87.0705 General Provisions. — Yucaipa Zoning Code

(a) No person, business, organization, or any entity of any kind whatsoever shall erect, install, construct, maintain, or allow any sign regulated by this chapter in the City of Yucaipa without first obtaining appropriate permits and registration. Such signs shall be erected, installed, constructed, and maintained in conformance with the provisions of this Code and any applicable plan.

(b) All signs and their components shall be regularly maintained and kept in good repair and appearance. If a sign has broken or missing panels or components, visible rust, exposed wiring, badly faded or missing lettering, peeling paint, or is torn or tattered, it shall be removed or repaired within 30 days, following written notice of such condition by an authorized City official.

(c) Except for time and temperature components and electronic message signs, signs may only be lit by steady, stationary, shielded light directed only at the sign, by light inside the sign, and by direct neon lighting. The glare from such luminous source shall not exceed one half (0.5) footcandle.

(d) No sign or any portion thereof shall extend over a property line onto an adjacent property, public right-of-way, or public property.

(e) No sign shall interfere with a driver’s or pedestrian’s view of public rights-of-way or in any other manner impair public safety, or interfere with the safe operation of a motor vehicle on public streets. This includes, but is not limited to, the driver’s view of approaching, merging, or intersecting traffic.
(f) All signs shall comply with the provisions of the Development Code regarding clear sight triangles which include the following.
(1) There shall be no monument signs allowed within a clear sight triangle.
(2) There shall be no more than two posts or columns, each with a width or diameter no greater than 12 inches, within a clear sight triangle.
(3) When a freestanding sign is located within a clear sight triangle, the lower edge of the sign face shall be at least eight feet above grade.
(g) No sign shall be attached to or painted on trees, shrubs, or rocks.
(h) No sign shall be attached to or painted on a public utility pole or street light or placed on any public property.
(i) No more than two faces of a single sign may be viewable at one time from one place.
(j) The height of all signs shall be measured along the leading edge of the sign and shall be measured from the finished grade of the ground below such leading edge to the top of the sign, except that freestanding signs shall be measured from grade or the surface of the adjacent roadbed, whichever yields the greater sign height. The maximum height of any accessory freestanding sign shall be 25 feet. A more restrictive maximum sign height standard may be specified by this chapter or the provisions of the applicable land use district or overlay district. The height of a monument sign shall be measured from the top of the supporting pedestal, base, berm, or similar support that does not exceed a height of two feet above grade. The pedestal or base shall be constructed of long-lasting, non-deteriorating decorative material such as brick, stone, or decorative concrete, or landscaped berm.
(k) Where a maximum overall sign area is specified, the sum of the areas of all wall, roof, or display sign faces shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(l) Where a ratio of building frontage to sign area is used, the building frontage shall be the linear dimension of the building foundation or base which is adjacent to the street right-of-way, or which is the main entrance to such building when the building is not adjacent to the street right-of-way.

(m) Where a ratio of building frontage to sign area is used, separate attached signs are permitted on each building frontage, provided that this ratio and the maximum total area and total number of attached signs provided for within the land use district is not exceeded.

(n) The area of any single sign shall not exceed 200 square feet and shall be calculated as follows.

(1) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter or the provisions of a land use district, decorative trim six inches or less in width immediately surrounding the perimeter of a sign, pole covers not exceeding 24 inches in width, and roofs attached immediately above the top of the sign which do not exceed 24 inches in height, nor 12 inches in width beyond the width of each side of such sign face, shall not be included for the purposes of calculating sign area, unless such decorative trim is part of, is associated with, or implies the commercial, noncommercial, or political message that is being displayed.

(2) The maximum area allowed for each face of the following signs shall be equal to the maximum sign area allowed by the applicable land use district or this chapter.
(A) Single face signs
(B) Double face signs, as measured on the largest single face
(C) V-shaped signs with an acute or right angle between the sign faces on the side away from the right-of-way to which the sign is oriented
(3) The maximum area allowed for any one sign face of the following signs shall be 75% of the maximum sign area allowed by the applicable land use district or this chapter. The total area of all such sign faces shall not exceed the

maximum sign area allowed by the applicable land use district or this chapter.

