As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BILLBOARD (OFF-PREMISES ADVERTISING)
Any outdoor advertising board, junior board advertising medium, structure or device which advertises, directs or calls attention to any business, article, substance, service or anything which is painted, printed, pasted or affixed to any building, structure, wall, fence, pole, railing, natural object or structure of any kind on real property or upon the ground itself and which advertises services, products or commodities not available on the premises on which such billboard is located. For the purpose of this article, the term "billboard" does not include billboards erected and maintained pursuant to and in discharge of any governmental function or required by any law, ordinance or governmental regulation.
BUILDING INSPECTOR
The Village Building Inspector.
DOUBLE-FACED, BACK-TO-BACK OR V-TYPE BILLBOARDS
Those configurations of multiple billboard structures which are physically contiguous and which share a common structure, in whole or in part, and are located not more than 15 feet apart at their nearest point in the case of a back-to-back or V-type sign. Each face shall be considered a separate billboard.
ERECT
To construct, build, raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint or in any other way bring into being or establish.
FRONT OR FACE OF A BILLBOARD
The outer surface of a billboard which is visible from any private or public street or highway.
ILLUMINATED BILLBOARD
Any billboard illuminated by electricity, gas or other artificial light.
LIGHTING DEVICE
Any light, string of lights or group of lights located or arranged so as to illuminate a billboard.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, institution or organization of any kind.
VILLAGE
The Village of Menands.
VILLAGE BOARD
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Menands.
A. 
A billboard may be illuminated, provided that all light sources shall be designed, shielded, arranged and installed to confine or direct all illumination to the surface of the billboard and away from adjoining properties. Billboards may contain or include such public service information as time, date, temperature, weather or similar information.
B. 
No billboard shall be erected on or attached to any building.
C. 
No billboard or part thereof shall contain or consist of banners, posters, pennants, ribbons, streamers, spinners or other similar moving, fluttering or revolving devices.
D. 
No billboard shall exceed 400 square feet where the speed limit on an adjacent highway is 45 miles per hour or less. Billboards up to 700 square feet shall be permissible where an adjacent highway has a speed limit of 46 miles per hour or more.
E. 
No billboard shall be in excess of 30 feet in height above the average existing grade level at the billboard.
F. 
A billboard and its structures shall be maintained, including the change of the advertising message, the repairing and replacing of component parts and the performance of other acts, as incident to the upkeep of the billboard.
G. 
No billboards shall display advertising matter of an indecent or obscene nature.
H. 
No billboard shall confuse, mislead or resemble any government sign or billboard.
A. 
Billboards shall be permitted in Heavy Industrial (HI) Zones only. Side line setbacks shall not be less than 25 feet, front line setbacks shall not be less than 50 feet and rear line setbacks shall not be less than 25 feet. Setbacks shall be from property lines.
B. 
Billboards shall be separated from each other by a distance of at least 700 feet, except that two such billboards may be arranged on an angle or back-to-back.
C. 
Billboards shall not be permitted within 300 feet of any public park, playground, cemetery or residential zone, including a Business Residential (BR) Zone.
D. 
No billboards shall be erected within 25 feet of any building.
A. 
Billboards shall be constructed to withstand a wind load of 30 pounds per square foot.
B. 
Each application for the erection of a billboard shall be accompanied by a detailed set of structural plans bearing the seal of a licensed engineer or architect registered to practice in the State of New York.
C. 
All electrical work shall be in accordance with the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. (UL) standards.
A. 
After the effective date of this article and except as otherwise herein provided, no person shall erect, reconstruct or structurally alter any billboard as defined herein without first obtaining a building permit from the Building Inspector.
B. 
Nothing in this article shall prevent the restoration of a billboard destroyed by a natural act of God, such as wind, etc., provided that said structure is replaced within six months and only after written notification of restoration is made to the Building Inspector.
A. 
Application for the building permit must be made in writing, in duplicate, upon forms prescribed and provided by the Building Inspector and shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the applicant.
(2) 
The name, address and telephone number of the property owner.
(3) 
A detailed drawing showing a description of the construction details of the billboard position or lighting or other extraneous devices and a location plan showing the position of the billboard on the site and its position in relation to nearby buildings or structures and to any private or public street or highway and its height.
(4) 
Written consent of the owner of the land on which the billboard is to be erected in the event that the applicant is not the owner thereof.
B. 
A copy of the electrical permit from the New York Board of Fire Underwriters issued for said billboard shall be filed with the Building Inspector.
C. 
Prior to the issuance of a building permit to erect, reconstruct or structurally alter a billboard, the applicant shall pay the current fee established for the same by resolution of the Village Board.
It shall be the duty of the Building Inspector upon the filing of an application for a permit to erect, reconstruct or structurally alter a billboard to examine such plans, specifications and other data submitted for the proposed billboard. It shall be the duty of said Inspector to issue a permit for the erection, reconstruction or structural alteration of a proposed billboard, provided that the proposed billboard is in compliance with all the requirements of this article as well as all other laws and ordinances of the Village of Menands.
A. 
The Building Inspector shall revoke a billboard permit and/or order a billboard removed 14 days after written notice has been given to the owner of record of said billboard for any one of the following conditions, provided that said condition has not been corrected within the fourteen-day period:
(1) 
Failure to complete construction within 180 days of the date of issuance of the building permit.
(2) 
Structural alteration of a billboard without permission therefor from the Building Inspector.
(3) 
Failure to maintain any billboard properly in accordance with the judgment of the Building Inspector. This would include but not be limited to the following:
(a) 
That the structure be free from all hazards, such as faulty wiring, loose fastening or supports, etc.
(b) 
That the structure remain safe, secure and in no way a menace to the public.
(c) 
That the structure be maintained in a clean, neat condition.
B. 
Any existing billboard which has been ordered removed pursuant to Subsection A of this section must be removed within 14 days after written notification to the billboard owner and/or landowner. In the event that said billboard is not removed within the specified time limit, the Village may remove said billboard and assess all costs and expenses incurred in said removal against the billboard owner and/or the owner of the land on which said billboard is located.
C. 
The Building Inspector may cause any billboard which is a source of immediate peril to persons or property to be removed summarily and without notice.
Any billboard in existence at the effective date of this article that does not comply with this article shall be deemed nonconforming and shall be allowed to remain as such. No nonconforming billboard shall be reconstructed or structurally altered except as provided in § 138-21 of this article.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Building Inspector relative to the provisions of this article may appeal such decision to the Village Zoning Board of Appeals as provided in the Zoning Law of the Village of Menands, New York,[1] and shall comply with all procedural requirements prescribed by such Zoning Board of Appeals.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 169, Zoning.
Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed a violation, and the violator shall be liable to a fine of not more than $50, and each day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.