[Ord. No. 1921, 7-2-1985; Ord. No. 2085, Enacted, 1-4-1994]
This chapter is entitled "Sign Code of the City of Lake Oswego."
[Ord. No. 789, 12-5-1961; Ord. No. 1921, 7-2-1985; Ord. No. 2085, Enacted, 1-4-1994]
The City Council finds that to protect the health, safety, property
and welfare of the public, to provide the neat, clean, orderly and
attractive appearance of the community, to improve the effectiveness
of signs, to provide for safe construction, location, erection, and
maintenance of signs, to prevent proliferation of signs and sign clutter,
and to minimize adverse visual safety factors to travelers on public
highways and on private areas open to public travel, it is necessary
to regulate the design, quality of materials, construction, location,
electrification, illumination and maintenance of signs visible from
public property, public rights-of-way and private areas open to public
vehicular travel.
This chapter shall be construed to carry out the above-stated
purpose, but shall not be construed to permit the erection or maintenance
of any sign at any place or in any manner unlawful under any other
City Code provisions or other applicable law.
[Ord. No. 1921, 7-2-1985; Ord. No. 2085, Enacted, 1-4-1994; Ord. No. 2225, Amended, 2-1-2000; Ord. No. 2316, Amended, 3-5-2002; Ord. No. 2310, Amended, 5-14-2002; Ord. No. 2573, Amended, 10-18-2011; Ord. No. 2579, Amended, 3-20-2012; Ord. No. 2617, Amended, 6-4-2013; Ord. No. 2723, Amended, 10-18-2016]
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words are defined as follows: the words "used for" include "designed for" and vice-versa; words used in the present tense include the future, the singular tense include the plural and vice-versa; the word "shall" is always mandatory; the word "may" is discretionary; the masculine gender includes the feminine gender, except as otherwise provided. The definitions in LOC § 50.10.003.2 apply to this chapter to the extent that they do not conflict. The following terms shall mean:
A sign associated with the use of a property which has ceased
for a period of at least six months.
Signage which is an integral part of outdoor accessory or
display structures or uses allowed by City code.
Any change to a sign excluding change of copy or maintenance
– when there is no change of use, or occupancy or ownership.
Elements of building design commonly used in Lake Oswego building styles, including the Arts and Crafts, English Tudor and the Oregon Rustic Styles. (See photos and descriptions in Lake Oswego Community Development Code, LOC § 50.05.004 (Downtown Redevelopment Design District), LOC § 50.11.001, Appendix A – Lake Oswego Style.)
A shelter supported entirely from the exterior wall of a
building and composed of nonrigid materials except for supporting
framework.
Includes cabinet signs, "Channelhume" (plastic lighted letters),
neon lighted letters, and individual letters on awnings and canopies.
A sign consisting of a membrane that relies on internal gaseous
pressure or a semirigid framework for maintaining its form.
Nonrigid material secured or mounted so as to allow movement
caused by the wind.
A nonmovable roof-like structure attached to a building.
The change of logo and/or message upon the face or faces
of a legal sign.
Commercial Zones shall mean the CR&D, EC, GC, HC, MC,
NC, WLG RMU, OC and WLG OC zones as described and established in the
Lake Oswego Community Development Code.
A sign which is located at a street intersection or principle
access to a multi-building complex.
The horizontal element demarcating the difference between
the pedestrian oriented level on the street and the office/residential
use on the levels above, or, for single story buildings, the area
immediately below the roof line.
To build, construct, attach, place, suspend, or affix, including
the painting of a wall sign.
The surface of a sign upon, against, or through which the
message is displayed or illustrated.
Any ground mounted, pole or monument sign supported by one
or more uprights or braces placed upon the ground, and not attached
to any building.
A business that has building wall exposure to a street or
area open to public travel. Frontage may include streets, alleys,
driveways, easements, or parking aisles.
A sign with a source of illumination which is intended to
light the sign, but which is not attached to the sign, its trim or
support. Interior or exterior lighting which incidentally illuminates
the sign is not considered indirect lighting.
Industrial Zones shall mean the I and IP zones as described
and established by the Lake Oswego Community Development Code.
