As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY SIGN
A sign relating in its subject matter to the premises on
which it is located, or to products, accommodations, services or activities
on the premises on which it is located.
AREA IDENTIFICATION SIGN
A freestanding sign which identifies the name of a neighborhood,
a residential subdivision, a multiple residential complex consisting
of three or more structures, a shopping center or area, an industrial
area, an office complex consisting of three or more structures or
any combination of the above that could be termed an area.
BANNERS AND PENNANTS
Attention-getting devices which may resemble flags and are
of a nonpermanent paper, cloth or plastic like consistency. These
are to be up no longer than three months. The same banner or pennant
may not be used again for three months.
BILLBOARD
A large outdoor advertising structure mounted on one or more
legs and designed to display posters or other composite graphic advertisements.
BULLETIN SIGN
An accessory sign which announces goods or services available
through the use of changeable letters and/or numbers.
CANOPY AND MARQUEE
A roof-like structure projecting over the entrance to a theater,
store, gas pumps, bank drive-up, etc.
CHURCH DIRECTIONAL SIGN
A sign which bears the address and/or name of a church and
direction arrows pointing to a church location.
ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER
A sign which contains a traveling message, or a message which
appears to be traveling, and usually in a horizontal manner. The characters
incorporated into any message remain constant, and do not change in
hue or intensity or appear to change in hue or intensity as they travel
or appear to travel across or through the automatic changing copy
area of the sign.
FREESTANDING SIGN
A sign which is placed in the ground and not affixed to any
part of any structure.
INSTITUTIONAL OR RECREATIONAL SIGN
Any sign or bulletin board which identifies the name and
other characteristics of a public or private institution on the site
where the sign is located.
INTERNAL TRAFFIC DIRECTIONAL SIGN
A sign which is erected on private property by the owner
of such property for the purpose of guiding vehicular and pedestrian
traffic within his property. Such sign bears no advertising information.
MONUMENT SIGN
A sign located at the entrance to building/development area
with the name and address of the tenants located in this area so customers
can find business they are looking for.
MOTION SIGN
Any sign which revolves, rotates or has any moving parts.
Included in this category are searchlights used for advertisement.
NAMEPLATE OR IDENTIFICATION SIGN
A sign which bears the name and/or address of the occupants
of the building, including area identification signs for major developments.
NONCONFORMING SIGN
A sign which does not conform to the newly enacted requirements
of this article.
OCCUPATIONAL SIGN
Any sign which identifies the name and other characteristics
of a home occupation on the site where the sign is located. (This
is for residential and agricultural districts.)
OFF-PREMISES SIGN
A sign which is permitted within a zoning district may be
placed on someone else's parcel.
PORTABLE SIGN
A sign which is not permanently attached to the ground or
any structure and so designed as to be movable from one location to
another.
PROJECTING SIGN
Any sign, all or any part of which extends over public property
more than 12 inches.
PYLON SIGN
Any freestanding area identification sign greater than 35
feet in height; if they are over 40 feet they are intended for freeway
advertising.
RECREATIONAL DIRECTIONAL SIGN
A sign which bears the address and/or name of a recreational
place and directional arrows pointing to that recreational location.
ROOF SIGN
Any sign erected upon or projecting above the roofline of
a structure to which it is affixed.
RURAL ADDRESS/FIRE NUMBER SIGN
For fire, emergency or postal identification, whether written
or in numeric form, and may include the Town of Hudson name.
SIGN
Any letter, word or symbol, device, poster, picture, statuary,
reading matter or representation in the nature of an advertisement,
announcement, message or visual communication, whether painted, posted,
printed, affixed or constructed, which is displayed outdoors for informational
or communicative purposes.
SIGN AREA
That area within the marginal lines of the surface which
bears the advertisement, or in the case of messages, figure or symbols
attached directly to any part of the building, that area which is
included in the smallest rectangle which can be made to circumscribe
the message, figure or symbol displayed thereon. The stipulated maximum
sign area for a freestanding sign refers to a single facing.
TEMPORARY SIGN
A sign which is erected or displayed for the stated limited
period of time indicated in this article.
TRAFFIC DIRECTIONAL SIGN
A sign which is erected by a governmental unit for the purpose
of directing or guiding traffic.
WALL LENGTH
The linear length of the side of a building, it includes
all windows and doors.
WALL SIGN
Any sign which is affixed to a wall of any building.
