Article IX — ADVERTISING SIGNS

DIVISION 1. GENERALLY

SEC. 16-595. PURPOSE.

The purposes of this article are as follows:

(A) To enhance the city's appearance, promote the growth of the city in an orderly, efficient and attractive manner, promote traffic safety, and provide minimum standards to safeguard life, health, property and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, materials, construction, illumination, number, size, location and maintenance of signs.

(B) To protect and improve pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety by reducing hazards and visual clutter and obstructions of the line by sight caused by signs.

(C) To implement the city's design and aesthetic standards, as set out in the city's general plan, specific plans, zoning ordinances and other regulations.

(D) To allow the exercise of free speech by signs, while reasonably regulating the structural, locational and other noncommunicative aspects of signs to serve the foregoing public interests in city aesthetics and traffic and pedestrian safety.

(E) To exempt from this article those signs listed in subsections (A) through (E) of the definition of "sign" because such signs are exempt by law or are required by law or provide public benefits that outweigh any adverse impacts.

(F) To exempt election signs from the requirement for a sign permit because such signs must be removed within 10 days after the election so that the adverse impacts of such signs are short term and are outweighed by the public benefits of informing the electorate.

(`64 Code, Sec. 34-179) (Ord. No. 1573, 2687)

SEC. 16-596. SIGN DEFINITIONS.

(A) As used in this article, the following words have the following meanings:

(1) ANIMATED SIGN- Any sign designed to attract attention through movement or the semblance of movement of the whole or any part, including, but not limited

to, signs which swing, twirl, revolve, move back and forth or up and down; or signs which can change color or shades of color; or any other method or device which suggests movement, but not including flags, banner signs, or freeway adjacent digital display billboards.

(2) ATTACHED SIGN - Any sign attached parallel to any face of a building or to any face of a canopy.

(3) BACKLIGHTED SIGN - Any sign attached to the face of a building, canopy or wall and lighted by means of an external source illuminating the building, canopy

face or wall containing the sign.

(4) BUILDING FRONTAGE - Building elevations that face upon a public street or a parking area between a building and a public street where access to the building

is provided from said frontage. If a building is curved or triangular, the building frontage shall be the shortest distance between the points on the outside extremity of the building elevation measured parallel to the public street or parking area upon which said building fronts.

(5) CANOPY - A permanent, roofed structure projecting from a wall with or without supporting columns.

(6) COMMERCIAL SIGN - Any sign, wording, logo, picture, transparency, mechanical device or other representation that is intended to attract attention to a commercial or industrial business, occupancy, product, goods, service or other commercial or industrial activity for a commercial or industrial purpose.

(7) CONSTRUCTION SIGN - A sign stating the names of individuals or firms directly connected with a construction project which may include the name of the city

in which the construction business is located and emergency telephone numbers.

(8) DIGITAL DISPLAY - A sign face that displays images through the use of grid lights, cathode-ray projections, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), plasma screens,

liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), fiber optics, or other electronic media or functionally equivalent technology.

(9) DIRECTIONAL SIGN - A sign containing words, arrows or other characters indicating the traffic direction and containing no advertising or trade name

identification, except that subdivision directional signs may include tract identification.

(10) DOUBLE-FACED SIGN - An outdoor advertising sign where both sign faces are parallel or the interior angle is less than ten degrees, are of essentially similar

design, and the faces are not more than 48 inches apart in the case of free-standing signs.

(11) ELECTION SIGN - A sign pertaining to an election for public office or to a ballot measure to be placed before the voters in a federal, state or local election.

(12) FLAG - Any cloth or fabric banner that is not exempt under the definition of ‘sign.’

(13) FREE-STANDING SIGN - A sign permanently supported by one or more uprights, braces, poles, or other similar structural components when utilizing earth,

rock, the ground, or any foundation set in the ground as a primary holding base and not attached to or enclosed by any building.

(14) FREEWAY ADJACENT DIGITAL DISPLAY BILLBOARD - A pole sign or changeable message sign, which features a digital display, erected an/or maintained

for advertising, in whole or in part, a business, activity, service or product not sold or produced on the premises upon which the sign is placed, which is located in any parcel in a commercial, industrial, or public facilities zone within 400 feet of the freeway right-of-way for U.S. Highway 101. This definition does not include an outdoor advertising sign.

(15) GROUND SIGN - A sign placed upon a foundation or a slab or placed upon or attached to an ornamental wall, and not supported by uprights, braces, poles, or

other similar structural components.

(16) HEIGHT OF A SIGN - The distance from the lowest horizontal surface grade immediately within five feet of the base of the sign to the top of its highest

element, including any structural element.

(17) ILLUMINATED SIGN - Any sign lighted by an internal light source.

(18) MANAGER - The planning and environmental services manager.

