As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AWNING OR CANOPY SIGN
Any sign that is part of or attached to an awning, canopy,
or other fabric, plastic, or structural protective cover over a door,
entrance, window, or outdoor service area. A marquee is not a canopy.
FREESTANDING OR GROUND SIGN
Any sign, including a monument sign, supported by structures
or supports that are placed on or anchored in the ground, that is
independent of any building or structure.
LED SIGN
Light-emitting diodes (LED), differing from incandescent
bulbs because a variety of colors can be emitted from the same bulb
without using filters. Such sign has the ability to display scrolling
or flashing messages as well as a variety of colors. This definition
includes electronic message boards, liquid crystal displays, digitized
signs or sign parts, variable electronic message centers and similar
electronic displays.
OFF-PREMISES SIGN
A sign which directs attention to a business, product, activity
or service which is generally conducted, sold or offered elsewhere
than upon the premises where such sign is located.
POLE SIGN
A permanent, freestanding sign that is mounted on a pole
or other support that is placed on and anchored in the ground or on
a base and that is independent of any building or other structure.
POLITICAL SIGN
A temporary sign or poster advocating the election of a particular
candidate or candidates for public office. Signs or posters shall
not exceed 16 square feet in both residential and nonresidential zoning
districts.
PORTABLE SIGN
Any sign designed to be transported, including, but not limited
to, signs designed to be transported by means of wheels; signs converted
to A- or T-frames; menu and sandwich-board signs, balloons used as
signs; and umbrellas used for advertising.
SIGN
A name, identification, description, display or illustration
which is affixed to, painted or represented directly or indirectly
upon a building, structure or piece of land and which directs attention
to an object, product, service, place, activity, person, institution,
organization or business and the supporting members thereto. A motor
vehicle or trailer shall be deemed a sign if it is lettered or displayed
in such a fashion as to attract attention and is utilized to advertise
or otherwise call attention to a business located in, or event taking
place in, the Town of Wheatfield or surrounding communities.
A.
Exceptions. For the purposes of this article, the term "sign"
does not include:
(1)
Signs erected and maintained pursuant to and in discharge of
any governmental function.
(2)
Signs prohibiting trespassing.
(3)
Integral, decorative or architectural features of buildings,
except letters or trademarks.
(4)
Signs not exceeding four square feet per face directing and
guiding traffic and parking on private property and bearing no advertising.
(5)
Signs not exceeding one square foot per face advertising the
cost of motor fuel when attached to a fuel pump or service island
canopy.
TEMPORARY SIGN
Any sign that is used for 30 days or less and is not permanently
mounted.
WALL SIGN
A sign integral with or attached to and supported by the
exterior wall of a building or fascia attached to such wall and projecting
not more than 12 inches therefrom.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all signs in all
zoning districts as established and those amended by the Zoning Law
of the Town of Wheatfield:
A. Permit required. No person, firm or corporation shall hereafter erect,
reerect, construct or structurally alter a sign or sign structure
without a permit first having been issued by the Building Department.
B. Application. Every application for a sign permit shall include the
name, address and telephone number of the applicant and shall be accompanied
by plans, drawn to scale, showing the dimensions of the sign, the
structures supporting the sign, the position of the sign in relation
to nearby buildings or structures, the location of the building, structure
or lot to which or upon which the sign is to be attached or erected,
and the location of all utilities, the method of illumination, if
any, and such other information as the Building Department shall require
to show full compliance with this article and all other laws and ordinances
of the Town of Wheatfield.
C. For multiple developments, a coordinated signage plan must be submitted
to the Planning Board in addition to the application procedure as
part of the site plan review and approval. For multiple developments,
the Planning Board shall review coordinated signage plans and approve
the locations, sizes and number of permitted signs.
D. Review. The Code Enforcement Officer shall review and verify the
signed and completed application.
E. Issuance of permit.
(1) Upon application approval, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue
a sign permit.
(2) For multiple developments, Planning Board approval of the coordinated
signage plan must be obtained prior to the issuance of any permits.
F. No sign permit required. A sign permit shall not be required for
the following signs:
(1) One sign for each building or lot, advertising the sale, rental or
lease of the premises or part thereof on which the sign is displayed,
not exceeding three square feet in residential districts and 12 square
feet in commercial and industrial districts.
(2) Official signs, notices or direction devices erected or maintained
by federal, state, county, or local governments or agencies thereof.
(3) One sign denoting the name and address of the occupants of the premises,
which sign shall not exceed two square feet in face area.
(4) One sign denoting the architect, engineer or contractor placed on
the premises where construction, repair or renovation is in progress,
which sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in face area. The sign
must be removed from the premises within seven days after such construction,
repair or renovation is completed.
G. Sign permit required. A sign permit shall be required for the following
signs:
(1) Professional nameplates that shall not exceed four square feet in
face area.
(2) Parking lot markers, directional signs, entrance and exit signs,
and other such signs which are erected on the premises and which shall
not exceed four square feet in face area and shall not contain any
advertising of the use of the premises.
(3) One sign or bulletin board which may be illuminated, not exceeding
16 square feet in face area, located on the premises of a public or
quasi-public organization or institution and not less than 25 feet
from any lot line and not more than six feet in height above the finished
grade.
(4) One sign identifying the name of a residential area or subdivision,
not to exceed 25 square feet of face area or eight feet in height
above the finished grade, shall be permitted at each major entrance
to the area.
(5) Business directional signs, not to exceed three square feet in face
area, shall be limited to providing directional information only,
shall be limited to locations along state highways at or near the
intersection of the appropriate street and shall be placed a minimum
of one foot from the right-of-way, except when regulated by the New
York State Department of Transportation direction sign programs.