The replacing or repairing of a part or portion of a sign
made unusable by ordinary wear, or damaged beyond the control of the
owner or the replacing of existing copy without changing the composition
or color of the copy.
A sign which is affixed to a base which is no more than 30
inches above the nearest ground surface.
Non-conforming signs are those signs which were lawfully
installed which do not comply with the requirements of this sign code.
A sign hung from a canopy or awning or attached to a building
wall, which hangs over the public right-of-way or any private area
subject to pedestrian travel, and is perpendicular to the direction
of pedestrian movement.
Strings of small flags.
Any legally placed sign which is intended to be and is so
constructed as to be of a lasting and enduring condition, remaining
unchanged in character, condition (beyond normal wear) and position,
and in a permanent manner affixed to the ground, wall or building.
A free standing sign erected on one or more supports which
are more than 30 inches above the adjacent ground surface.
A temporary sign which is capable of being moved easily and
is not affixed to the ground or a structure.
A sign erected and maintained by a public agency within the
right-of-way of a street or alley, or a sign erected and maintained
by a public agency or by any other person authorized by a public agency
by license or agreement on a property zoned PNA.
Residential Zones shall mean the R-0, R-2, WLG R-2.5, R-3,
R-5, R-6, R-7.5, R-10, R-15, R-DD and R-W zones as described and established
by the Lake Oswego Community Development Code.
The ridge on a gable or peaked roof, the parapet or fascia
of a flat roof. A mansard roof is considered as a gable roof for the
purpose of this definition.
Any sign erected upon or over the roof of any building with
the principal sign support on the roof structure.
A device, structure, or fixture which incorporates graphics,
symbols, or written copy visible to the public, including those devices,
structures or fixtures which are behind windows or building openings,
which are intended to communicate information. Graphics, art work
and seasonal decorations which do not relate to the use of a site
or structure are not considered signs.
A continuous painted, attached or structurally internal linear
area for the placement of signs extending along one or more sides
of a structure located between the windows and the parapet on a one
story building with a flat roof and at or below the fascia on a one
story building with a pitched roof. On a multistory building it shall
be located above the windows and below the second story line.
The vertical distance from the lowest point of the adjacent
grade below the sign to the highest part of the sign.
Any sign, banner, pennant, valance or advertising display constructed of cloth, canvas, light fabric, cardboard, wallboard or other like materials, with or without frames, and any other type sign not permanently attached to the ground, or a structure, and is displayed for a period not exceeding 25 consecutive days in duration and no more than once in any 12-month period, except as otherwise allowed by LOC §§ 47.08.300 or 47.08.305.
A sign attached to, erected against or painted on a wall
of a structure, with the exposed face of the sign projecting twelve
(12) inches or less, with the exception of awnings and canopies which
may project more than twelve (12) inches. Sign bands are not wall
signs. Window signs that are permanently attached to the outside of
a window are wall signs.
Signage which is an integral part of a device intended to
more or operate by the action of the wind such as a wind sock or pin
wheel.
[Ord. No. 1921, 7-2-1985; Ord. No. 789, 12-5-1961; Ord. No. 841, 6-19-1962; Ord. No. 2085, Enacted, 1-4-1994; Ord. No. 2225, Amended, 2-1-2000]
[Ord. No. 1921, 7-2-1985; Ord. No. 2085, Enacted, 1-4-1994]
Sign area includes the area within a perimeter enclosing the
limits of lettering, writing, representation, emblem, figure, character
and lighted surface, but excluding essential sign structure, foundations
or supports. For a multiple-face (more than two sided) sign, the sign
area shall be the total of all faces. If the sign consists of more
than one section or module, all areas will be totaled. For a double-faced
sign in a single cabinet, the allowed area shall be the dimension
of the cabinet, not the total of the area of message. See Table 47-1
and Table 47-2.
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Table 47-1
(LOC § 47.03.030)
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Table 47-2
(LOC § 47.03.030)
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[Ord. No. 2617, Added, 6-4-2013]
Except for public signs, utility signs, and signs used for railroad-related
purposes, no other temporary, permanent, or incidental sign is permitted
within a railroad right-of-way.
