[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1101, 4-25-2006]
This Article establishes standards for the erection and maintenance
of signs. The purpose of these standards is to protect the safety
of persons and property, to promote the efficient communication of
information, to protect the public welfare and to preserve and enhance
the appearance and economy of the City of Fair Grove. Except as otherwise
provided, no sign shall be erected, moved, enlarged, illuminated or
substantially altered except in accordance with the provisions of
this Article.
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1102, 4-25-2006]
Unless otherwise provided, the words and phrases defined in
this Section shall have the meanings, indicated when used in this
Article.
Any words, numbers, figures, devices, designs or trademarked
by which anything is made known, such as are used to designate an
individual, a firm, profession, business or a commodity and which
are visible from any public street.
An electronic sign with moving text and/or pictures that
draws attention to or communicates information about a business, service,
commodity, accommodation, attraction or other activity that is conducted,
sold or offered at the location where the sign is located on or off
premises.
[Ord. No. 107 §2, 4-28-2015]
Any sign substantially and permanently attached to, applied
on, structurally connected to, painted on, etched on, or supported
by any part of a building.
Any sign other than an attached sign and including any inoperable
vehicle or any trailer located for the primary purpose of advertising.
Any sign that is internally or externally illuminated.
[Ord. No. 127, 3-14-2017]
A sign that draws attention to or communicates information
about a business, service, commodity, accommodation, attraction or
other activity that is conducted, sold or offered at a location other
than the premises on which the sign is located.
A sign that draws attention to or communicates information
about a business, service, commodity, accommodation, attraction or
other activity that is conducted, sold or offered at the located where
the sign is located.
A sign which either:
Any sign permanently attached to a motor vehicle.
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1103, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
The
following provisions shall apply to all signs in the City:
1.Â
Sign illumination. All illuminated and/or animated
signs shall be designed, constructed and located to eliminate or minimize
glare. Such signs shall not increase the lighting intensity upon adjoining
properties.
[Ord. No. 127, 3-14-2017]
2.Â
Signs painted on building walls. Signs painted on
building walls are prohibited in all districts. However, signs painted
on structures in the "C-2" Historic Business District prior to the
effective date of this Chapter or other legally adopted zoning ordinance
may be continued, maintained, repaired or restored subject to the
review and approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The decision
of the Planning and Zoning Commission may be appealed to the Board
of Aldermen.
3.Â
Sign condition. All signs, including supports, braces
and anchors, shall be kept in good repair. Unsafe signs in danger
of falling or breaking apart shall be removed or repaired by the sign
owner. All signs shall be installed and maintained in accordance with
the Building Codes of the City of Fair Grove.
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1104, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
Signs Not Requiring A Permit. The following signs shall
not require a sign permit, but must be in conformance with any other
sign regulation of the City of Fair Grove.
1.Â
Address numbers and name plates. Address numbers
not exceeding one (1) square foot in area per character and name plates
not exceeding two (2) square feet in area per dwelling unit or business.
Such signs may be attached to a mailbox or curb if they do not alter
the size or shape of the mailbox or curb.
2.Â
Banner signs. Signs, consisting of a flexible lightweight
material, such as a banner, not exceeding four (4) square feet of
area. One (1) sign per business premise is permitted, posted for not
more than thirty (30) business days per year.
3.Â
Construction site signs. Construction site identification
signs, exceeding no more than one (1) sign per site, with such sign
exceeding no more than thirty-two (32) square feet in area.
4.Â
Directional signs. Signs directing and guiding traffic
on private property that do not exceed four (4) square feet each and
that contain no advertising.
5.Â
Flags. Flags, pennants or insignia of any government
or non-profit organization when not displayed in connection with a
commercial promotion.
6.Â
Governmental signs. Signs erected by, or on behalf
of, or pursuant to the authorization of a governmental body, including
legal notices, identification and information signs, traffic and directional
signs or regulatory signs.
7.Â
Neighborhood identification signs. Neighborhood
identification signs, such as a masonry wall, landscaping or other
similar materials which are combined to display neighborhood identification.
The message of such signs shall display only the name of the neighborhood,
tract or historic district.
8.Â
Non-commercial signs. Signs proclaiming religious,
political or other non-commercial messages that do not exceed one
(1) per abutting street and sixteen (16) square feet in area and that
are not internally illuminated.
9.Â
Official signs. Official signs of a non-commercial
nature erected by public utilities.
