The terms used in this title shall have the meanings provided in this chapter, unless otherwise indicated.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Aggregate surface area" means the area of a sign face measured in square feet. Where a sign is composed of cut-out elements, the aggregate surface area shall be computed on the basis of a rectangle large enough to encompass them. "Cut-out element" means individual letters or numbers without any material outlining or backing other than the building or other structure to which the elements are attached. For the purposes of this section, incidental signs shall be computed as a portion of the aggregate surface area; they may not be calculated as a separate sign allowance.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993; Ord. 883 § 4, 1996)
"Building frontage" means the linear length of a building directly facing a public street, alley, parking area or pedestrian walkway, which contains a public entrance, not including bay windows or other ornamental trim.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Building official" means the officer or other person charged with the administration and enforcement of the building code or his or her designate.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Bulletin board" means a board for displaying notices, posters, cards, sheets or other printed, illustrated or written matter. Also within this code, a ground sign for churches, schools and official uses which contains the name of the institution or organization and general event or activities occurring at the institution.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Curbline" means the line of the face of a curb nearest to the street or roadway.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Director" means the director of planning, community development director or designee.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Face" means a surface of a sign upon, against or through which the message is placed.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Handbill" means any pamphlet, circular, folder, booklet, petition, letter, card, sheet, poster, sticker, dodger or other written or illustrated matter distributed by hand to the general public.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Logo" means a visual symbol identifying the business or service provided, which may be all or part of a sign.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Nonstructural trim" means the molding, battens, cappings, nailing strips or lattice which are attached to sign structures and are not part of the sign copy.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Outdoor business" means any enterprise, provided by entitlement or by conditional use permit in the commercial, industrial or specific plan zone in which it is located, which:
A. 
Relies principally on the outside display of merchandise as the primary means of business; and
B. 
Is characterized by a combination of outdoor display areas, showrooms, inventory and work areas comprising no less than twenty-five percent of total site area; and
C. 
Has a minimum of three hundred fifty lineal feet of frontage on a major arterial as defined by the circulation element of the general plan.
This definition shall include such enterprises as new car dealerships, nurseries and home improvement centers in locations where the existing zoning permits, entitles or provides legal nonconforming rights for the outdoor sales and display of merchandise. The term outdoor business shall not include agencies for the sale, leasing, or brokering of automobiles or similar merchandise for which the vehicles are housed at a separate location.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Permitted sign size" means the combination of the aggregate surface area of a sign and the area of its sign structure measured in square feet. Only one face of a double-faced sign shall be included in the aggregate surface area. A V-shaped sign, as described in Section 17.20.050(N) shall be considered a double-faced sign and only one face shall be included in the aggregate surface area.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Roof line" means the top edge of a roof or the top of a parapet wall of any building or other structure, which forms the top line of the building silhouette.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Sign" means any display, announcement or device, constructed of any material, containing any writing, emblem, logo, insignia, pictorial representation or printed matter, for the purpose of advertising, promoting or otherwise communicating to the general public the interest, message, position or view of any person, group, business or enterprise, when such device is visible to the general public. This definition shall not include:
A. 
The display of the flag of the United States or the flag of the state of California, or any structure used exclusively for displaying these flags;
B. 
A table or other similar display containing merchandise or products for sale, or literature, pamphlets, or other written or printed information available to the general public;
C. 
A handbill.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Abandoned sign" means any of the following:
A. 
Any sign pertaining to a use which has been abandoned for sixty days or more;
B. 
Any sign publicizing an event which has already taken place, including subdivision signs for developments in which substantially all units have been sold;
C. 
Any sign whose sign permit has expired.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Animated sign" means a sign which is designed and constructed to give a message through progressive changes of parts by either action and motion, flashing, or color changes requiring electrical, wind or manual energy. This definition includes, but is not limited to, revolving signs, electronic reader boards, flags, pennants and string pennants.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993; Ord. 883 § 5, 1996)
"Banner sign" means a sign made of fabric, paper or other lightweight material, whether or not enclosed in a rigid frame, attached to a canopy, wall, or by any other means.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Bench sign" means any sign which is placed or erected on an immobile seat for two or more persons.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Billboard sign" means any outdoor sign not attached to any building, the purpose of which is to advertise a product, service business, activity, use and/or occupancy not conducted upon the site where the sign is located. This definition does not include a noncommercial sign, public information sign or special event sign.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Canopy sign" means any of the following:
A. 
Any sign placed on or supported entirely by a rigid or nonrigid shelter or other structure projecting out from any exterior wall or portion of a building or other structure;
B. 
Any sign attached to or suspended under any rigid or nonrigid portion or support of a building or other structure, including, but not limited to, a breezeway, pedestrian passageway, porch or veranda. Vertical clearance shall not be less than eight feet.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Combination sign" means any sign which is supported partly by a post or posts placed in the ground and partly by a building or other structure. A combination sign shall meet the most restrictive classification to which any portion is subject.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Construction sign" means any sign stating the name and address of those individuals or firms directly connected with a construction project and the name of the owner or ultimate user.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Directional sign" means any sign which directs prospective purchasers or other members of the general public to the business, store, building or other activity being advertised. "Directional signs" shall not contain advertising or promotional information, but may contain logos.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Ground sign" means any outdoor sign designed to advertise a building or activity taking place in or at the property on which the sign is located, that is fully detached from the building.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Sign height" means the vertical distance measured from the curb elevation adjacent to the sign to the highest point of said sign or sign structures. Where signs are placed on landscaped berms as shown on approved landscape plans, up to two feet of height may be added to the total sign height otherwise permitted.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Incidental sign" means a class of wall sign containing supplementary information limited to only the type of business, services, goods, products, or other activity available on the site where the sign is located. Incidental signs shall be incidental in use to the principal wall sign, and are therefore defined as a subordinate part of the total wall sign allowances permitted elsewhere by this code.