The following signs are permitted in each specific district
and shall be regulated as to size, location and character according
to the requirements herein set forth:
A. Residential and Agricultural/Residential Districts.
(1) Occupational signs: denoting only the name and profession of the
occupant in a commercial building, public institutional building or
dwelling, and may not exceed two square feet in locations where the
speed limit of the street frontage is 35 mph or less and may not exceed
six square feet in locations where the speed limit of the street frontage
is 40 mph or greater.
(2) Institutional and recreational signs: one sign or bulletin board
per street frontage for public institutional use and for recreational
use in Agricultural/Residential and Residential Districts; such sign
or bulletin sign shall not exceed 24 square feet in area nor shall
it be placed closer than 10 feet from the road right-of-way nor shall
be placed in a location that would interfere with the safe movement
of traffic.
(3) Area identification signs: one sign per each major development, not
to exceed 48 square feet in area.
(4) Maximum height of freestanding signs: eight feet.
(5) Nonaccessory freestanding and wall signs are prohibited except in
areas especially designated in this article.
(6) All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material
that they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in
this article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction
of any sign not now permissible under this chapter or the Building
Code of the Town of Hudson.
(7) All illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source. Any sign
illuminated and located within 50 feet of a lot line or a residential
district shall be diffused or indirect so as not to direct rays of
light into adjacent residence. All illuminated signs in commercial
and commercial/light industrial districts, in close proximity to residential
districts, shall be designed so as to illuminate the sign and not
residential property to the extent practicable.
(8) No sign, other than public traffic controls, church and recreational
directional signs, street name signs, and rural address sign (house
numbers), shall be erected or temporarily placed within any Town road
right-of-way or upon any public easements.
(9) A permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road or highway
regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal, or of
any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(a)
The sign will not interfere with the ability of drivers and
pedestrians to see any road or highway sign, any traffic sign or signal,
or any crossroad or crosswalk; and
(b)
The sign will not distract drivers nor offer any confusion to
any street or highway sign, or any traffic sign or signal.
(10)
Temporary signs may only be allowed where specifically stated.
(11)
Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political
office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political
candidate, may be placed on private property in any district. Such
signs may be erected no more than two months prior to Election Day
and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election.
(12)
Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of
selling or promoting a residential project, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b)
Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which
the property abuts.
(c)
Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed,
sold or leased.
(d)
Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence
not part of this project.
(13)
Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the
purpose of selling or leasing individual lots or building shall be
permitted, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed six square feet.
(b)
Only one such sign is permitted per street frontage upon which
the property abuts.
(c)
Such sign shall be removed within 30 days following the lease
or sale.
(14)
Portable, internally lit signs are not allowed as permanent
or temporary signs.
(15)
Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any intersection of
road right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical
clearance for proper visibility by motorists on all affected roadways.
(16)
Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted, provided
the total area of such signs shall not exceed six square feet per
facing.
(17)
Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall
be removed within seven days after the sale.
(18)
Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall
be exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require
permits or payment of fees.
(19)
Roof signs shall be prohibited.
(20)
Signs and components and elements of faces of signs that move,
shimmer, or contain reflective devices are prohibited.
(21)
Substitution clause and sign content is permitted. Subject to
the landowner's consent, noncommercial speech of any type may be substituted
for any permitted commercial speech, provided the sign structure is
legal without consideration of the message content. Such substitution
of message may be made without any additional approval of permitting.
This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this
article. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent
favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring
of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial
message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total
amount of signage on a lot or parcel, nor does it affect the requirement
that the sign structure be properly permitted.
B. Commercial and Commercial/Light Industrial Districts.
(1) Wall signs. The total area of all wall signs affixed to a building
wall shall not exceed two square feet per linear foot of that wall.
No individual wall sign shall exceed 150 square feet.
(a)
A wall sign shall not project more than 18 inches from the wall
to which the sign is to be affixed. Furthermore, wall-mounted signs
shall not exceed the roofline of any building.
(b)
Banners are temporary signs and are not part of the wall sign
calculation. However, banners and temporary signs shall not exceed
50% of that wall area and may not be up longer than three months.
The design and construction of all banners shall be professional looking
and not be allowed to become torn or weathered.
(2) Freestanding sign. One freestanding sign is permitted for each building
for each road frontage.
