[G.O. No. 875, § 17]
A "free standing sign" shall mean any sign not affixed to a building but standing apart therefrom, whether fixed or movable.
[G.O. No. 875, § 1]
No signs shall be erected, used, located or maintained in the Residence "A" Zone, the Residence "B" Zone or the Garden Apartment "G" Zone, except the following:
(a)
Signs authorized by the Zoning Ordinance of the Town in such zones which include and are limited to the following:
(1)
In Residence "A" Zones, a small announcement sign not to exceed two square feet in area for each professional use in such zone.
(2)
In Residence "B" Zones, an announcement sign not exceeding two square feet in area for each professional person practicing in such zone.
(3)
In Residence "B" Zones, a small announcement sign not to exceed two square feet in area for the operation of a home occupation, as defined in General Ordinance No. 824.
(b)
Signs erected upon the premises of and for churches, charitable and civic organizations, which signs shall not be in excess of 20 square feet in area.
(c)
Temporary signs identifying architects, builders, realtors and contractors on premises on which a building is being constructed, altered or repaired; provided, that no such sign shall be displayed on any one premise for a period exceeding the time required for such construction, alteration or repair or for one year, whichever is less; provided further, that no artificial illumination shall be used, that such signs shall not exceed 16 square feet in area, and that unless affixed to the building, it shall be set back from the street line a distance of not less than 10 feet.
(d)
One temporary ground sign not exceeding 24 square feet in area on a subdivision which has been approved by the Town Planning Board; provided, that it shall set back at least 20 feet from the street line, that no artificial illumination shall be used, and that it shall be removed after residences have been constructed on 95% of the lots in the subdivision or after 95% of the lots have been sold by the developer to individual owners. In no case shall any such subdivision sign be permitted after two years have elapsed from the time when the first sign was so erected.
(e)
Temporary signs announcing that the premises on which they are located are available for sale or rental; provided, that only one sign shall be permitted for the premises and that unless affixed to the principal building, it shall be set back at least 10 feet from the street line, and that no artificial illumination shall be used, and that no such sign shall exceed four square feet in area, and shall be displayed only for so long as such premises are in fact available for sale or rental.
(f)
Official signs of the federal government and the state or any of their agencies, the county and the Town.
(g)
Temporary signs or banners authorized by the Town Council.
[G.O. No. 875, § 2]
(a)
No signs shall be erected, used, located or maintained in the Business Zone, except those permitted in the Residence Zones and signs to direct attention exclusively to a permitted business conducted on the premises on which such sign is located, or to a product or commodity sold by such business and deemed to be an integral part of such business.
(b)
Signs to direct attention to a business, or product or commodity sold by such business, may be painted or erected on any entrance wall or other wall abutting a street or parking area; provided, that there shall not be more than one sign at each such street or parking area for each separate occupant of the premises; except, that small signs with the name of the firm or department designations are permitted near doors or near corners of the building with letters not to exceed three inches in height. No background for a sign shall have a width in excess of the width of the business space occupied by such business, and in no event shall such background have a width in excess of 50 feet or a height in excess of 15% of the width or of five feet, whichever shall be the larger. Every painted or erected sign shall be approximately parallel to the face of the wall on which it is erected and shall not extend more than 36 inches therefrom. A building wall shall not be deemed the background of a sign as hereinbefore referred to and the area covered by the lettering shall not exceed the maximum area as above limited. No letters, symbols or illustrations shall be greater in height than 70% the height of the background or over four feet, whichever is the larger.
(c)
Free standing signs may be erected, provided they meet the following requirements:
(d)
Window lettering shall not be deemed a sign, but the space containing such lettering or any background on which such lettering or advertising appears shall not cover more than 30% of the window area.
(e)
Nonelectrical signs used on the exterior or interior of windows to give notice of sales or special functions shall be permitted for 30 days, subject to the following restrictions:
[G.O. No. 875, § 3]
(a)
No signs shall be erected, used, located or maintained in the Commercial and Industrial Zones except those permitted in the Residence and Business Zones and those advertising signs or billboards which direct attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, provided or sold on the premises on which such sign is located. No free standing advertising signs or billboards shall have an area which exceeds one square foot for each foot of street frontage of the premises on which the sign is erected; provided, that the area of such sign need not be less than 30 square feet and shall not be greater than 100 square feet.
(b)
No free standing sign shall have less than three feet clear space between it and the ground nor at any point be higher than 10 feet above the ground level. No such sign shall be set back less than 15 feet from the side lot line on the premises.
(c)
No free standing sign shall be erected nearer than 15 feet to any street property line or erected within 200 feet of a highway or street intersection, except as otherwise provided herein.
[G.O. No. 875, § 4]
Signs of the following types, or types closely related to them, are specifically prohibited:
(a)
Signs projecting more than 36 inches from the building wall.
(b)
Pylon signs supported by pyramidal tower supports.
(f)
Fence signs.
(g)
Signs posted on poles, posts, trees, sidewalks, curbs or on Town property in any fashion.
(h)
Exterior flashing illuminated signs and interior flashing illuminated signs having more than 100-watt illumination in the aggregate.
(i)
Signs producing glare to the extent that they interfere with pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic, or which shall detrimentally affect the general health or welfare of persons in their places of abode.
(j)
Signs standing, painted or installed on sidewalks.
