Unless otherwise provided for herein, no establishment located in any commercial district or industrial district in the city shall display a total area of signs in excess of its sign area allowance as provided in Section 15.44.100 and only one exterior sign regardless of type shall be permitted on each street frontage. Additionally, unless otherwise provided for herein, signs in any commercial district or industrial district shall conform to the requirements indicated in the subsections below.

    A.    Flush-Mounted Signs. For aesthetic and safety reasons, flush-mounted signs are the preferred type of sign in the city. No flush-mounted sign shall:

    1.    Project more than six inches from the wall or surface to which it is attached (if such wall or surface is not vertical, the projection shall be measured from the closest point of the wall or surface to the sign); or

    2.    Extend more than three feet above the roof eave line of the building to which it is attached.

    B.    Projecting Signs. No establishment in any zoning district shall display more than one projecting sign on any street frontage. No projecting sign shall:

    1.    Project more than three feet from the building to which it is attached; or

    2.    Extend more than three feet above the roof eave line of the building to which it is attached; or

    3.    Project over a street, alley or driveway, or closer than two feet from the curb or edge of such public right-of-way; or

    4.    Extend below a point eight feet above the ground or pavement; or

    5.    Extend above a point twelve (12) feet above the ground or pavement; or

    6.    Exceed nine square feet in area.

    C.    Signs on Awnings, Canopies or Marquees. Signs mounted flush against any awning, canopy or marquee shall be considered flush-mounted signs, and shall comply with the regulations of subsection A of this section. Signs suspended beneath any awning, canopy or marquee shall be considered projecting signs, and shall comply with the regulations of subsection B of this section.

    D.    Window Signs. Any establishment may display window signs. Permanent window signs shall cover no more than twenty (20) percent of the area of any window. Permanent window signs shall be counted against the displaying establishment's sign area allowance, but temporary window signs shall not.

    E.    Shopping Center Identification Signs. A shopping center, as an entity, may erect an identification sign in accordance with the provisions of this chapter if the total gross floor area of all the establishments located in the shopping center exceeds fifty thousand (50,000) square feet. A shopping center identification sign shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area.

    F.    Freestanding Signs. Not more than one freestanding sign shall be displayed on any street frontage of any lot. All freestanding signs shall comply with the following regulations (except as provided in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection):

    1.    Not extend higher than twenty (20) feet above the ground or pavement where it is located;

    2.    Not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area or twelve (12) lineal feet in any direction;

    3.    Not be closer than twenty (20) feet from any public right-of-way or side or rear lot line;

    4.    Not be closer than one hundred (100) feet to another sign.

    Notwithstanding anything in this subsection to the contrary, the following regulations pertaining to freestanding signs located in a C-2 central business district and in areas located within one hundred (100) lineal feet of a Federal Interstate Highway right-of-way shall apply:

    1.    In a C-2 central business zoning district in the city:

    a.    Freestanding signs up to ten square feet in sign area shall not be closer than one foot from the right-of-way or side lot line and shall not exceed twelve (12) feet in height.

    b.    Freestanding signs between ten square feet and fifty (50) square feet in sign area shall not be closer than five feet from any public right-of-way or side lot line and shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

    c.    Freestanding signs between fifty (50) square feet and seventy-five (75) square feet in sign area shall not be closer than ten feet from any public right-of-way or side lot line and shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

    d.    All freestanding signs exceeding seventy-five (75) square feet in sign area shall not be closer than twenty (20) feet from any public right-of-way or side line and shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

    e.    No signs shall be closer than ten feet from each other.

    2.    In areas located within one hundred (100) lineal feet of a Federal Interstate Highway right-of-way freestanding signs shall:

    a.    Not exceed one hundred twenty-five (125) square feet in sign area or fifteen (15) lineal feet in any direction;

    b.    Require a setback from the public right-of-way of twenty-five (25) feet;

    c.    Require a setback from a side or rear lot line of two hundred (200) feet;

    d.    Require spacing of five hundred (500) feet to another sign;

    e.    Not exceed twenty (20) feet in height;

    f.    Not be used to calculate total sign area allowance as required in Section 15.44.100.

    G.    Roof-Mounted Signs. Roof-mounted signs are strictly prohibited in the city, except in an industrial district. No roof-mounted sign shall extend more than twenty (20) feet above the roof line of the building to which it is attached.

    H.    Billboards. Billboards (including all off-premises advertising signs) are strictly prohibited in the city, except in an industrial district. No billboard erected in an industrial district shall:

    1.    Be stacked on top of another billboard; or

    2.    Be located closer than fifty (50) feet from any public right-of-way; or

    3.    Be located closer than one thousand (1000) feet from any other billboard on the same side of a public right-of-way; or

    4.    Be permitted unless it relates to permitted zoning uses allowed in an industrial zoning district and is located not closer than five hundred (500) feet from any industrial zoning district boundary; or

    5.    Extend more than twenty (20) feet above the ground or pavement where it is located; or

    6.    Exceed one hundred fifty (150) square feet in area.

    I.    Zoned Area Directional Signs. Zoned area directional signs shall not exceed eighteen (18) inches in height nor thirty (30) inches in width; the letters thereon shall not exceed four inches in height and shall be on a brown background; shall be freestanding and mounted on two or more, three-inch square or larger wooden posts; and the top of the sign shall not extend more than thirty-six (36) inches above the ground or pavement where it is located. (Ord. 1191 § 1, 1993; Ord. 892 § 4-4, 1991)