10.Â
Real estate sale or lease signs. Detached or attached,
non-illuminated, temporary on-premise signs pertaining to the sale
or lease of the premise. Such signs shall not exceed four (4) square
feet in area. For lots exceeding five (5) acres and having street
frontage in excess of four hundred (400) feet, a second sign may be
erected with the area of such sign not to exceed thirty-two (32) square
feet. Such signs shall be removed within fourteen (14) days of sale
or lease of the premises.
11.Â
Sandwich board signs. Sandwich board signs shall
be permitted only in the "C-2" Historic Business District, provided
that such signs are displayed on the premises of the business only
during the hours of business operation.
12.Â
Temporary special event signs. Temporary signs not
exceeding thirty-two (32) square feet in area, erected to advertise
a special event of a civic, educational, philanthropic, religious,
political or similar nature. Such signs may be erected no sooner than
thirty (30) days before the event and shall be removed no later than
fourteen (14) days after the event.
[Ord. No. 151, 2-27-2018]
13.Â
Vehicular signs. Signs painted on or permanently
attached to vehicles. Vehicular signs may not contain flashing or
blinking lights, nor any animation.
14.Â
Window signs. Any sign, symbol or picture, designed
to provide information about a business, activity, service or event
that is placed inside a window or upon the window panes or glass and
is visible from the exterior of the window. Window signs shall not
exceed fifty percent (50%) of the glass.
B.Â
Signs Requiring A Permit.
1.Â
According to residential district. Dwelling units in single-family, two-family and manufactured housing park districts are allowed to use any non-business sign as proscribed in Subsection (A), but no other signs shall be allowed.
2.Â
According to specific sign type.
a.Â
Detached (freestanding) signs. Each premise containing
multi-family use, permitted non-residential use or legal non-conforming
use shall be permitted one (1) detached sign in accordance with the
following provisions:
(1)Â
If a development is located on a corner lot that has at least
one hundred (100) feet of frontage on each of the two (2) intersecting
streets, the development may have one (1) detached sign along each
street frontage.
(2)Â
Premises with more than seven hundred fifty (750) feet of frontage
along a public street may have one (1) additional detached sign; however,
a minimum of three hundred (300) feet of separation shall be maintained
between signs and a minimum setback of twenty-five (25) feet from
adjacent property lines is maintained for both signs.
(3)Â
The surface area of a detached sign may not exceed three-tenths
(0.3) square feet for every linear foot of frontage along the street
to which the sign is oriented. However, in no case shall a single
side of a detached sign exceed fifty (50) square feet in surface area
if the lot has less than two hundred (200) feet of frontage on the
street towards which the sign is oriented, seventy-five (75) square
feet on lots with frontage of two hundred (200) feet or more but less
than four hundred (400) feet and one hundred (100) square feet on
lots with four hundred (400) or more feet of frontage.
(4)Â
General Commercial Districts with US Highway 65 frontage will
be considered on a case by case basis.
[Ord. No. 165, 8-14-2018]
b.Â
Off-premise signs. Off-premise signs (billboards) shall be permitted only in the "M-1" Industrial District. The surface area of a detached, off-premise sign shall be subject to the provisions of Subsection (B)(2)(a)(3) if the sign is oriented towards a street classified as an arterial, collector or local street. Where the street towards which the sign is oriented is classified as a highway, a single side of a detached off-premise sign may not exceed seventy-five hundredths (0.75) square feet in surface area for every linear foot of street frontage. In no case may a single side of such sign exceed two hundred fifty (250) square feet in surface area.
c.Â
Animated and/or illuminated signs. Animated and/or
illuminated signs are not allowed in residential districts.
[Ord. No. 127, 3-14-2017]
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1105, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
The
following signs are specifically prohibited.
1.Â
Signs which advertise or promote unlawful activity.
2.Â
Signs which may be confused with a traffic control signal sign or
device, the light of an emergency or road equipment vehicle or any
other governmental agency sign.
3.Â
Signs which hide from view any traffic or street sign, signal or
similar traffic control or directional sign.
4.Â
Signs that use searchlights or strobe lights that are distracting
to the public.
[Ord. No. 107 §3, 4-28-2015]
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1106, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
Any
sign lawfully erected before the effective date of this Chapter, but
which does not comply with the requirements and restrictions of this
Article, shall be considered a legal, non-conforming sign and may
be continued subject to the provisions of this Section.
B.Â
A non-conforming
sign shall not be expanded in size or effective area or altered in
any manner so as to increase the degree of non-conformity. Illumination
shall not be added to any non-conforming sign.