(k)
Exterior moving signs of every nature.
(l)
Outdoor neon signs in which the neon tube is directly exposed to view.
[G.O. No. 875, § 5]
Except for signs permitted under Section 3-4, no signs shall hereafter be erected or attached to, suspended from, painted on or supported upon a building or structure, nor shall any such sign be altered, rebuilt, enlarged or relocated, nor shall any free standing sign be permitted or allowed until a permit for the same has been granted by the building official.
[G.O. No. 875, § 6]
Plans and detailed information including lighting, if any, shall be submitted in triplicate with each application for a sign permit, and the application shall be accompanied by the written consent of both the owner and lessee of the property.
[G.O. No. 875, § 7]
No permit shall be issued for a sign requiring a permit under the terms of this article until a fee of $5 shall have been paid; provided, that no fee shall be required to be paid by churches or nonprofit organizations.
[G.O. No. 875, § 8]
(a)
All signs shall be designed according to the best accepted engineering practice. If attached to a building, the loads shall be distributed to the structure so that no members thereof shall be overstressed.
(b)
All supports and brackets for signs suspended from or supported upon a building shall be constructed of metal not less than one-fourth inch thick if not galvanized, and not less than three-sixteenths of an inch thick if all members including bolts and rivets are galvanized.
(c)
All such signs shall be securely attached to the building by means of metal anchors, bolts or expansion screws; provided, that signs exceeding 50 pounds in weight shall be secured at both top and bottom with metal shelf anchors.
(d)
No signs, illustrations or symbols shall be placed so as to interfere with the opening of an exit door of any building, to obstruct any window opening of a room in a dwelling, to interfere with the use of any fire escape or to create a hazard to pedestrians.
(e)
All signs must be so installed and of materials to withstand a wind resistance of not less than 30 pounds per square foot.
[G.O. No. 875, § 9]
(a)
No illuminated advertisement shall be of such a color or located in such a fashion as to diminish or detract in any way from the effectiveness of any traffic signal or similar official safety or warning device.
(b)
No lighted signs shall be of the flash type.
(c)
No flashing lights, free standing signs or other sign structures will be permitted on any building.
[G.O. No. 875, § 10]
No signs, except such directional devices as may be required by federal authorities, shall be placed, inscribed or supported upon the roof of any building or upon any structure which extends above the roof of a building, other than an extension of a building wall of such building.
[G.O. No. 875, § 11]
No sign shall be erected, painted, affixed, located or maintained on any taxicab, except to designate the name, address, telephone number, the word "taxi" and a serial number of such taxicab.
[G.O. No. 875, § 12]
At the termination of any professional, business, commercial or industrial use of any premises, the permission to display signs associated with such use of the premises shall forthwith terminate, and all such signs shall be removed or obliterated from the premises within 90 days from the date of termination of such use.
[G.O. No. 875, § 13]
(a)
It shall be the duty of the building official to inspect each sign for which a permit is required upon the completion of its installation, and to make such other inspections from time to time as may be required to determine whether such signs are in a safe condition and comply with this article.
(b)
In the event that any sign is found to be in a dangerous structural condition on account of loose bolts, loose tie rods, rust or similar defects, the building official shall notify the owner thereof in writing and advise in what manner the owner shall make the same safe and secure. In case the owner does not comply with the requirements of the building official within 75 hours from receipt of such notice, the sign may be removed by the Town, in which case the owner of the sign and the owner of the building shall be jointly and severally liable to the Town for the cost of removal, and the owner shall be liable to a penalty, as provided in this Code.
(c)
In the event any sign is found to be in nonconformance with this article, the building official shall notify the owner of such sign and the owner of the property on which it is erected of such violation in writing, and the owner shall, within 30 days, correct such nonconformance. In case the owner thereof does not comply with the order of the building official within such 30 days, such sign may be removed by the Town, in which case the owner of the sign and the owner of the building on which it is erected shall be jointly and severally liable to the Town for the cost of removal, and the owner shall be liable to a penalty as provided in this Code.
[G.O. No. 875, § 14]
Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent the erection of:
(a)
Marquee signs or any other signs, banners or devices for which special permission may be granted by resolution of the Town Council in each instance.
(b)
In addition to all other signs authorized by this article, on premises used primarily for the retail sale of gasoline, there is authorized a single free standing, nonflashing, nonmoving sign on each such premises; provided, that the same identifies only the trade name of such gasoline, extends no higher than 25 feet above the ground level, consists of no more than 40 square feet in area and projects over no sidewalk (or if there be no sidewalk installed, a normal path for such sidewalk on such premises as determined by the Town Engineer) or any area between the sidewalk (or such normal path thereof) and the most nearly adjacent street.
(c)
Banners, streamers and advertising flags to advertise openings and sales days; provided, that such devices shall not be displayed on any one property for more than 30 days in any calendar year.
[G.O. No. 875, § 15]
All existing signs, on the date of the passage of this article, not conforming to the requirements of this article, may be continued on the premises on which they are then located; provided, that they are not altered, replaced or enlarged; and provided further, that the same may not be relocated except with permission of the Town Council. And such sign may be maintained in its present or good condition, and in the event that any such sign is partially destroyed by the elements or other causes beyond the control of the owner, the same may be repaired or restored to its original condition.