determined by the Building Commissioner.

MONUMENT SIGN

Any sign supported by a fixed base or two (2) or more upright posts or braces, placed upon or fixed to the ground and not attached to any building.

POST SIGNS

Any sign not attached to a building and supported by one (1) or more stationary posts longer than five (5) feet above the mean grade level of the ground.

PROJECTING SIGNS

Any sign attached to a building wall and extending over six (6) inches from the wall to which it is attached.

ROOF SIGN

Any sign erected on a roof.

SHOPPING CENTER

Any building or group of buildings located on a lot containing four (4) or more stores or shops.

SIGN AREA

The total area of the space to be used for advertisement including the background but not including sign supports.

WALL SIGN

Any sign erected against a wall of any building with the face of the sign being parallel to the plane of the wall on which it is erected.

Section 415.020 Permits Required.

[R.O. 2012 §415.020; Ord. No. 49 §2, 9-19-1978]

No sign of any of the types defined herein shall be erected, altered, or relocated until a permit therefore shall have been issued by the Building Commissioner. No such permit shall be granted until after an application has been filed showing the plans and specifications, dimensions and details of construction of the proposed sign, nor until all the provisions of this Chapter shall have been complied with.

The fees for such permits shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

[Ord. No. 697 §1, 12-1-2015]

Any permit application for erection of any sign on the public right-of-way, sidewalk, parkway or public place shall be submitted to the City Council for approval by resolution.

Section 415.030 Exempted Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.030; Ord. No. 49 §3, 9-19-1978; Ord. No. 516 §2, 4-1-2003]

Signs meeting the following conditions need not be covered by a sign permit and are exempt from the requirements of this Chapter:

Bulletin boards which:

Do not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in gross sign area;

Are placed by a public, charitable or religious institution; and

Are located on the institutions premises.

Memorial signs or tablets denoting the name of a building and date of erection, if:

Cut into masonry surface, or

Constructed of bronze or other incombustible metallic materials.

Municipal signs, legal notices, railroad crossing signs, danger signals and such temporary emergency signs or non-advertising signs which may be approved by the Building Commissioner.

Occupational signs denoting the business name of an occupation legally conducted on the premises, provided that:

The sign is non-illuminated, and

The sign area does not exceed one (1) square feet, and

The sign is attached to the building within which the occupation is conducted.

Paper signs affixed to the inside of a window and advertising temporary commercial situations relating to a legally operating business involving goods or services sold on the premises, provided that:

The total of all signs in that window must have a gross sign area no greater than thirty-three percent (33%) of the window's area, and

The sign(s) are in place no longer than thirty (30) days.

Political signs, if:

They do not exceed six (6) square feet in size, and

They are posted on private property with the permission of the property owner or tenant, and

They are not in place longer than five (5) days after the election to which they relate.

Special display signs used for holidays, public demonstrations, or the promotion of civic welfare or charitable purposes, if they are approved by the City Council following submission of a written application for such approval.

Subdivision or apartment complex identification signs, provided that:

Only one (1) sign is erected at any entrance to the subdivision or apartment complex. If there is more than one (1) entrance, signs may not be erected within two hundred (200) feet of each other, and

The signs may not advertise the availability of housing units for sale or rent, and

The sign areas of individual signs does not exceed twelve (12) square feet on both sides of a two (2) sided sign or eight (8) square feet on a one (1) sided sign, and

Signs may be located on private property only with the written consent of the property owner or on the public right-of-way only by approval of the City Council following written application for such approval.

Temporary signs denoting the architect, engineer or contractor or any building project, provide that:

Signs must be placed within the lot where construction is under progress, and

Total sign area may not exceed fifty (50) square feet, and

The sign must be removed within ten (10) days after completion of the construction period.

10.

Signs advertising yard sales or garage sales, provided that:

Such signs shall not exceed six (6) square feet, and

Such signs not be erected prior to the date of such sale and be removed immediately following the close of such sale.

Pre-existing signs legally erected under the provisions of the ordinances of the City of Normandy shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter for a period of seven (7) years from the date of passage of this Chapter, provided that:

If there is a change of ownership or tenancy which requires a new occupancy permit for the business or premises to which the sign relates, all signs must be brought into compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, or

If any sign is moved, wither on the premises or to another location off the premises, it must be brought into compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, or

If the cost of any sign maintenance or repair exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the replacement value of the sign, then the sign must be made to conform with the provisions of this Article or may be replaced by a new, conforming sign, or

If any sign is declared to be unsafe or to be in a condition of disrepair as prescribed in Section 415.110(C) herein, it shall be brought into compliance with the provisions of this Chapter or replaced by a new, conforming sign.