(Ord. 883 § 3, 1996)
"Illuminated sign" means any sign which has characters, figures, letters, designs or outlines illuminated internally or externally by electric lights or luminous tubes as a part of the sign proper.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Interior sign" means any sign located inside a building that is not visible from a public street or adjoining property.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Menu board sign" means any wall or monument sign displaying a list of items available at a drive-through business for the purpose of taking drive-through orders.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Multi-tenant sign" means a freestanding sign used to advertise businesses that occupy a shopping center or complex of two or more tenants.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Nonconforming sign" means any sign, lawfully placed and legally existing in accordance with existing zoning at the time of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, which does not conform to the provisions of this code. This definition does not include any sign that has been erected or maintained in violation of any safety or health provision of this code, or that otherwise constitutes a danger to health or safety.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Noncommercial sign" means any sign other than a sign relating to the sale of any merchandise, product, service, commodity or other item or activity for private benefit or gain. "Noncommercial signs" include, but are not limited to:
A. 
A political sign, as defined in Section 17.08.380 of this chapter;
B. 
A sign containing a message advocating, criticizing or otherwise relating to the political views, opinions, contentions or to labor disputes or similar controversies;
C. 
A sign relating to religious, charitable or sociological opinions, views, policies, beliefs or other contentions or to labor disputes or similar controversies.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Off-site sign" means any outdoor sign which advertises goods, products, services or facilities not sold, produced or conducted on the premises on which the sign is located, whether or not the sign is attached to any building.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"On-site sign" means any outdoor sign relating to any business or activity conducted at the location or site of the sign, whether or not the sign is attached to the building or premises in which said business or activity is carried out.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Pole sign" means any freestanding sign which is supported by one or more poles, uprights or braces in or upon the ground, which are not part of the building.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Political sign" means any sign intended to promote an individual seeking public office, or causes, issues and any such similar matters, which are to be placed before the local electorate for ratification or rejection.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Portable sign" means any sign capable of being carried or readily moved from one location to another, including, but not limited to, an "A-frame," "sandwich sign," sign on wheels or a sign which leans on a stationary object, building or structure. This definition does not include a picket sign.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Project identification sign" means a freestanding sign intended solely for the purpose of center identification. Such signs shall be monument signs placed into landscaped berms and shall not contain advertising or promotional information, but may contain logos.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Projection sign" means any sign suspended from or supported by a building or other structure and projecting out therefrom. This definition shall not prohibit a legal wall or canopy sign mounted flush and parallel to a wall or canopy surface, or a guild-type sign where permitted by an approved specific plan.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Public information sign" means any sign intended primarily to promote items of general interest to the community, including, but not limited to, time, temperature, date, atmospheric conditions, news or traffic control.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Real estate sign" means any temporary sign pertaining to the sale, exchange, lease or rental of land or buildings.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Roof sign" means any sign erected upon or above a roof or parapet wall of a building.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Special event sign" means any sign advertising or pertaining to any civic, patriotic, religious, cultural, community or political event taking place on a specific date or dates.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Subdivision sign" means any sign, on-site or off-site, used for the sole purpose of advertising the sale of condominiums, townhouses, single-family, or any other dwelling having individual unit ownership that requires a division of land within the city.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Temporary sign" means any sign, off-site or on-site intended to be displayed for a short period of time, only, excluding noncommercial signs, special event signs and public information signs as defined in this chapter.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Vehicle-mounted sign" means any sign placed or maintained on a stationary automobile, truck, trailer or any other motor-driven device.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Wall sign" means any sign placed or erected against the wall of a building with the exposed face of the sign in a plane approximately parallel to the plane of the wall. The wall shall contain full architectural treatment. The wall shall directly face a public street, alley, parking area or pedestrian walkway.
A. 
"Front wall sign" means a wall sign placed on any one entrance parallel to the front property line as defined in Chapter 18.08 of this code.
B. 
"Rear and side wall sign" means a wall sign placed on any wall which is not the front wall.
C. 
"Incidental sign" means a wall sign containing only the type of business, services, goods, products or other activity available on the site where the sign is located and clearly incidental in use.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Window sign" means any sign which is placed or erected on the exterior or the interior side of a window, if visible to the public from a public street or adjoining property. This shall also include signs within two feet of the interior side of the window, if visible to the general public from a public street or adjoining property.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Street" means a public or private thoroughfare which affords a principal means of access to the abutting property.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Sign structure" means the supports, uprights, base, guys, anchors, bracing, framework and any decoration or ornamentation of the sign, as well as any marquee, or other structure on which the sign is placed or erected.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"Total sign area" means the combined permitted sign sizes of all signs on any one lot, site, building, structure or other premises, excluding temporary signs, noncommercial signs, special events signs, public information signs, and traffic signs.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)
"UBC Standards" means Uniform Building Code Standards as amended by the Los Angeles County Building Code and further amended and adopted by the city of La Verne.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993; Ord. 883 § 6, 1996)
"Unlawful sign" means a sign installed without a required permit, or otherwise in violation of this code.
(Ord. 855 § 2, 1993)