(a)
The total area of a freestanding sign for a building having
one road frontage shall not exceed 80 square feet. Where a building
has two or more road frontages, each permitted freestanding sign in
excess of one shall be no greater than 40 square feet.
(b)
No part of a freestanding sign shall be closer than 10 feet
to the front property line or exceed 35 feet in height. The height
shall be measured from the base of the sign or grade of the nearest
adjacent roadway, whichever is lower.
(3) Bulletin signs. The bulletin portion of that sign may use up to 50%
of that signs total square footage. One nonilluminated bulletin sign
up to 40 square feet is permitted. Such signs shall be located within
the width of the storefront to which it is related and may be part
of the freestanding or pylon sign, not in addition to.
(4) Pylon signs. Retail and service establishments may erect one pylon sign in addition to their freestanding sign, not exceeding 150 square feet per side of display surface area. Maximum height is 40 feet. Retail and service establishments on property within 1,500 feet of Interstate 94 right-of-way and 500 feet from residential or agricultural/residential district property may erect one pylon sign not exceeding 150 square feet of display surface area in addition to their own freestanding sign. Maximum height in this area is 80 feet, however a special exception as outlined in §
105-33 is required for all signs over 40 feet in height.
(5) Canopy and marquee signs shall be no greater than two square feet
per linear foot, up to a maximum size of 100 square feet per side
of the canopy or marquee. Canopies and marquees shall be considered
to be an integral part of the structure to which they are accessory.
Signs may be attached to a canopy or marquee. When calculating the
allowable sign size, the canopy or marquee linear length of the side
is separated from the wall sign calculation.
(6) Temporary special event signs are permitted for no more than three
months. Such signs shall include banners, pennants, flying signs and
air-inflated devices, searchlights, bulletin signs, streamers and
other signs approved by the Town Board.
(7) Monument sign is to provide business location information for businesses
in the development area so customers can find their business. Each
tenant panel may not exceed three feet high by eight feet wide, and
may only indicate business name, logo, address and phone number. The
information in the tenant panels of the monument sign does not count
as part of each individual business's overall available square footage
for advertising signage.
(a)
A monument sign may not exceed 30 feet in height and the overall
width may not exceed 16 feet, two tenant panels wide, plus the materials
to build the monument sign and monument base. The monument sign may
be two sided, parallel to the road or perpendicular to the road so
the sign may be read by the traveling public from both directions.
(b)
The monument sign may have an electronic message center (EMC),
not to exceed six feet high by 16 feet wide, the equivalent of four
tenant panels. Temporary advertising information may be shown on the
EMC for a limited period of time, no longer than 21 calendar days.
Temporary information includes sales items, civic events, amber alerts,
community events, etc.
(c)
The monument sign may be placed on an outlot, so all businesses
using the monument sign may share in the overall cost of the monument
sign. The physical area of the outlot shall be included in the subdivision
average lot size calculations.
(d)
All monument signs require site plan approval.
(8) Off-premises freestanding and wall signs are permitted. The off-premises
sign(s) counts toward the total number of permitted signs allowed
on the parcel of land the sign(s) are located on.
(9) All signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material
that they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in
this article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction
of any sign not now permissible under this chapter or the Building
Code of the Town of Hudson.
(10)
Illumination standards.
(a)
Externally illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source
which is downward directed.
(b)
Illuminated signs shall be designed so as not to direct any
light or produce glare onto adjacent properties or toward navigable
waters.
(c)
The Town may specify the hours a sign may be illuminated and
limit its brightness while illuminated. The hours of illumination
or brightness limitations may be established at any time, including
during the life of the sign.
(d)
Signs and sign components and elements of faces of signs shall
not flash or use animation.
(e)
Unless a sign's only illumination is external and uncolored,
the following additional regulations shall also apply to that sign:
[1]
No illuminated off-premises sign which changes in color or intensity
of artificial light at any time while the sign is illuminated shall
be permitted.
[2]
No illuminated accessory sign which changes in color or intensity
of artificial light at any time while the sign is illuminated shall
be permitted, except one for which the changes are necessary for the
purpose of correcting hour-and-minute, date, or temperature information.
[3]
A sign that regularly or automatically ceases illumination for the purpose of causing the color or intensity to have changed when illumination resumes shall fall within the scope of the prohibitions of Subsection
B(10)(e)[1] and
[2] above.
