§ 80.013.1. Billboards.

(a)

Intent and purpose. This division is enacted for the following purposes:

(1)

To protect the right of free speech by establishing procedures, standards and regulations for the outdoor display of advertising and other messages.

(2)

To protect the environment of the village by establishing reasonable controls on the size, number and location of structures bearing outdoor advertising and other messages to the end that visual clutter is reduced and sensitive areas of the environment such as scenic vistas, natural scenic areas, parks and historic districts are protected.

(3)

To promote traffic safety by controlling the size and placement of billboards with respect to traffic arteries and traffic-control devices.

(4)

To protect the rights of all citizens to convenient and safe view of the environment and, in particular, signs erected for other lawful purposes under the ordinances of the village.

(5)

To promote and protect the health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience and general welfare of the people of this village.

(b)

Billboards—Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Where terms are not defined herein they shall have their ordinary accepted meanings or such as the context shall imply.

Billboard means a standard outdoor advertising sign upon which either painted advertising messages or advertising messages printed on paper or vinyl (3/10) are posted for hire. Messages printed on paper or vinyl shall be changed or reposted at least once in every two, six-month periods if damaged or torn, and painted messages at least annually.

Deteriorated, (when applied to an outdoor advertising sign or sign face), means a change in the condition of the sign such that structural members are weakened; fastenings are weakened or loosened; anchors are weakened or loosened, components of the sign such as trim or other parts have become weakened, loosened, displaced or damaged; paint or other protective covering is worn away, flaked, peeling or loosened in whole or in part; and the sign face is flaked, peeling, worn away or damaged. A deteriorated sign or sign component need not be an unsafe sign or component and need not pose an immediate safety hazard.

Electrical sign means any billboard electrical wiring or any sign which is attached to or intended to be attached to an electrical power source, including batteries or solar cells, or any sign which is lighted by an electrical light source attached to the sign for the purpose of providing light on the sign surface.

Erect means the act of construction, placing, installing, or otherwise establishing a structure for the display of outdoor advertising messages.

Illegible, (when applied to a billboard), means any billboard on which there are missing letters, words or paper sheets, a deteriorated sign face or an obscured sign face such that the recognition of the symbols or words or the cognition of the sign message is not immediate or requires a longer time than would be required if the missing, damaged or obscured parts were repaired or replaced. Any sign on which ten percent of the letters, paper sheets, words or symbols are missing, damaged or obscured shall be considered illegible for purposes of this division.

Maintain means the act of restoring, preserving, refurbishing, cleaning, renewing, painting, repainting, or keeping within the public view a billboard or outdoor advertising sign.

Measured sign area (MSA) of a billboard, means the area of the sign face expressed in square feet.

Off-premises sign means a sign or sign structure other than a billboard intended to advertise a business, good or goods, or service not located, sold or offered on the property on which the sign is located.

Outdoor advertising message or message means the copy, letters, words, logotypes, depictions, symbols and other similar communications painted on billboards or printed on paper and affixed to billboards.

Outdoor advertising sign means a billboard.

Owner or owner of sign means the person who owns or is otherwise responsible for the erection, maintenance and operation of the billboard and not the owner of the property upon which the billboard is located unless the owner of the billboard and the property are the same person.

Sign components, for purposes of this regulation, means the three components to a billboard or outdoor advertising sign: The sign face; the supporting structure; and structural trim.

Sign face means the surface of the sign upon which the message is affixed.

Structural trim means any battens, cappings, nailing strips, latticing, platforms, railings and light fixtures attached to or used in conjunction with a sign.

Supporting structure means all load-bearing members including uprights, cross bars, diagonal braces, light fixture supports, and similar components. The exposed back of any sign face shall be considered part of the structure.

(c)

Billboards—General regulations. The standards, regulations and procedures established by this appendix shall apply to all billboards erected, displayed, maintained or operated in the village and which are located out-of-doors, are visible from any public right-of-way or property or any private property beyond that upon which the billboard is located. Off-premises signs other than billboards shall be regulated by the village's building code as measured signs as defined therein.

(d)

Billboards—Permits. It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or maintain a billboard in the village without first having obtained a permit from the village's building administrator in accordance with the following:

(1)

Each sign face. A separate sign permit shall be required for each sign face.

(2)

Application. An application for a permit to erect or maintain a billboard shall include the following:

a.

Name, address and telephone number of the applicant and of the owner of the property upon which the sign is to be located.

b.

Location of the property.

c.

A scale drawing of the property indicating the placement of the sign, the distance to all property lines and an indication of the location and distance to the nearest billboard located on any street adjoining the property.

d.

Evidence in writing of the property owner's willingness to allow the erection of the sign.

e.

The zoning classification of the property upon which the sign is to be located.

f.

A permit or facsimile thereof from the state department of transportation where applicable.

g.

The number of faces included and the number of permits to be issued.

h.

Payment of the required fee.

(3)

Denial, issuance or referral of application to code enforcement board. All completed permit applications are to be submitted to the building administrator. The building administrator shall review the application, inspect the site and determine compliance with this Ordinance and any other applicable ordinance of the village. Within five working days of the submittal of the completed application, the building administrator shall issue the permit, deny the permit for cause or refer the application to the code enforcement board.