Section 415.040 General Provisions.

[R.O. 2012 §415.040; Ord. No. 49 §4, 9-19-1978]

No sign shall be erected that by its position, shape or color it might interfere with, obstruct the view of, or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device.

No sign shall be erected at any intersection in such a manner as to obstruct the free and clear vision of traffic.

No sign shall make use of the words "stop", "look", "drive in", "danger", or any other words or combination of words, phrases, or symbols in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.

Signs containing any flashers, animators, or mechanical movements, or contrivances of any kind, excepting clocks, shall not be erected, installed or maintained in the City of Normandy.

Paper posters applied directly to the wall of any building, pole or support, and letters or pictures in the form of advertising, printed or applied directly on the wall of any building are hereby prohibited.

No sign shall be erected, constructed, or maintained within the City of Normandy except such signs as shall refer to the business conducted on the premises on which such signs are located.

Section 415.050 Monument Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.050; Ord. No. 49 §5, 9-19-1978]

Any commercial building located on a lot with at least fifty (50) linear feet fronting on Natural Bridge, Florissant Road, Bermuda Road or Woodstock Avenue, shall be permitted one (1) monument sign provided that:

No such sign shall be located closer than ten (10) feet to the street. No such sign located on a corner lot shall interfere with, obstruct or confuse traffic, and

No such sign shall be higher than five (5) feet above the street level or above the mean level of the grade on which the sign is located, whichever is higher, and

No such sign shall contain more than fifty (50) square feet on both sides of a two-sided sign or thirty (30) square feet on a one-sided sign.

Section 415.060 Post Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.060; Ord. No. 49 §6, 9-19-1978]

No post signs shall be permitted on any lot or tract of ground in the City of Normandy, except:

Any lot having a frontage of at least one hundred (100) feet on a thoroughfare in the City and having a building with a single occupant shall be permitted one (1) post sign advertising the store located therein.

Any commercial building with at least four (4) offices, stores or shops or any shopping center, shall be permitted one (1) common building directory sign relating only to the name of the building or shopping center and names of the stores, offices and shops located therein.

All such post signs permitted under Subsection (A) herein shall be subject to the following conditions:

Its location and design shall be subject to approval of the City Council prior to its installation, and

Its total sign area shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet nor shall its height exceed the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, and

Any store, shop or office located in a commercial building or shopping center which is permitted a common building directory sign under Subsection (A)(2) herein, shall not be permitted any other signs except wall signs as permitted in Section 415.070 herein.

Section 415.070 Wall Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.070; Ord. No. 49 §7, 9-19-1978]

Wall signs shall not exceed fifty (50) square feet in area for any store, except:

Any commercial building occupied by one (1) person only and having a front wall area of over two thousand (2,000) square feet shall be permitted a wall sign with an area of five percent (5%) of the area of the front wall of such building; provided however, that in no case shall such sign exceed two hundred (200) square feet.

Any commercial building occupied by one (1) person only and having a front wall area less than two thousand (2,000) square feet shall be permitted a wall sign not to exceed five percent (5%) of such wall area or twenty-five (25) square feet whichever is greater.

Any building located on a corner lot shall be permitted a wall sign on both sides of the building facing any street.

No wall sign shall exceed forty (40) square feet unless made of incombustible material. No wall sign shall extend above the top of the wall or beyond the end of the wall. No wall sign may project more than six (6) inches from the plane of the wall on which it is erected nor shall it be attached to the wall at less than eight (8) feet above the ground or sidewalk.

Section 415.080 Roof Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.010; Ord. No. 49 §8, 9-19-1978]

Roof signs shall display no advertising matter except pertaining to the business conducted on the premises and shall not be so placed as to prevent the free passage from one part of said roof to another.

All roof signs will be subject to the following conditions:

Be set back from the roof edge. No sign shall be placed so that any part of the sign projects beyond the plane of the outside walls, and

No sign shall exceed five (5) feet in height nor shall it exceed one hundred (100) square feet in total sign area, and

No sign shall be erected where the combined height of the sign and building will exceed the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.

Section 415.090 Projecting Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.090; Ord. No. 49 §9, 9-19-1978]

No projecting signs of any type will be permitted.