(11)
No sign, other than public traffic controls, church and recreational
directional signs, street name signs and rural address sign (house
numbers), shall be erected or temporarily placed within any Town road
right-of-way or upon any public easements.
(12)
A permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road
or highway regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal,
or of any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(a)
The sign will not interfere with the ability of drivers and
pedestrians to see any road or highway sign, any traffic sign or signal,
or any crossroad or crosswalk; and
(b)
The sign will not distract drivers nor offer any confusion to
any street or highway sign, or any traffic sign or signal.
(13)
Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political
office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political
candidate, may be placed on private property in any district. Such
signs may be erected no more than two months' prior to Election Day
and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election.
(14)
Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of
selling or promoting a commercial project, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b)
Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which
the property abuts.
(c)
Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed,
sold or leased.
(d)
Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence
not part of this project.
(15)
Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the
purpose of selling or leasing individual lots or building shall be
permitted, provided:
(a)
Such signs shall not exceed 32 square feet.
(b)
Only one such sign is permitted per street frontage upon which
the property abuts.
(c)
Such sign shall be removed within 30 days following the lease
or sale.
(16)
Portable, internally lit signs are only allowed as temporary
signs and may not be up for more than three months and are not allowed
as permanent signs.
(17)
Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any intersection of
road right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical
clearance for proper visibility by motorists on all affected roadways.
(18)
The total sign area of any multifaced freestanding or projecting
wall sign shall not exceed two times the permitted area of a two-sided
sign or three times the area of a three-sided sign. All applications
for signs of more than two sides shall be reviewed by the Plan Commission
and the Town Board.
(19)
Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted, provided
the total area of such signs shall not exceed six square feet per
facing.
(20)
Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall
be removed within seven days after the sale.
(21)
Signs with changing electronic messages are allowed as part
of the total area of a permitted sign. Signs with an electronic message
center in them require site plan approval.
(22)
Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall
be exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require
permits or payment of fees.
(23)
Roof signs shall be prohibited.
(24)
Signs and components and elements of faces of signs that move,
shimmer, or contain reflective devices are prohibited.
(25)
Internal traffic directional signs shall be permitted provided
the total area of each sign shall not exceed 20 square feet.
(26)
Substitution clause and sign content is permitted. Subject to
the landowner's consent, noncommercial speech of any type may be substituted
for any permitted commercial speech, provided the sign structure is
legal without consideration of the message content. Such substitution
of message may be made without any additional approval of permitting.
This provision prevails over any provision to the contrary in this
article. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent
favoring of commercial speech over noncommercial speech, or favoring
of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial
message. This provision does not create a right to increase the total
amount of signage on a lot or parcel, nor does it affect the requirement
that the sign structure be properly permitted.
C. Industrial
Districts.
[Added 3-13-2024 by Res. No. 2024-17]
(1) Freestanding
identification signs. One identification sign is permitted for each
building, not to exceed 80 square feet in area. No part of a freestanding
sign shall be closer than 10 feet to the front property line or exceed
15 feet in height. The height shall be measured from the base of the
sign, or grade of the nearest adjacent roadway, whichever is lower.
(2) Wall
signs. One additional wall identification sign is permitted for each
tenant having a private entry to a multitenant building, such sign
being displayed at or near the tenants' entrance and not to exceed
one square foot of space per linear foot of that wall.
(3) Temporary
special event signs are permitted for no more than 90 calendar days.
Such signs shall include banners, pennants, flying signs and air-inflated
devices, searchlights, portable bulletin signs, streamers and other
signs approved by the Town Board.
(4) Monument
sign is to provide business location information for businesses in
the development area so customers can find their business. Each tenant
panel may not exceed three feet high by eight feet wide, and may only
indicate business name, logo, address and phone number. The information
in the tenant panels of the monument sign does not count as part of
the business's overall available square footage for advertising signs.
(a) A monument sign may not exceed 40 feet in height and the overall
width may be 16 feet, two tenant panels wide, plus the materials to
build the monument sign and monument base, The monument sign may he
two sided, parallel to the road, perpendicular to the road, or V-shaped
so the sign may be read by the traveling public from both directions.
(b) The monument sign may be placed on an outlot so all businesses using
the monument sign may share In the overall cost of the monument sign.
The physical area of the outlot, shall be included in the subdivision
average lot size calculations.