(e)

Billboards—Registration of outdoor advertising contractor. No person shall erect or maintain a billboard without first registering with the village as an outdoor advertising contractor.

(1)

Application. Application for outdoor advertising contractor registration shall be made in writing to the building and zoning administrator and shall be accompanied by a statement of the applicant's qualifications, the required license fee, license bond and evidence of insurance as required herein.

(2)

Revocation. A sign contractor's registration may be revoked for repeated violations of the regulations of this appendix, except that no registration shall be revoked except after review and action by the planning and zoning commission.

(3)

Bond requirement. Every applicant for an outdoor advertising contractor's registration shall file with the village a license bond in the sum of $5,000.00 per year or for a three-year period to be renewed before expiration of bond, executed by the applicant and an approved surety company and conditioned upon the faithful observance of this appendix and all amendments thereto and to the terms and conditions of any variations granted hereto and to any other laws and ordinances of the village applicable to the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising structures.

(f)

Billboards—Indemnifications.

a.

All persons engaged in the business of erecting or maintaining billboards or outdoor advertising structures which involve, in whole or in part, the erection, installation, relocation, maintenance of such structures, or other work in, over or immediately adjacent to a public right-of-way or other public property which is used or encroached upon by the outdoor advertising contractor shall agree to hold harmless and indemnify the village, its officers, agents and employees from any and all claims of negligence or damage suffered resulting from the erection, alteration, relocation, maintenance or other work insofar as this article has not specifically directed the placement of a billboard or outdoor advertising structure.

b.

In addition, a certificate of liability insurance covering the erection, maintenance and operation issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the state shall be issued, with bodily injury limits of at least $300,000.00 per occurrence and $300,000.00 aggregate and property damage insurance of at least $100,000.00 per occurrence and $100,000.00 aggregate. Shall be issued yearly and remain in full force for continued use of the billboard. Such insurance shall not be canceled or reduced without the insured giving 30 days' written notice to the village of such cancellation or reduction.

(g)

Billboards—Fees. Fees for all required permits, variations, inspections, and annual fees shall be paid in accordance with the following fee schedule or such other fee schedule as the village board may adopt by ordinance. All fees shall be based on the number of sign faces and not on the number of structures. All fees shall be collected by the building department.

TABLE 1. SCHEDULE OF FEES

(1)

Permit fees. Payable upon issuance of permit:

a.

Application and inspection fee ..... $0.50/sq. ft. MSA

b.

Plan review fee ..... 0.25/sq. ft. MSA

c.

Electrical fee ..... 0.25/sq. ft. MSA

(2)

Other fees.

a.

Annual fee, payable within 30 days of notice by the village ..... 0.50/sq. ft. MSA

b.

Application for variance, payable at time of filing and not refundable ..... $100.00

(h)

Billboards—Maintenance. All outdoor advertising signs, and the premises surrounding the same, shall be maintained by the owner thereof in a clean, sanitary and aesthetically appealing condition. Should the appearance of any billboard and/or outdoor advertising sign become deteriorated, as defined in section 14-48, it shall be the sign owner's responsibility to perform the maintenance necessary to conform to the standards herein.

(1)

All sign structures shall be maintained in a structurally sound condition at all times. Any deterioration of the structure shall be corrected before the sign becomes unsafe.

(2)

All exposed metal parts shall be made of an all-weather material or shall be kept painted at all times.

(3)

All electrical components, if any, shall be maintained in a safe and good working condition.

(4)

Any damaged sign or sign component shall be repaired or replaced.

(5)

Any damaged or deteriorated message shall be removed or replaced.

(6)

Any billboard or other advertising sign structure which the zoning administrator determines to be deteriorated in accordance with the above standards shall be maintained, repaired, rebuilt or refurbished as appropriate by the owner. Such maintenance shall be completed within 60 days of the date of written notice by the zoning administrator. Any billboard for which notice of required maintenance has been given that has not been maintained within the time allowed shall be considered abandoned and shall be subject to the regulations established for the removal of signs. The zoning administrator may extend the time allowed for maintenance by reason of weather conditions or other good cause for a period not to exceed an additional 60 days.

(i)

Billboards—Abandoned structures. Any billboard or other outdoor advertising sign structure upon which there is no sign face, or any sign which is not maintained for 30 days shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of section 80.018.8.

(j)

Billboards—Removal of structures. Billboards and other outdoor advertising structures which fail to meet the standards and requirements of this division shall be removed in accordance with the following:

(1)

Any billboard which fails to meet the standards of this appendix other than a legal nonconforming billboard shall be removed within 30 days.

(2)

Any legal nonconforming billboard shall be removed within 30 days of the date of notice issued by the zoning administrator that the period for amortization as established above has expired.

(3)

Any abandoned structure shall be removed within 30 days of the date of notice issued by the zoning administrator that the structure has been deemed abandoned under the terms of this appendix.

