[L.L. No. 4-02, § 1, 10-22-2002]
11.0.1
Intent. The purpose of this article is to promote and protect
the public health, welfare and safety by regulating existing and proposed
outdoor advertising, outdoor advertising signs and outdoor signs of
all types. It is intended to protect property values, create a more
attractive economic and business climate, enhance and protect the
physical appearance of the community, preserve the scenic and natural
beauty of designated areas, and provide a more enjoyable and pleasing
community. It is further intended hereby to reduce sign or advertising
distractions and obstructions that may contribute to traffic accidents,
reduce hazards that may be caused by signs overhanging or projecting
over public rights-of-way, provide more open space, and curb the deterioration
of natural beauty and community environment.
11.0.2
Scope. This article by its terms applies to all signs within
the city excepting those signs erected and maintained within disposition
parcels located in the neighborhood development area of the Urban
Renewal Plan for the city.
11.0.3
Signs restricted.
1.
The construction, erection, alteration, reconstruction, display,
ownership, maintenance or operation of any sign within the city except
as provided by this article is hereby prohibited.
2.
Signposts are specifically prohibited from the public right-of-way
with the exception of those that are necessary or recommended by the
State of New York Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
3.
Signs overhanging the public right-of-way are prohibited except in
the city center and general commercial zones.
4.
Signs judged obscene by the zoning board are prohibited.
5.
No electric sign or electrically illuminated sign, or any sign board,
signpost, portion of any advertising nature or otherwise shall be
permitted or allowed to remain on the sidewalk nor on any portion
of the city streets.
11.0.4
Institutional signs. Institutional signs shall not exceed 32
square feet in size nor shall there be more than one such sign per
institution.
11.0.5
Temporary banners within rights-of-way. Signs, other than official
street or traffic signs, shall not be erected within the right-of-way
lines of any street, except that temporary banners may be permitted
for festivals or special events with the requirement that special
permits for such banners be issued by the mayor and common council
of the city.
Signs in the R1 Single-family Residential, R2 Single-family/General
Residential, R3 General Residential and RT Residential Transition
use districts shall conform to the following regulations:
11.1.1
Identification signs. Identification signs shall be permitted
as an accessory use in any residential district as follows:
1.
Customary professional or home occupation identification signs not
over two square feet in size, related solely to the profession or
home occupation conducted on the premises by a resident thereof.
2.
No more than one such identification sign shall be permitted for
each professional or other person so engaged and residing in the premises;
but if a dwelling has frontage on more than one street, an additional
identification sign shall be permitted for each additional frontage.
3.
Such identification sign may be affixed to the face of the building
or may be erected on a post not over four feet high, located in the
yard but at least five feet from the property line or 20 feet from
street pavement, whichever is greater.
4.
The sign may not be illuminated.
5.
A permit is required; however, no fee will be charged.
11.1.2
Bulletin boards.
1.
Permanent bulletin boards or similar announcement signs are allowed
only for churches and other nonprofit institutions. They may not exceed
20 square feet in gross area and shall be located either on the face
of the building or on a post or posts at least five feet from the
property line. One such sign shall be permitted for each street frontage.
2.
Signs may be illuminated by night by back lighting or by direct lighting
provided the latter is so screened as not to be visible from an adjacent
residence.
3.
A permit is required; however, no fee will be charged.
11.1.3
Temporary signs. Temporary "For Sale" or "To Let" signs relating
to the premises and containing the name, address and telephone number
of the owner or authorized agent, or both, and not exceeding six square
feet in area in the aggregate shall be permitted. One such sign shall
be permitted for each street frontage and may not be illuminated.
Temporary signs must be removed within 48 hours after the intent of
business of the sign is complete. See section 11.0.3. No fee will
be charged for this sign.
11.1.4
Flags, civic insignia. Flags, flagpoles, badges, insignia of
any government or government agency, or any civic, charitable, religious,
patriotic, fraternal or similar organization shall be considered as
being signs and subject to all provisions of this article except that
no fee will be charged.
11.1.5
Attaching to trees, poles or structures. It shall be unlawful
for any person to paint, post, place or fix any business or commercial
advertisement, paper, handbills or circulars, or cause the same to
be done, on or to any curbstone, flagstone or any other portion of
any sidewalk or street, or upon any tree, lamppost, hitching post,
telegraph post, telegraph pole, telephone pole, hydrant, bridge or
any other structure within the limits of the city.
[L.L. No. 5-02, § 1, 10-22-2002]
11.2.0
Generally. Signs in the CC City Center and GC
General Commercial use districts shall conform to the following regulations:
1.
Permits required. A sign permit shall be required before any sign
or billboard may be erected, altered, reconstructed or displayed within
the city.
