Yreka Municipal Code Ch. 13.16 Exempt Signs

All signs not expressly exempted by a provision of Section 13.16.020 shall be subject to the provisions of this code and shall comply with all applicable provisions thereof.

(Ord. 775 (part), 2004: Ord. 427 § 1-40, 1969).

(a) The provisions and regulations of this title shall not apply to the following signs:

(1) One real estate sign, which advertises the sale, rental or lease of the premises is permitted on each parcel frontage as follows:

(A) Single family residential zoned parcels, six (6) square foot maximum area per sign.

(B) Multi-family residential zoned parcels, twelve (12) square foot maximum area per sign.

(C) Non-residential zoned parcels, twenty-four (24) square foot maximum area per sign.

(D) The residential signs shall not exceed six (6) feet in height above the ground, and the non-residential signs eight (8) feet above the ground.

(2) Window signs, the combined total of which do not exceed twenty (20) percent of the window area;

(3) Bulletin boards not over twelve (12) square feet in area for public, charitable or religious institutions when the same are located on the premises of such institutions;

(4) Signs denoting the architect, engineer contractor, or financing institution when placed upon work under construction, and not exceeding twelve (12) square feet in area;

(5) [Reserved];

(6) Signs placed flat against the façade of a building that identifies the history and name of a building or historic events not exceeding three (3) square feet in area and constructed of bronze, brass, or other like incombustible material;

(7) Traffic or other municipal signs, legal notices or railroad crossing signs;

(8) Signs of public service companies indicating danger, and aids to service or safety;

(9) Signs placed on the interior of a property and not seen from the public right-of-way;

(10) Gasoline price signs not exceeding twenty square feet per side; with no more than two separate signs per parcel;

(11) California and United States flags;

(12) Signs placed in parking lots to direct traffic and inform users of parking requirements;

(13) Warning signs to indicate danger or to serve as an aid to public safety or to show the location of public utilities' underground facilities.

(b) Ordinary maintenance and repair of an existing advertising structure provided there is no structural modification including repainting with the same colors. Changing of the advertising copy or color is also exempt except signs within the Historic District which shall be subject to review and permit pursuant to Title 17.

(c) Informational window signs shall be exempt as follows:

1. Small non-illuminated informational signs related to the operation of the business located on the windows or glass doors are exempt from these provisions and are not included in the total allowed sign area. Examples of such signs are "open/closed" signs, credit card signs, rating or professional signs, and signs of a similar nature. Only one of each type of sign is allowed, not to exceed one square foot in area per sign with no more than four in number at any individual business.

2. One neon or other "open" sign is permitted in the window per each street frontage as a sign exempt from the provisions of this title and shall not exceed four square feet in area. The area of the open sign is not included in the total allowed window sign area established in 13.16.020(a)(2) above.

(d) Temporary signs promoting short-term retail sales programs, special products, activities, or events are exempt provided they comply with the following standards:

1. The sign shall not be displayed for more than thirty days in any one hundred eighty-day period.

2. No more than one such sign is allowed for each street frontage.

3. The signs, except inflatable device signs, shall not be freestanding and shall be affixed to the face of a building. Sign locations shall also conform to the location standards established for permanent signs. These signs shall not extend above the roofline or parapet of the structure.

4. Maximum sign area not to exceed fifty square feet, excepting civic event signs as provided below and noncommercial signs as provided in Chapter 76 of this title. The area of an inflatable device shall be measured like a sphere as described in Section 13.10.030 and shall not exceed one hundred square feet.

5. If temporary signs are placed in windows, they shall not exceed fifty square feet or twenty percent of the total window and glass door area, whichever is the most restrictive requirement.

6. Portable signs are not permitted as a temporary sign. (Ord. 775 (part), 2004: Ord. 576 (part), 1982: Ord. 427 § 1-41, 1969).

(e) Noncommercial signs as provided in Chapter 76 of this title.

(f) Civic Event Signs. Civic event signs are defined as signs for special community events, which are noncommercial in nature, open to the general public, and are sponsored by noncommercial civic, charitable, community, or similar organizations.

1. The city council makes the following findings and determinations:

a. This ordinance is intended to regulate signs for charitable organizations by permitting them to be located on private property and be of sufficient size and sited for a sufficient duration in order to promote charitable events and activities based upon the city's substantial interest in supporting such events and activities because:

1. Local civic organizations, which are nonprofit and noncommercial, desire to advertize events for fundraising and activities in the community by having signage in commercial districts and the city has a substantial governmental interest in permitting local civic organizations that are raising funds for charitable events that support social services in the community to have their signs in place for an amount of time sufficient to promote their event. This is necessary because most of these organizations, unlike most commercial businesses, have no fixed location where they can place signs upon their property advertising their events, thus furthering the necessity for signage display.

2. The United States Supreme Court has held that "because charitable solicitation does more than inform private economic decisions and is not primarily concerned with providing information about the characteristics and costs of goods and services, it has not been dealt with as a variety of purely commercial speech." Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment 44 U.S. 620, 632 (1980), see also Mainstream Marketing Services v. Federal Trade Commission [10th Circuit, 2004].

b. Therefore, the city's sign ordinance, which is designed to reduce blight and to avoid visual clutter, as well as eliminate hazards posed by signs to pedestrians and motorists, is a reasonable fit between the substantial interests which it advances and the regulation of the signs, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of N.Y. 447 U.S. 557, 566 (1980).

2. Civic event signs are exempt provided they comply with the following standards:

a. Notification and acknowledgment has been given to the planning director pursuant to YMC Section 13.08.011.

b. Civic event signs shall conform to the provisions of 13.16.020, with these exceptions: civic event signs shall not be erected without consent of the property owner or tenant and for not more than fifteen days prior to the event by being affixed to a building, fence, or structure on the property, and shall be removed within twenty four hours after the time of the event.

c. Civic event signs are not permitted in residential districts; and, signs shall not exceed twenty four square feet total in size for lots in nonresidential districts. Exclusive of cross-street banners or the city civic event sign site, no more than one civic event sign shall be placed on any lot at any given time, and no civic event sign shall be sited closer than one thousand feet from any other civic event sign.

(Ord. No. 810, § 1(D), 2-19-2009; Ord. No. 840, § 2, 6-18-2015)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 840, § 3, adopted June 18, 2015, repealed § 13.16.030, which pertained to fee exempt signs and derived from Ord. 775 (part), adopted in 2004.

(a) Parking directional signs not exceeding eight square feet per side located in close proximity to driveway entrances are exempt.

(b) Directional signs located within a parcel for the purpose of directing vehicular traffic or pedestrians to specific entrances or services at the business facility shall be exempt provided that the face of any such sign shall not exceed eight square feet.

(c) Any such sign shall not contain any advertising content.

(Ord. 775 (part), 2004).