Sec. 26-99. - Sign permit required.

No sign, including temporary signs, shall be installed, constructed or altered unless a sign permit, administrative sign permit, or a sign program approval has first been obtained in compliance with this section, or the sign is allowed without a sign permit approval pursuant to this section. A building permit may be required prior to the installation, construction or alteration of a sign. Following the approval of a proposed sign or sign program, each sign installed and maintained shall comply with the requirements of the sign permit and/or sign program.

(a)

Sign permit application. An application for a sign permit shall be prepared, filed, and processed, in compliance with the requirements of article VI. The application shall include architectural elevations and plans of all proposed signs. The signs on the plans shall be dimensioned, drawn to scale, and include illustrations of copy, colors, and materials. The plans submitted shall also include the location of each proposed sign on any structure(s) at the site.

(b)

Sign permit review authority. The Community Development Director or their designee shall review all sign permit applications. A sign permit (SP) shall be considered ministerial and reviewed the same way as a zoning clearance. An administrative sign review (ASR) and/or a sign program shall be considered discretional and shall be processed as specified within subsections (c) through (e) below. The review authority may require conditions of approval as reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of this division.

(c)

Sign Programs. A sign program shall be required for commercial office, business park, or complexes that include three (3) or more enclosed tenant spaces, multiple buildings or in non-residential developments where the individual tenant spaces are not adjacent to the proposed individual tenant signs. Sign programs requiring the coordination of signs on the same site shall be required for sites with two (2) or more enclosed tenant spaces. Developed sites shall comply with this section upon requests for either new signs through sign administrative review or sign exception review or for building design remodel requests through precise plan revision or planning director's modification. This may include, but not be limited to adding building square footage, separation of one (1) tenant unit into two (2), or a change of the exterior architectural color, style, or design. Sign programs for other developments may include shopping centers, industrial complexes, establishments with drive-throughs or business parks where the sign locations are located on any individual tenant spaces are optional at the discretion of the property owner. A sign program may also be proposed to provide identity and directional signage for a neighborhood or district recognized by the City. Sign programs shall be reviewed and approved by the Community Development Director or their designee, or elevated to the appropriate review authority, at the discretion of the Community Development Director or their designee.

(1)

The purposes of the sign program is to establish signage for all tenants and users of a complex, shopping center of neighborhood or district. An approved sign program shall set forth standards for all signs within the complex, shopping center, building, neighborhood, or district.

(2)

A sign program shall comply with the provisions set forth in this division. A sign program may be more restrictive than the criteria in this section and the sign program shall set forth standards regulating the size, number, location and types of signage permitted.

(d)

Findings for approval. The approval of an administrative sign review or sign program shall require that the review authority make all of the following findings:

(1)

The proposed signs do not exceed the standards set forth in article III, division 8, and are of the minimum size and height necessary to identify the site from a sufficient distance for the purposes of conveniently and safely accessing the site;

(2)

The size, location and design of the proposed signs are compatible and complementary with the scale and architecture of the primary structures and any prominent natural features on the site and for any adjacent properties along the same street; and

(3)

The proposed signs are in conformance with any applicable design criteria in the City's design guidelines.

(e)

Approval period, expiration, and time extension of sign permits. A sign permit approval shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance unless the sign has been installed within the period.

(1)

Prior to the expiration of a sign permit, the applicant may apply and request to the Community Development Director or their designee, an extension of up to one (1) additional year.

(2)

A sign permit shall become null and void if circumstances occurring prior to the installation of the sign change significantly and such changes would not conform to the requirements of this division.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24; Ord. No. 2525, § 26, 3-18-25)