2.
Application for permit. Written application shall be made to the
code enforcement officer on a form provided by the code enforcement
officer and shall be accompanied by complete plans and specifications
showing the construction, method of support and materials to be used.
Application may be made by the owner or by the lessee of the property
upon which such sign is to be placed. The code enforcement officer
may require the plans and specifications be signed by a professional
engineer or architect registered in the state.
3.
Permit fees. Each application shall be accompanied by a fee as established
by the common council which may be amended or modified from time to
time. The code enforcement officer of the city may require proof of
the monetary value of sign. Licensed signs at the time of the enactment
of this article must obtain permits under the provisions of this article
upon expiration of their licenses. All other signs within the city
must comply with the requirements of this article on the effective
date of its enactment.
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Upon the approval of the code enforcement officer of such application
and of the place and manner of erecting the sign therein mentioned,
and upon his writing or stamping thereon the amount of the fee required
for the sign applied for, the applicant shall pay to the city clerk
the fee prescribed by this division, and thereupon the city clerk
shall issue to the applicant a license for the sign applied for.
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Licenses shall be issued for a period of three years. New installations
approved will be for three-year periods following the issuance of
a permit; however, construction of an approved sign must be commenced
within 30 days after the issuance of the permit and completed within
60 days thereafter.
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License fees for the erection or maintenance of signs shall
be established by the mayor and common council of the city by resolution
from time to time.
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Liability insurance must be obtained by the owner of a sign
prior to approval by the code enforcement officer. Minimum liability
coverage is $10,000 property damage, and $100,000 personal injury.
All liability insurance policies shall be approved by the city attorney
prior to issuance of a sign permit.
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4.
Temporary permits. Temporary signs shall require a permit from the
code enforcement officer, but a fee will not be required.
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A permit for a temporary sign may be issued for a period not
exceeding 90 days; and such sign shall be removed within 24 hours
after expiration unless an extension of time, not exceeding 30 days,
shall have been granted in writing by the code enforcement officer.
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Materials, except frames, used in the construction of temporary
signs may be of light-weight material. Temporary signs shall conform
to all other applicable provisions of this article.
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5.
Unsafe, unlawful and deteriorating signs. Whenever it shall appear
to the code enforcement officer that any sign has been constructed
or erected or is being maintained in violation of the terms of this
article, or is unsafe or insecure, or is a menace to the public, or
has been allowed to deteriorate, he shall give written notifications
to the property owner and/or tenant. Said sign shall be removed or
repaired and placed in a safe condition within 10 days after receipt
of the written notification. If the foregoing is not complied with,
the city will have the sign in question removed and the cost added
to the property owner's tax bill.
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In the event a sign has been damaged and presents an immediate
threat to the public, the code enforcement officer may order the immediate
removal of said sign and take appropriate action to protect the public
and recover costs. Any time a business goes out of business or moves,
the owner or company shall remove all signs of said business.
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6.
Sign mounting. All exterior signs shall be permanently mounted and
securely anchored.
7.
Restrictions. Signs and billboards shall not in any way obstruct
the required door or window area of any building or structure.
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Signs shall not be attached to or placed upon any portion of
a fire escape.
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Signs shall not be erected that will in any way interfere with
the activities of the fire department.
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Signs constructed or erected after the adoption of this zoning
law shall not be rotating or contain any moving parts.
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8.
Traffic control signs. Signs necessary for traffic control on private
property and containing no advertising may be erected, not to exceed
an area of 12 square feet per sign.
9.
Exemptions. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the
following signs:
a.
Traffic signs erected by governmental bodies.
b.
Railroad warning signs.
c.
Municipal signs.
d.
Memorial signs or tablets, names of buildings and date of erection
when cut in any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other
combustible [non-combustible] materials.
e.
Occupational signs denoting only the name and profession of an occupant
in commercial buildings and the name and nature of the occupancy in
public and institutional buildings. Such signs shall not exceed two
square feet in area.
10.
Illumination. Signs may be illuminated at night by back lighting
or direct lighting only provided the latter is so screened as not
to cast any direct light upon any residence. No sign or lighting device
shall be of the flashing, intermittent or reciprocating type.
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Illuminated signs must bear the National Underwriters seal of
approval or must be inspected and approved by the city electrical
inspector.
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11.2.1
Types of signs allowed. Each business establishment shall be
allowed the following types of signs only and which shall be installed
at the business location only. However, ground signs and pole or pylon
signs may not be used in combination. Further, any area allowed in
a ground sign or a pole or pylon type shall be deducted from the total
area allowed under section 11.2.2, "Size limitations."
1.
