We are having a slight problem with some businesses in our town in dealing with the sign ordinance. I am fairly new to this position and realize that the sign ordinance needs some work but I guess that I realized today how bad it may get.
The section of the sign ordinance that I seem to be interpreting differently than everyone else at my office is as follows:
Each commercial or industrial lot or parcel, regardless of the number of commercial or industrial establishments on such lot or parcel, shall be allowed one (1) on-premise freestanding business sign per fifty (50) feet of major public street frontage or part thereof not to exceed fifty (50) square feet in sign face area.
(A) For each one hundred (100) feet of major public street frontage, the total allowed sign face area may be combined provided, however, that no sign face area shall exceed one-hundred (100) square feet.
(B) For commercial or industrial lots or parcels with a minimum of two hundred fifty (250) feet of public street frontage and that utilize only one (1) on-premise freestanding business sign, the total allowed sign face area may be combined provided, however, that the sign face area shall not exceed two-hundred (200) square feet.
So, the current situation that I am dealing with is a business with over 1,000 feet of major public street frontage and they have more than one sign (they did not want to go with the one 200 square foot sign) and they are wanting to put up more signs. They currently have a total (including all signs) of about 175 square feet of sign face area. Given the above sections, I am a little taken aback by our sign ordinance because it seems to me that they can have a 100 square foot sign every 100 feet. No one else here is interpreting the ordinance the way that I am and they are saying "That is never how we did it before you came".
So, anyone got in suggestions on how they would interpret this section of the sign ordinance? Thanks for any help that you may be able to offer.
The section of the sign ordinance that I seem to be interpreting differently than everyone else at my office is as follows:
Each commercial or industrial lot or parcel, regardless of the number of commercial or industrial establishments on such lot or parcel, shall be allowed one (1) on-premise freestanding business sign per fifty (50) feet of major public street frontage or part thereof not to exceed fifty (50) square feet in sign face area.
(A) For each one hundred (100) feet of major public street frontage, the total allowed sign face area may be combined provided, however, that no sign face area shall exceed one-hundred (100) square feet.
(B) For commercial or industrial lots or parcels with a minimum of two hundred fifty (250) feet of public street frontage and that utilize only one (1) on-premise freestanding business sign, the total allowed sign face area may be combined provided, however, that the sign face area shall not exceed two-hundred (200) square feet.
So, the current situation that I am dealing with is a business with over 1,000 feet of major public street frontage and they have more than one sign (they did not want to go with the one 200 square foot sign) and they are wanting to put up more signs. They currently have a total (including all signs) of about 175 square feet of sign face area. Given the above sections, I am a little taken aback by our sign ordinance because it seems to me that they can have a 100 square foot sign every 100 feet. No one else here is interpreting the ordinance the way that I am and they are saying "That is never how we did it before you came".
So, anyone got in suggestions on how they would interpret this section of the sign ordinance? Thanks for any help that you may be able to offer.
