Article 1 — SCOPE OF CHAPTER

911.1.010 PURPOSE.

This Chapter provides standards for on-premises signs to safeguard life, health, property, safety, and public welfare, including aesthetics and the visual environment, while encouraging creativity, variety, compatible design, and enhancement of the City’s image. The City recognizes that the location, number, size and design of signs significantly influences the City’s visual environment and the perception of the City’s economic condition and that proper sign control is an important governmental interest. The specific purposes of this Chapter are to:

a) Provide each sign user an opportunity for effective identification while guarding against the excessive proliferation of signs by appropriately regulating the time, place, and manner under which signs may be displayed;

b) Maintain a content-neutral approach to sign regulation so as not to inhibit protected forms of freedom of expression, including noncommercial speech;

c) Preserve and enhance the community’s appearance by regulating the type, size, location, quality, design, character, scale, illumination, maintenance and number of signs according to standards consistent with the purpose of the City’s various zoning districts and the intent of the zoning regulations;

d) Enhance the safety of motorists and pedestrians by minimizing the distraction of intrusive signs, as well as to protect the life, health, property and general welfare of City residents, businesses and visitors;

e) Encourage creative, well-designed signs that contribute in a positive way to the City’s visual environment, are complementary to the buildings and uses to which they relate, are harmonious with their surroundings and help maintain an image of quality for the City;

f) Ensure the quality of the City’s visual environment and appearance by providing a review and approval process for signs to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Chapter.

911.1.020 INTENT.

By adopting this Chapter the City Council intends to regulate signs on the basis of location, relationship to land uses, illumination, motion, size, height, orientation, separation, safety of physical structures and the public need for functional information. It is the intent of this Chapter to minimize visual clutter and enhance traffic safety by ensuring that signage does not distract, obstruct or otherwise impede traffic circulation. Proper sign control also safeguards and preserves the health, property and public welfare by prohibiting, regulating and controlling the structural design, location and maintenance of signs.