(A) Signs with more than two faces
(B) Signs with more than one face oriented in the same direction

(C) V-shaped signs with an obtuse angle greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees between the sign faces on the side away from the right-of-way to which the sign is oriented

(4) The area of a figure or other irregular or three-dimensional display used for advertising purposes shall be computed by enclosing the entire area within parallelograms, triangles, or circles in a size sufficient to cover the entire area and computing only the maximum single display surface which is visible from any ground position at one time. (5) Any sign which includes an automatic time or temperature display shall be given a bonus of 30% increase in area over the maximum area allowed by a land use district or this chapter. This bonus area shall only be utilized for the time or temperature display. Such bonus area shall not exceed a maximum of 50 square feet.

(6) Animals, man-made objects, or natural features which are part of or incorporated into the design of the sign, and are associated with or imply the commercial, noncommercial, or political message that is being displayed, shall be calculated as part of the total sign face area.

(7) The area of a monument sign shall be calculated by using only the area devoted to display of a commercial, noncommercial, or political message.

(o) Unless otherwise specified by this chapter or a land use district, on lots 60 feet wide or greater, a maximum of one freestanding sign is permitted per lot, per frontage, except where the area of a second freestanding sign is less than 75 square feet or except where it is separated from all other freestanding signs, including those on adjacent lots, by at least 100 feet. No more than 10% of the view of an existing sign face, as viewed from the edge of the abutting paved roadway for 10% of the distance from the sign face up to 100 feet from such existing sign face, shall be obstructed by any new freestanding sign. In no instance shall any portion of a new freestanding sign structure, erected after November 1987, be closer than 10 feet to any existing sign.

(p) Where it is determined that vegetation will obstruct the visibility of more than 10% of the face of such a proposed sign, as viewed from the edge of the abutting paved roadway for 10% of the distance up to 750 feet away from the proposed sign face, the following shall be submitted prior to issuance of a building permit.

(1) Statement of Intent

The sign owner shall submit a statement indicating what vegetation will be cut, trimmed, and/or left undisturbed. (2) Acknowledgement Letter

The sign owner shall submit a letter from any affected agency or property owner, where trees are proposed to be cut or trimmed, authorizing such removal or trimming operation.

(3) Where vegetation is authorized to be removed to accommodate visibility of a sign on a publicly owned right-ofway, then such remaining vegetation shall be enhanced by the planting of one specimen tree or plant of the same or similar species for each such tree or plant removed. This shall be accomplished prior to the final building permit inspection for the proposed sign. Such specimen plants shall be planted along the same roadway as close as botanically sound, but not in such a manner as to obstruct the proposed sign during the life of such tree or plant. The applicant shall obtain permission from the responsible agency or property owner for such plantings prior to the issuance of the building permit and shall maintain such vegetation after planting for a period of six months or until the plant is self sustaining, whichever is longer. This requirement shall be modified or waived by the Building Official where it is determined that an alternate mitigation measure is acceptable or where compliance is not practicable. (q) An accessory sign, as allowed by this Code, may be mounted on the same sign structure as a primary freestanding sign, provided that such accessory sign shall have a maximum area that is no more than 50% of the area of the primary sign face on the same sign structure, and provided that the maximum total area and height allowed within a land use district is not exceeded.

(r) The following information shall be clearly legible and in a conspicuous place on each sign.
(1) Every accessory sign shall display the name of the maker and date of construction.
(2) Every primary sign shall display the name of the sign owner, operator, and builder, and the State Outdoor Advertising Permit number, where required.

(s) All freestanding signs which have an area 18 square feet or greater and/or a height of six feet or greater shall require a building permit prior to construction.

(t) No part of any freestanding sign, including the footing, shall be located closer than one foot from any property line.

(u) The leading edge or footing of a sign shall be located no closer than one foot from the existing right-of-way line.

(v) When a freestanding sign is located within a street front or side yard setback area, the sign face shall be at least eight feet above grade.

(w) A monument sign may be substituted for any freestanding sign permitted by the provisions of this Code or any applicable plan, provided such monument sign complies with the provisions of this chapter.

(x) The maximum height of a monument sign located in a yard or street setback area shall be the height of an allowed wall or fence in the same yard or street setback area.

(y) The height of a projecting sign shall not exceed the height of the structure to which it is attached and shall not project more than five feet from the supporting wall or be less than eight feet from grade.

(z) A roof sign shall be mounted on the roof parallel to the ridge of the roof. Where the structure has flat roof, roof signs shall be mounted parallel to the wall facing the street. Maximum height of roof signs shall not exceed 25 feet above grade.

(aa) Wall signs shall be attached flat against a wall of the building. Such signs shall project no more than 18 inches from the wall, and shall not project above the roof line or extend over a public sidewalk or right-of-way. (Amended by Ord. 168 § 2, 1997; Ord. 401 § 2, 2023)