The following shall apply to R-C, C and M Districts:
Individual Establishments
|
---|
Zoning District
|
Total Face Area(a)
|
Maximum Number Allowed
|
Type Allowed(b)
|
---|
R-C
|
0.5
|
1
|
G, W, C
|
C
|
1.5
|
3
|
G,P,W and C
|
M
|
1.0
|
2
|
G, W, C
|
Multiple Developments
|
---|
Zoning District
|
Total Face Area(a)
|
Maximum Number Allowed
|
Type Allowed(b)
|
---|
R-C
|
(c)
|
(d)
|
G,W, C
|
C
|
(c)
|
(d)
|
C, G, P, W
|
M
|
(c)
|
(d)
|
G, W, C
|
LEGEND:
|
C
|
=
|
Canopy sign
|
G
|
=
|
Ground sign
|
P
|
=
|
Pole sign
|
W
|
=
|
Wall sign
|
NOTES:
|
(a)
|
Total maximum face area for all signs (other than temporary
signs) in square feet per linear foot of building frontage. (Where
no building is involved or for sites with a building of 100 square
feet or less, the above face area factors shall be applied to the
linear feet of street frontage (instead of building frontage), with
the minimum face area not to exceed 20 square feet).
|
(b)
|
Freestanding signs shall be limited to one sign per individual
establishment.
|
(c)
|
Sign standards to be determined during the site plan review process and the development of a coordinated signage plan. See § 200-65B above.
|
(d)
|
Additional signs identifying the name of the multiple development may be permitted at each major entrance to the area. See § 200-65B above.
|
[Amended 5-24-2015 by L.L. No. 3-2015]
A. All signs containing electrical wiring shall be subject to the provisions
of the National Electrical Code and an electrical permit issued by
the Town of Wheatfield. The electronic components used shall bear
the label of an approved testing agency.
B. Electronic message display (EMD) signs may be permitted, subject
to an electrical permit issued by the Town of Wheatfield, in the Restricted-Commercial
(R-C), Commercial (C-1) and Industrial (M-1 and M-2) Districts. Electronic
message display (EMD) signs may also be permitted, subject to a special
use permit to be issued by the Town of Wheatfield Planning Board,
together with an electrical permit issued by the Town of Wheatfield,
for the following purposes, in any zoning district.
(1) Churches and other places of worship.
(2) Schools and other places of education.
C. There shall be no more than one EMD sign per parcel of land, except
that for corner lots, there may be one EMD sign per street.
D. Illuminated signs or lighting devices shall employ only light of
constant intensity.
E. Applications. All applications for EMD signs are subject to approval
by the Code Enforcement Officer. The EMD is subject to the following
requirements:
(1) Operational limitations. Such displays shall be limited to static
displays, messages that appear or disappear from the display through
dissolve, fade, travel or scroll modes, or similar transitions and
frame effects that have text, animated graphics or images that appear
to move or to change in size or to be revealed sequentially rather
than all at once.
F. No EMD shall be so placed as to permit its beams and illumination
to be directed upon a public street, highway, sidewalk or adjacent
premises so as to cause glare or reflection that may constitute a
traffic hazard or nuisance.
G. The full number of illuminating elements of an EMD shall be kept
in working condition or shall be immediately repaired or replaced.
H. The brightness levels of the electronic message sign shall at any
part of any roadway not exceed as follows: a daytime level of no greater
than 7,500 nits and a nighttime level of no greater than 500 nits.
"Nighttime" is defined as the time from 1/2 hour before sunset to
a 1/2 hour after sunrise. A "nit" is a unit of measurement for luminance
brightness. It is also referred to as "candela per square meter" (cd/m2).
In the event that an EMD sign is not capable of adjusting its level
of illumination, the property owner shall install an external dimming
mechanism, and if that is not possible, based upon proof that the
owner shall submit to the Town of Wheatfield Building Department,
then the EMD sign shall be considered to be "grandfathered," but if
any EMD sign so grandfathered is replaced or updated, it shall conform
to the standards set forth in this section.
I. The duration time of a message displayed on the EMD shall be a minimum
of 10 seconds. "Duration time" is how long a message must remain fixed
in place before it can transition to another message.
J. The transition time of the EMD signs should not last more than one
second. The "transition time" is how long it takes to go from one
message to the next.
K. Message displays will be instantaneous, without scrolling, fading-in,
dropping-in or similar moving copy changes, and moving pictures and
digital movies shall not be displayed.
[Amended 8-24-2015 by L.L. No. 3-2015]
A. Every sign not conforming to the regulations of the district in which
it is located at the time of adoption of this article shall be a nonconforming
use.
B. Preexisting signs; role of Enforcement Officer.
(1)
To avoid hardship, owners shall be allowed to use nonconforming
signs that are permanently affixed to a structure or foundation and
have been in existence prior to the effective date of these regulations,
until their value is depreciated or for a period of six years, whichever
is shorter. All other nonconforming signs shall be removed within
six months of these regulations.
(2)
The Enforcement Officer shall review and inspect existing signs
for their conformance with these regulations and shall, by registered
letter, notify the owners of nonconforming signs of the character
of nonconformance. He or she shall notify the owners of the date on
which conformance must be accomplished.
(3)
The Enforcement Officer may require the owner of the sign to
submit satisfactory proof of the date of erection of the sign.
(4)
Except as provided in this section, nonconforming signs shall
be made to conform to these regulations or shall be removed.
(5)
To avoid hardship, owners shall be allowed to use nonconforming
LED and EMD signs for a period of 30 days.
C. Replacement. A nonconforming sign which is destroyed or which is
damaged to an extent in excess of 50% of its original construction
shall not be replaced except by a sign which conforms to these regulations,
D. Alteration. A nonconforming sign may not be altered, rebuilt or resumed
except in conformity with the regulations for the district in which
it is located.