C.Â
A non-conforming
sign shall not be moved or replaced except to bring the sign into
complete conformance with this Article.
D.Â
Except
for safety requirements, a non-conforming sign shall not be structurally
altered so as to prolong the life of the sign. Non-conforming signs
may be repaired so long as the cost of materials and labor for such
work does not exceed within any twelve (12) month period fifty percent
(50%) of the value (tax value if listed for tax purposes) of the sign.
E.Â
If
a non-conforming sign is destroyed, it may not be repaired, reconstructed
or replaced except in conformity with the provisions of this Article.
A non-conforming sign is considered "destroyed" if damaged to an extent
where the cost of materials and labor to restore the sign or replace
it with an equivalent sign exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) of the
value (tax value if listed for tax purposes) of the damaged sign.
F.Â
Abandoned
or discontinued non-conforming signs shall be removed within thirty
(30) days after such abandonment by the sign owner, owner of the property
where the sign is located or other party having control over the sign.
A sign shall be considered abandoned or discontinued if:
1.Â
For a period of six (6) consecutive months the sign advertises a
service, product or activity that is no longer operating, being conducted
or offered.
2.Â
For a period of twelve (12) consecutive months the sign is blank
or is maintained without an advertising message. For purposes of this
Section, a sign is considered blank if:
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1107, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
In Residential Districts. The maximum sign surface area
permitted on any lot in the "R-1", "R-2" and "R-MP" residential districts
shall not exceed four (4) square feet and the maximum sign surface
area on any lot in the "R-3" and "R-4" residential districts shall
not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet.
B.Â
In Commercial Districts. The maximum sign surface area permitted
on any lot in any commercial district shall be determined by:
1.Â
A maximum of one-half (0.5) square feet of sign surface area per
linear foot of lot street frontage up to two hundred (200) feet of
frontage, provided however, that any lot shall be permitted at least
six (6) square feet of total sign surface area.
2.Â
A maximum of seventy-five hundredths (0.75) square feet of additional
sign surface area per linear foot of lot street frontage in excess
of two hundred (200) feet.
3.Â
General Commercial Districts with US Highway 65 frontage will be
considered on a case by case basis.
[Ord. No. 165, 8-14-2018]
C.Â
In Industrial Districts. The maximum sign surface area permitted
on any lot in the "M-1" Industrial District shall be determined by
multiplying the number of linear feet of street frontage of the lot
by one (1.0) foot.
D.Â
Multiple Frontages. If a lot has frontage on more than one
(1) street, the total sign surface area permitted on that lot shall
be the sum of the sign surface area allotted to each street on which
the lot has frontage. However, the total sign surface area oriented
towards a particular street may not exceed the surface area allocation
determined from the frontage on that street.
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1108, 4-25-2006]
A.Â
A sign
shall be considered a single display containing elements related,
organized and composed to form a unit. Where information is displayed
in a random manner without any organized relationship, each element
shall be considered a single sign.
C.Â
The
sign surface area shall be calculated by adding the entire area within
a single, continuous perimeter, enclosing the writing, emblem or other
display, together with the material forming the background of the
sign, but excluding supporting framework or bracing that is incidental
to the sign. If a sign consists of more than one (1) section or unit,
all of the area, including the spacing between units, shall be included
in the calculation of the sign surface area.
D.Â
The
sign surface area of two-sided or multi-sides signs shall be computed
by including the total of all sides designed to attract attention
or communicate information that can be seen at any one (1) time from
one (1) vantage point. The following shall apply:
1.Â
The surface area of a two-sided, back to back sign shall be calculated
by totaling the area of only one (1) side of the sign, as long as
the distance between the backs of the signs does not exceed three
(3) feet.
2.Â
The surface area of a double faced sign constructed in the form of
a "V" shall be calculated by totaling the area of the largest side,
as long as the angle of the "V" does not exceed thirty degrees (30°)
and the distance between the backs of the signs does not exceed five
(5) feet.
E.Â
Sight Triangles.
1.Â
Signs at street intersections. Street intersection
sight triangles shall reflect the street classification as identified
in the Fair Grove Comprehensive Plan. Minimum requirements for sight
triangles shall be in accordance with the following table. The sight
triangle shall be measured along the right-of-way as illustrated in
Figure 1101. The City may require additional triangle area for clear
sight and safety as may be warranted by special condition or the recommendation
of City Administrative Officials.
Signs may be erected in the street intersection sight triangles.