(4)

If, upon the expiration of the 30-day period allowed for the removal of signs, such sign has not been removed, the zoning administrator shall cause such sign to be removed and shall bill the owner for any reasonable cost incurred in the removal of the structure and shall present to the planning and zoning commission a resolution to revoke the license of the outdoor advertising contractor where applicable.

(k)

Billboards—Regulations for outdoor advertising structures.

(1)

Construction specifications. All outdoor advertising structures shall be designed by a structural engineer or manufacturer and shall be approved by the village's building department as being in conformance with the building code of the village. Further, all such structures shall conform to the following:

a.

Such structures shall be designed to withstand a wind load of 30 pounds per square foot on the largest face of the sign and structure.

b.

All ground signs shall be permanently anchored to a concrete foundation extending at least four feet below grade.

c.

All wall signs shall be permanently affixed to the wall of a building using a method of attachment approved by the building department.

d.

All structures shall be clearly marked with the owner's name.

(2)

Design. The design of outdoor advertising structures shall conform to the following:

a.

All ground signs shall be supported by vertical structural members and shall not be guyed or braced with diagonal bracing.

b.

Insofar as possible the supporting structure of wall signs shall be concealed behind the sign face and trim.

c.

Sign faces shall not be decked or stacked one above another.

d.

Not more than two sign faces shall be attached to any sign structure.

e.

No billboard structure may be attached to any other billboard structure.

f.

The sign face of any billboard shall be surrounded by a trim or border which shall not exceed a width of one foot for billboards or six inches for billboards. No message or part of a message shall extend beyond the trim except that any bulletin may extend beyond the trim (if any) in conformance to a standardized national advertising campaign.

(3)

Height. Billboards shall not exceed the following height restrictions:

a.

No outdoor advertising sign shall exceed 40 feet in height.

b.

The height of wall signs shall be measured from the elevation of the ground immediately in front of the sign to the highest point on the structure, and may be the higher of the height above ground or the height of the cornice line of the wall to which it is attached.

(4)

Setback. Outdoor advertising signs shall be set back so that any part of the sign is at least 15 feet from the right-of-way or in accordance with the yard requirements of the district in which it is located, whichever affords the greater setback. In addition, signs shall be set back a minimum of 300 feet, measured along the street upon which the sign faces, from any conservation or residence district if visible therefrom.

(5)

Illumination. Illuminated billboards shall be shielded whenever necessary to avoid casting bright light upon property located in any residential district and the public right-of-way.

(6)

Location and spacing. The following spacing requirements are established for billboard structures:

a.

Ground signs shall conform to the following spacing requirements:

1.

Billboards may be located opposite one another on the same street except that any combination of any bulletin and any billboard with two faces per facing shall be offset by a distance of at least 300 feet.

b.

No billboard shall be located in a historic district. Further, no billboard shall be located in such a way as to screen from public view any historic landmark, park, church or public building.

(7)

Zoning districts. Outdoor advertising signs and billboards are permitted in the manufacturing districts as established by the village zoning ordinance.

(l)

Billboards—Administration and enforcement.

(1)

Zoning administrator. This Ordinance shall be administered and enforced by the building administrator who shall have the following duties:

a.

To receive all applications for billboard permits.

b.

To perform the review and inspections required by this appendix.

c.

To enforce, as appropriate, the other laws and ordinances of the village as the same apply to the erection and maintenance of billboards and other outdoor advertising structures.

d.

To issue all permits in conformance with this appendix.

e.

To issue all citations or notices of violations required by this appendix.

f.

Collect all fees for billboard permits and issue all notices of annual fees and collect all annual fees as required by this appendix.

g.

To maintain accurate records of all permits, inspections, citations, violations, variations and fees and make such records available for public inspection during normal business hours.

h.

To perform such other ministerial acts as are specifically required by this appendix.

i.

To assist the planning and zoning commission in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities as required by this appendix and by rule of the village board.

(2)

Planning and zoning commission. In the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance the code enforcement board shall have the following powers and duties:

a.

To review all citations and notices of violations issued by the zoning administrator.

b.

To make all determinations required of the board as provided by this appendix.

c.

To review and resolve any conflicts in standards, regulations, requirements or procedures arising from the application of this appendix and any other law or ordinance of the village regulating the erection and maintenance of billboards or the licensing of billboard contractors or outdoor advertising contractors.

d.

To make all determinations, requirements, conditions or agreements necessary to effect the removal of illegal billboards and nonconforming billboards subject to the amortization provisions of this appendix.

e.

To interpret the various provisions of this appendix as requested by either the building administrator, the applicant for or holder of a billboard permit or the public.

f.

To review all requests for variations from the regulations established by this appendix and issue an order in accordance with the standards below.

g.

To make rules governing the administration and enforcement of this appendix in accordance with the provisions of the village's zoning ordinance.

(3)

Appeals. Any person aggrieved by an order, decision or recommendation of the code enforcement board may appeal such action to the village board. Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days of the action of the code enforcement board. The village board shall act upon such an appeal within 90 days.

(m)

Violations and penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this Ordinance shall be fined not less than $50.00, nor more than as provided in section 80.023 of this appendix.

Note: See general standards and requirements at sections 80.016 and 80.017.

(Ord. No. 04-2012, 3-6-2012)