(5) Non-accessory
freestanding and wall signs are prohibited in all districts, except
in area
(6) All
signs shall be constructed in such a manner and of such material that
they shall be safe and substantial, provided that nothing in this
article shall be interpreted as authorizing the erection or construction
of any sign not now permissible under the Zoning or Building Code
of the Town of Hudson.
(7) All
Illuminated signs shall have a shielded light source. Any sign illuminated
and located within 50 feet of a lot line or a Residence District shall
be diffused or indirect so as not to direct rays of light into adjacent
residence. All illuminated signs in Commercial and Commercial/Light
Industrial Districts, in close proximity to Residence Districts, shall
be designed so as to illuminate the sign and not residential property
to the extent practicable.
(8) No
sign, other than public traffic controls, directional, or street name
signs and house numbers, shall be erected or temporarily placed within
any street right-of-way or upon any public easements, except campaign
yard signs as provided in Subsection F below.
(9) A
permit for a sign to be located within 50 feet of any road or highway
regulatory sign, warning sign, traffic sign, traffic signal or of
any crossroad or crosswalk, will be issued only if:
(a) The sign will not interfere with the ability of drivers and pedestrians
to see any road or highway sign, any traffic sign or signal, or any
crossroad or crosswalk; and
(b) The sign will not distract drivers nor offer any confusion to any
street or highway sign, or any traffic sign or signal.
(10) Campaign yard signs, posted by a bona fide candidate for political
office or by a person or group promoting a political issue or a political
candidate, may be placed in any district. Such signs may be erected
no more than two months prior to Election Day and must be removed
no later than 10 days following the election. Such signs shall be
limited to 24 square feet and four feet in height above the grade
of the posting area, or as determined acceptable by the Town Board
review. The signs shall be set back a minimum of five feet from the
edge of the road. Candidates shall be provided a copy of this article
upon filing for office.
(11) Temporary real estate signs may be erected for the purpose of selling
or promoting a residential project, provided:
(a) Such signs shall not exceed 128 square feet in area.
(b) Only one sign shall be permitted per road frontage upon which the
property abuts.
(c) Such signs shall be removed when the project is 80% completed, sold
or leased.
(d) Such signs shall be located no closer than 100 feet to any residence
not part of this project.
(12) Temporary signs adjacent to the public right-of-way for the purposes
of leasing individual lots or building shall be permitted, provided:
(a) Such signs shall not exceed six square feet for residential property
and 32 square feet for nonresidential property.
(b) Only one such sign is permitted per street frontage upon which the
property abuts.
(c) Such sign shall be removed within 30 days following the lease or
sale.
(13) Portable, internally lit signs are not allowed as permanent signs
in any district.
(14) Any freestanding sign within 25 feet of any Intersection of road
right-of-way lines and/or driveway entrances shall have vertical clearance
for proper visibility by motorists on all affected
(15) The total sign area of any multifaced freestanding or projecting
wall sign shall not exceed two times the permitted area of a two-sided
sign or three times the area of a three-sided sign. All applications
for signs of more than two sides shall be reviewed by the Planning
and Zoning Committee and the Town Board.
(16) Church and nonprofit directional signs shall be permitted in all
districts, provided the total area of such signs shall not exceed
six square feet per facing.
(17) Canopies and marquees shall be considered to be an integral part
of the structure to which they are accessory. Signs may be attached
to a canopy or marquee. When calculating the allowable sign size,
the canopy or marquee linear length of the side is separated from
the wall sign calculation.
(18) Signs advertising garage, yard or similar household sales shall be
removed within seven days.
(19) Signs with moving or changing electronic messages are allowed as
part of the total area of a permitted sign.
(20) Signs, which are located on the interior of a building, shall be
exempt from the provisions of this article and shall not require permits
or payment of fees.
(21) Roof signs shall be prohibited in all districts.
A vehicle used as a sign or as the base for a sign where the
primary purpose of the vehicle in that location is its use as a sign
shall be prohibited.
If the Town of Hudson Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator
or his deputies finds that any sign regulated by this article is prohibited
as to size, location, content, type, number, height or method of construction,
or is unsafe, insecure or a menace to the public, or if any sign has
been constructed or erected without a permit first being granted to
the installer of said sign or to the owner of the property upon which
said sign has been erected, or is improperly maintained, or is in
violation of any other provisions of this article, he shall give written
notice of such violation to the sign owner and/or benefiting business
being advertised by said sign thereof.