Every sign or other street graphic enumerated below that complies with the indicated requirements may be erected in any zoning districts of the city without a permit. The area of the signs or street graphics shall not be counted against the displaying establishment's sign area allowance.

    A.    Construction signs identifying the architects, engineers, contractors and other individuals or firms

involved with the construction, and/or announcing the character or purpose of the building, but not advertising any product or service. Such signs shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area, shall be confined to the site of the construction, and shall be removed after construction has been completed;

    B.    Directional and informational signs erected for the convenience of the public, such as signs identifying entrances, exits, parking areas, no-parking areas, restrooms, public telephones, walkways, and similar features or facilities. Such signs shall not exceed three square feet in area;

    C.    Flags of any country, state or unit of local government;

    D.    Garage or yard sale signs advertising a garage or yard sale on private residential property. Such signs shall not exceed four square feet in area, shall be confined to the premises on which the sale is conducted, and shall not be posted for longer than five days;

    E.    Governmental or public signs, such as traffic control signs, railroad crossing signs, legal notices, signs indicating the location of underground cables, etc.;

    F.    Holiday decorations such as Christmas lights and ornaments, provided that such decorations must be removed within sixty (60) days after the Christmas holiday: February 26 of each year;

    G.    Home occupation signs identifying only the name and occupation of the resident. Home occupation signs shall be nonilluminated and flush-mounted, and shall not exceed one square foot in area;

    H.    House numbers and/or name of occupant signs located on the lot to which the sign pertains. Such signs shall not exceed three square feet in area for single-family dwellings nor six square feet for multiple-family dwellings;

    I.    Institutional signs for a public, charitable or religious institution. Such signs shall be located on the premises of the institution, shall not obstruct the vision of motorists, and shall not exceed twenty-four (24) square feet in area;

    J.    Integral signs carved into stone or inlaid so as to become part of the building, and containing such information as date of erection, name of building, and memorial tributes;

    K.    Interior signs located in the interior of any building or within an enclosed lobby or court of any building or group of buildings, provided such signs are not visible from the exterior of the buildings;

    L.    Political campaign signs, announcing candidates seeking public office and/or political issues and other pertinent information shall be confined to private property. In a residential district, political campaign signs shall not exceed four square feet in area. In an agricultural district, political campaign signs shall not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in area. In other zoning districts in the city, such signs shall not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in area. Political campaign signs shall be posted no sooner than thirty (30) days prior to the election to which they pertain and shall be removed within seven days after the election to which they pertain;

    M.    Property regulation signs such as no trespassing, no fishing, etc. Such signs shall not exceed three square feet in area;

    N.    Public interest signs publicizing a charitable or nonprofit event of general public interest. Such signs shall be erected only on private property. In an agricultural district, and in any residential district, such signs shall not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in area. Elsewhere, such signs shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area. Public interest signs shall be permitted only for fourteen (14) days before and seven days after the event to be publicized;

    O.    Real estate signs advertising the sale or lease of the premises on which they are located. Such signs on residential property shall not exceed four square feet in area. On other property, such signs shall not exceed sixteen (16) square feet in area. Not more than one real estate sign per street frontage shall be erected on any lot. Such signs shall be removed within seven days after the sale or lease of the property on which they are located;

    P.    Residential development identification signs on a real estate development site at major entrances to the site designed to identify a residential subdivision, apartment complex, or planned unit development, which contains no commercial advertising and do not exceed forty (40) square feet in area;

    Q.    Temporary street banners or mobile or portable marquees advertising a public entertainment or event. Such street graphics may be placed only in locations approved by the city council during the period not to exceed fourteen (14) days before and seven days after the event. Application for the same must be made to the city council prior to the event. The city may require a fee for the display of such signs;

    R.    Utility company signs that serve as an aid to public safety or that show the location of public telephones, underground cables, etc.;

    S.    Zoned area directional signs which indicate the direction or location of residential, commercial, agricultural or industrial developments in the city. Zoned area directional signs must be located on private property, set back at least one foot from the public right-of-way in all directions and shall be limited to one sign per development area;

    T.    Permanent street banners or pennants may be permitted provided that the city council grants approval of design and installation;

    U.    Advertising by balloon signs of a temporary nature shall be permitted on the property of an existing and ongoing business in accordance with the following restrictions:

    1.    Permits shall be issued to qualified applicants upon properly completed written application to be approved by the city building inspector (as the street graphics control ordinance administrator),

    2.    All applications for permits shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first five days of advertising, plus an additional ten dollars ($10.00) per day for each additional day of advertising for not to exceed up to five consecutive additional days thereafter,

    3.    There shall be a maximum of ten consecutive days of advertising permitted for each permitted individual advertising period,

    4.    Permits for advertising shall not be issued for any premises or to any ongoing business more than three times per calendar year and not within ninety (90) days after the conclusion of the previous advertising period for which a permit was issued by the city,

    5.    A given individual advertising period for purposes of this chapter includes advertising pursuant to a permit issued under this chapter for one or more consecutive days, not to exceed a maximum of ten consecutive days,

    6.    An additional application fee of five cents ($.05) per square foot of surface area shall be charged for balloon signs that are larger than two hundred (200) square feet in surface area as determined by the total area of a rectangle superimposed upon the proposed balloon sign so that the sides of the rectangle intersect the sides of the balloon most distant from the center of the balloon and the top and bottom of the rectangle intersect the top and bottom of the balloon that are most distant from the center of the balloon and the surface area is determined by the square footage of the rectangle by multiplying the width of the rectangle by the height of the rectangle,

    7.    No advertising shall be permitted within five thousand (5,000) feet of any other form of balloon sign advertising occurring at the same time,

    8.    All advertising shall be ground mounted only and the entire display shall be constructed of nonflammable materials,

    9.    Balloon signs shall not be located closer to the front, side and rear lot lines of the real estate premises on which the balloon sign is located, than buildings are permitted to be located under the city's zoning code in the zoning district in which the balloon sign is located,

    10.    Only one advertising balloon sign shall be allowed per each of the following business districts: Westpark, North Old Route 3, North Main Street, South Main Street,

    11.    All advertising must pertain solely to on-site businesses,

    12.    Applications for balloon signage permits must be accompanied by proof of premises and off-premises liability insurance for installation, operation and maintenance of the proposed balloon sign providing insurance coverage for property damage of a minimum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) per person and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) per occurrence and for personal injury of a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) per person and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) per occurrence, with one or more qualified and rated insurance companies of the applicant's selection and acceptable to the city, which policy of insurance shall name the city as an additional insured. (Ord. 1210 § 1, 1993; Ord. 892 § 4-2, 1991)