However, any such sign must be at least ten (10) feet above street
grade except for supports, which may not exceed one (1) foot in width
or diameter or be spaced less than ten (10) feet apart from any other
stationary object.
|
STREET SIGN TRIANGLE REQUIREMENTS
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
INTERSECTING STREET
|
HIGHWAY
|
ARTERIAL
|
COLLECTOR SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
|
COLLECTOR ALL OTHERS
|
LOCAL RESIDENT SINGLE-FAMILY
|
LOCAL RESIDENTIAL MULTI-FAMILY
|
|
Highway
|
A
|
A
|
B
|
B
|
B
|
B
|
|
Arterial
|
A
|
A
|
B
|
B
|
C
|
C
|
|
Collector — single-family residential
|
B
|
B
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
|
Collector — all others
|
B
|
B
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
|
Local residential single-family
|
B
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
|
Local residential multi-family
|
B
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
|
Key:
|
A — 100' x 100' Sight Triangle
B — 30' x 30' Sight Triangle
C — 10' x 10' Sight Triangle
| |||||
|
FIGURE 1101. SIGHT TRIANGLES FOR STREET INTERSECTIONS
|
2.Â
Signs at street/driveway intersections.
a.Â
Signs may be erected in the street/driveway sight triangles. However,
any such sign shall be at least ten (10) feet above street grade except
for supports, which may not exceed one (1) foot in width or diameter
or be spaced less than ten (10) feet apart from any other stationary
object. Figure 1102 illustrates the measurement of a street/driveway
sight triangle. A street/driveway sight triangle shall be measured
as follows:
(1)Â
A triangle formed by the intersection of a public street and
a driveway where the triangle area is that area encompassed within
two (2) intersecting lines formed by the edge of the pavement, curb,
roadway or projection thereof and extending forty (40) feet down the
street from the right edge of the driveway when standing in the driveway
facing the street and extending twelve (12) feet from the edge of
the street extending up the driveway pavement and a third imaginary
line connecting the other two (2) lines without overlaying the pavement.
On the left side of the driveway, the triangle is determined by measuring
sixty-five (65) feet down the street pavement from the edge of the
driveway and measuring twelve (12) feet down the driveway pavement
from the edge of the street and an imaginary third line connecting
the other two (2) lines without overlaying the pavement.
|
FIGURE 1102. SIGHT TRIANGLES FOR STREET/DRIVEWAY INTERSECTIONS
|
F.Â
Location, Height And Setback Requirements.
1.Â
No sign or supporting structure, other than a government sign, shall
be located in or over any public property or right-of-way, unless
the sign is attached to a structural element of a building and permission
has been obtained from the City.
2.Â
No sign shall extend beyond a parapet or be located upon a roof.
For the purposes of this Section, roof surfaces constructed at an
angle of seventy-five degrees (75°) or more shall be considered
wall space. This Section shall also not apply to displays, including
animated displays, erected on roofs of structures in connection with
the observation of holidays.
3.Â
Wall signs attached to a building shall not extend past the edge
of the wall and shall not project more than eighteen (18) inches from
the building wall. A wall sign is a sign in a parallel plane to and
attached upon a structure's wall.
4.Â
Projecting signs shall have a minimum clearance of ten (10) feet
above the highest level of the ground under the sign at the sign's
lowest point and shall not project more than twenty-four (24) inches
from the wall to which it is attached. A projecting sign is a sign
which is attached to and projects from the building surface or face.
5.Â
No part of a detached sign may exceed a height, measured from ground
level, of twenty-five (25) feet in the "C-1" and "M-1" districts and
fifteen (15) feet in all other districts with the exception of:
[Ord. No. 165, 8-14-2018]
a.Â
General Commercial Districts (C-1) with US Highway 65 frontage will
be considered on a case by case basis.
6.Â
Detached signs shall meet the setback requirements as established
in the following table:
|
STREET CLASSIFICATION
|
MINIMUM SETBACK FROM STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Highway
|
15 feet
| |
|
Arterial
|
15 feet
| |
|
Collector — single-family residential
|
10 feet
| |
|
Collector — all others
|
10 feet
| |
|
Local residential — single-family
|
10 feet
| |
|
Local residential — multi-family
|
10 feet
|
[Ord. No. 06-04-01 §1109, 4-25-2006]
Permits Required. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, no sign shall be erected, moved, enlarged, illuminated or substantially altered without first obtaining a sign permit for each sign from the City in accordance with the provisions of Article III, Section 405.220. Repainting or changing the message on a sign shall not be considered a substantial alteration and shall not require a sign permit.