Section 415.100 Temporary Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.100; Ord. No. 49 §10, 9-19-1978]

No sign or device in the nature of an advertisement or announcement so constructed as to be movable shall be placed or permitted to be placed on any part of the street, sidewalk, parkway, curb or gutter. Only one (1) such sign may be placed on private property for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days upon the approval of the Building Commissioner.

Section 415.110 Unlawful Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.110; Ord. No. 49 §11, 9-19-1978]

Any sign installed, erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to be unlawful.

Any sign not advertising a business on the property or building upon which the sign is located shall be deemed an unlawful sign.

Any sign declared by the Building Commissioner to be unsafe or to be in a state of disrepair such that, because of its condition or appearance, it would have a damaging effect upon the property values in the City of Normandy shall be deemed to be unlawful.

Section 415.120 Enforcement Procedures.

[R.O. 2012 §415.120; Ord. No. 49 §12, 9-19-1978; Ord. No. 329 §1, 10-8-1991]

The Building Commissioner may, at any time he/she deems necessary, inspect any sign structure regulated by this Chapter and shall enforce the provisions of this Chapter utilizing the following procedures:

If it is found that a sign is in violation of this Chapter, the Building Commissioner shall give written notice to the owner of the sign or, if the owner cannot be located, to the owner of the premises where the sign is located or, if the sign erection is not completed, to the sign erector, stating:

The specific violations of this Chapter found to exist.

Notice that the conditions must be brought into compliance within five (5) days,

The specific standards to be met.

Failure to comply or make a good faith effort to comply will result in court action and removal of the sign at the expense of the sign owner or owner of the premises where the sign is located.

The sign owner has the right of appeal to the Board of Adjustment.

Any sign which is deemed by the Building Commissioner to be of immediate danger to persons or property may be removed immediately without notice as required under Subparagraph (1) of this Section.

In the event of the failure of any party to reimburse the City within thirty (30) days for costs incurred in repair or removal of an unlawful sign, the cost shall become a special tax bill and shall be a lien upon the property.

The Building Commissioner shall not issue any further sign permits to persons refusing to pay costs assessed nor shall any occupancy permits be issued for the use of the property involved until such costs have been paid.

Article II Realty Signs

Section 415.130 Realty Signs Permitted and Regulated.

[R.O. 2012 §415.130; Ord. No. 38 §2, 3-28-1978; Ord. No. 516 §3, 4-1-2003]

Any owner may erect, or cause to be erected by his/her real estate agent, one (1) display sign bearing the words "For Sale", "For Lease", "Open" or "Sold" or any other words or signs in relation to the sale, rental or lease of any real property in the City of Normandy, on the parcel of ground to which the sign refers, provided that the owner has obtained a permit from the Building Commissioner of the City of Normandy for such sign.

A realty sign permit shall automatically be issued for vacant land. A realty sign permit shall be issued for improved property if the following conditions are met:

The applicant has the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the subject property to erect said sign;

The applicant has made application for a Certificate of Compliance by the Building Commissioner and the property has been inspected pursuant to Section 500.015 of this Code; and

The notice required by Section 500.015 of this Code is properly posted on the structure.

All signs erected under this Section shall be promptly removed upon issuance of an occupancy permit for the subject property, the revocation or expiration of a Certificate of Compliance or property inspection report or upon the removal of the notice required by Section 500.015 of this Code.

All signs erected under this Section shall be placed on the subject property only. No signs directing prospective buyers or renters to the subject property shall be permitted on any public right-of-way or on any private property which is not the property to which the sign refers.

No signs erected under this Section shall exceed five (5) square feet. Only one (1) sign shall be permitted per parcel except double "back-to-back" signs will be allowed for two-directional visibility.

The same rules shall apply to signs placed upon buildings or in windows of residential property as those for yard signs.

Section 415.140 Other Regulations.

[R.O. 2012 §415.140; Ord. No. 38 §3, 3-28-1978]

No display signs, flags, pennants or other attention attracting devices pertaining to the sale, rent or lease of property, whether inside a vehicle or outside, shall be permitted on City property at any time.

Section 415.150 Zoning Uses Required on Commercial Signs.

[R.O. 2012 §415.150; Ord. No. 38 §4, 3-28-1978]

Any signs advertising property for sale, rent or lease located in any zoning district which can be classified as "commercial" must set forth, in letters at least two (2) inches in height, the zoning district in which the parcel of real estate is situated. Signs erected in commercial districts shall be removed immediately following sale of the subject property.