Wall sign. A sign attached to, erected against or painted on the
wall of a building or structure, with the exposed face of the sign
in a plane parallel to the plane of the wall.
2.
Ground sign. A detached sign erected upon or supported by the ground.
3.
Pole or pylon sign. A sign supported by or suspended from a free-standing
column of concrete, structural steel, aluminum pipe or structural
aluminum.
4.
Projection signs. Each establishment in the city center and general
commercial zones, shall be permitted one hanging sign for each frontage
on a public right-of-way. Such signs shall not exceed 20 square feet
in area per face nor exceed 24 inches from sign face to sign face.
The bottom of such sign shall be a maximum of 13 feet above the sidewalk
and shall not extend into any access driveways intended for service
or emergency vehicles.
11.2.2
Size limitations. The total display area of all signs, including
wall, ground, pole, pylon and window, permitted upon a single lot
shall be determined as follows:
11.2.3
General requirements.
1.
Any sign attached to a building shall not extend more than 50% above
the roof line immediately behind the sign, and in no case shall the
sign extend above same roof line by more than five feet.
2.
Wall signs shall not extend more than 12 inches from the face of
the building into any street, alley, sidewalk, thoroughfare or other
public space.
3.
Wall signs projecting six inches or more into any public space from
the face of a building shall have a clearance of not less than eight
feet between the bottom of such sign and the sidewalk level of any
public thoroughfare.
4.
Glass in any wall sign must be safety glass or comparable material.
11.2.4
Ground signs. Two ground signs may be permitted not exceeding
65 square feet in total area and subject to the following regulations:
1.
Shall not be more than 10 feet in height as measured from the ground.
2.
Any open space between the ground and the bottom of the sign shall
not exceed three feet.
3.
Ground signs may not be located in any area which shall affect visibility
for motor vehicle traffic.
4.
An additional sign shall be allowed under the provisions of this
article, and subject to the above regulations.
11.2.5
Pole or pylon signs. One pole or pylon sign may be permitted
not exceeding 65 square feet in area and subject to the following
regulations:
11.3.0
Signs in the WC Waterfront Conservation Use
District. Within the WC Waterfront Conservation Use District, all
signs shall conform to the requirements of section 11.1.
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In addition to the signs allowed to comply with the requirements
of section 11.1, the owner of an approved mobile home park may be
allowed to erect a single ground mounted sign, subject to the following
regulations:
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1.
The sign shall only contain the name and address of the mobile home
park.
2.
The sign shall not be more than 10 feet in height as measured from
the ground.
3.
The sign shall not contain more than 24 square feet in total area
on either of two sides.
4.
The sign shall not be illuminated, except indirectly.
5.
The sign shall not be located closer than 20 feet to any street or
property line.
11.3.1
Signs in I Industrial Use Districts. Within the I Industrial
Use Districts shall conform to CC and GC use district regulations.
11.3.2
Signs in industrial/business parks. Signs shall be allowed in
industrial/business parks subject to the following regulations.
1.
One sign of the pole or pylon type identifying the industrial/business
park only and not exceeding 100 square feet in area and conforming
to section 11.2.4.
2.
One sign directing traffic to business locations. Such sign shall
contain equal-sized areas not to exceed 12 inches by 72 inches for
each business located within the park.
3.
Entrance, exit, safety and other directional signs as required; size
in accordance with size used for New York State signs.
4.
Corporation identification signs, if intended to be seen from any
road outside the park or area, will conform to regulations for business
signs. Other corporate identification signs will be at the discretion
of the corporation but will not extend more than five feet above the
roof line.
11.4.0
Billboards and off-premises advertising signs.
Billboards shall be permitted by special use permit only and shall
be permitted only in industrial districts. Off-premises advertising
signs shall be permitted by special use permit only and shall be permitted
in the CC, GC and I use districts only. Such special use permit shall
be defined in and be issued as provided by the zoning ordinance.
11.4.1
Non-conforming uses. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
this article, any nonconforming sign of any type in existence at the
date of the enactment of this article shall, at the expiration of
12 months from such date, become a prohibited and unlawful use and
shall be discontinued. If a party can show that he has been unduly
burdened by this provision, he may apply in the alternative to the
zoning board of appeals for a special permit to continue his non-conforming
sign during the remaining or undepreciated useful life of such sign,
as determined by an appropriate depreciation formula. For such purpose,
the use of a formula commonly used for income tax purposes or the
depreciation formula used in the depreciation schedules of the income
tax returns of the owner of such sign shall be acceptable.
11.4.2
Variances. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
upon application to the zoning board of appeals, that board may vary
or adopt the strict application of any of the requirements of this
article.