(19) MASTER SIGN PROGRAM - A plan showing the location, dimensions, area, color and materials of all signs located on a single parcel or parcels under the

same ownership.

(20) NONCOMMERCIAL SIGN - A sign that does not name, advertise or call attention to a commercial or industrial business, commodity, product, goods, service or other commercial or industrial activity for a commercial or industrial purpose.

(21) NONCONFORMING SIGN - A sign which was issued a valid permit at the time the sign was erected, but which does not accord or comply with the

requirements of this article and which was made nonconforming by annexation, rezoning or ordinance amendment.

(22) OUTDOOR ADVERTISING SIGN - Any sign painted on or affixed to any structure, or erected as a free-standing sign, which advertises a person, product or

service not located on the same parcel of record as the sign. This definition includes such terms as “off-site sign” and “nonaccessory sign.” This definition does not include subdivision tract directional signs. This definition does not include a freeway adjacent digital display billboard.

(23) ON-SITE SIGN or ACCESSORY SIGN - A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service, industry, or other activity which is sold, offered or

conducted on the premises upon which such sign is located, or to which it is affixed.

(24) PAINTED SIGN - Any sign painted directly onto the surface of building wall or face.

(25) A PARCEL OF PROPERTY or A PARCEL - Any separate parcel of property as shown on the latest available assessor’s maps; provided, however, that a

shopping center divided into separate parcels shall be considered as one parcel, and provided further that two or more contiguous parcels occupied by one tenant, business or enterprise shall be considered as one parcel.

(26) PRINCIPAL STREET - The single street which provides the most access and/or the predominant business exposure for a particular business.

(27) PORTABLE, MOVABLE, OR TEMPORARY SIGN - Any sign for which a building permit has not been issued and which is not permanently affixed or erected

in accordance with the provisions of the building regulations of the city, or any sign which is intended to be movable or capable of being moved from place to place, whether or not wheels or other special supports are provided.

(28) ROOF - The cover of a building, including the eaves and similar projections. Elevator or equipment housing, penthouses, or similar structures shall not be

considered in determining the roof location unless they comprise more than 60% of the roof area.

(29) ROOF SIGN - Any sign erected, constructed, and placed upon or over the roof of a building or any architectural feature which appears to be the roof of a

building.

(30) ROTATING SIGN - Any sign or part thereof that moves or rotates in any manner.

(31) SIGN - Any device, fixture, placard or structure, including its component parts, which draws attention to an object, product, place, activity, opinion, person,

institution, organization, or place of business, or which identifies or promotes the interests of any person, and which can be viewed from any public street, road, highway, right-of-way or parking area; provided, however, that the following are not included for the regulatory purposes of this article:

(a) Public or legal notices required by a court or public agency;

(b) Signs on street legal vehicles;

(c) Flags that solely identify a government or other noncommercial organization or that solely carry a noncommercial message, when such flags are used for

noncommercial purposes;

(d) Traffic, directional, emergency, warning or informational signs required or authorized by a government agency having jurisdiction of the subject matter; and

(e) Signs consisting of the name and logo of the city, erected near city boundaries by city staff.

(32) UNDER-CANOPY SIGN - A sign attached to the bottom of a canopy or similar architectural feature.

(33) SIGN AREA - The sum of the area enclosed within a geometric form or forms drawn around all writing, representations, emblems or designs on all sides of the

sign which contains or is designed to contain the copy. If the frame forms an integral part of the sign, the sign area shall be the total area within the frame and shall include all sides of the sign.

(34) SHOPPING CENTER - A group of at least three businesses which function as an integral unit on a single parcel or on contiguous parcels under the same

ownership and which utilize common off-street parking and access.

(35) STREET FRONTAGE - The linear frontage of a parcel of property abutting a public street.

(36) VEE-SHAPED SIGN - An outdoor advertising sign with two faces having an interior angle in excess of ten degrees.

(37) WALL SIGN - Any sign attached parallel to any face of a wall or solid fence.

(38) WINDOW SIGN - Any sign printed, attached, glued, or otherwise affixed to or located behind and within two feet of a window and designed to be viewed from

adjoining streets, sidewalks, malls or parking lots available for public use.

(B) These definitions shall apply herein unless expressly otherwise provided.

(`64 Code, Sec. 34-180) (Ord. No. 1573, 1861, 2152, 2687, 3023)

SEC. 16-597. NONCOMMERCIAL SIGNS.

(A) Noncommercial signs are allowed in non-residential zones wherever commercial signs are allowed and are subject to the same standards and total maximum allowances per site or building of each sign type specified in this chapter. For purposes of this chapter, the designation of signs as "on-site" or "off-site" shall not apply to noncommercial signs, which are allowed without regard to such designations.

(B) Noncommercial signs are allowed in residential zones as provided in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (A) of section16-605.

(Ord. No. 2687)