§ 26-9. Sign definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
Abandoned sign: Any sign which is still on the premises six (6) months after a business ceases to operate or moves from the location.
Administrator: The building official or his designated representative within the building department.
Alteration: Any construction or repair which significantly changes a sign, including additions or deletions to the sign structure.
Accessory sign: A sign which pertains to the use of the premises on which it is located.
Animated sign: A sign which uses lights, moving parts, or other means to depict action, create an image of a living creature or person, or create a special effect or scene.
Awning or canopy sign: A non-rigid fabric marquee or awning-type structure which is attached to the building by supporting framework, which includes a business identification message, symbol and/or logo. See "wall sign."
Banner: A fabric, plastic or other sign made of non-rigid material without enclosing structural framework. National flags, state or municipal flags, or the official flag of any institution or business shall not be considered banner signs.
Billboard: A sign separate from a premises erected for the purpose of advertising a product, event, person, or subject not related to the premises on which the sign is located. Permitted off-premises directional signs shall not be considered billboards for the purpose of this chapter.
Building marker: Any sign indicating the name of a building and date and incidental information about its construction, which sign is cut into a masonry surface or made of bronze or other permanent material.
Business center: A grouping of two (2) or more business establishments on one (1) or more parcels of property which may share parking and access and are linked architecturally or otherwise present the appearance of a unified grouping of businesses. A business center shall be considered one (1) use for the purposes of determining the maximum number of ground signs. An automobile or vehicle dealership shall be considered a business center regardless of the number or type of models or makes available, however, used vehicle sales shall be considered a separate use in determining the maximum number of signs, provided that the used vehicle sales section of the lot includes at least twenty-five (25) percent of the available sales area.
Changeable message sign: A sign on which the message is changed mechanically, electronically or manually, including time/temperature signs; also called menu board, reader board or bulletin board.
Combination sign: Any sign which combines the characteristics of two (2) or more signs.
Community special event sign: Signs and banners, including decorations and displays celebrating a traditionally accepted patriotic or religious holiday, or special municipal, school or other non-profit activities.
Construction sign: A temporary sign identifying the name(s) of project owners, contractors, developers, realtors representing developers, architects, designers, engineers, landscape architects, and financiers of a project being constructed or improved; and not including any advertising of any product or announcement of availability of leasing space.
Directional sign: A sign which assists motorists in determining or confirming a correct route such as, enter, exit and parking signs. Business identification or logo on such a sign is considered and calculated as part of the allowable square footage for a ground sign.
Festoon: A string of ribbons, tinsel, small flags, pinwheels or lights, typically strung overhead in loops.
Flag: Any fabric, banner, or bunting containing distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols used as a symbol of a government, political subdivision, or other entity.
Flashing sign: A sign which contains an intermittent or sequential flashing light source.
Freestanding sign: A sign which is erected upon or supported by the ground, including "pole or pylon signs" and "ground signs."
Gasoline price sign: A sign which is used to advertise the price of gasoline. In the event that the brand identification sign is attached to or is a part of the sign advertising price, that portion of the sign used for advertising price shall be considered the gasoline price sign.
Ground or monument sign: A three-dimensional, self-supporting, base-mounted freestanding identification sign, consisting of two (2) or more sides extending up from the base, and upon which a message, business, group of businesses or center name is affixed.
Identification sign: Also a "nameplate" sign or "information" sign with only name and address of occupant on the sign bearing no advertising message or logo.
Illegal sign: A sign which does not meet the requirements of this chapter and does not have legal nonconforming status.
Illuminated sign: Any sign that provides artificial light directly on or through any transparent or translucent material, from a source of light connected with such sign, or a sign illuminated by a light with a source so obscured and shielded that no direct rays from it are visible from a public right-of-way or from an abutting property.
Incidental sign: A small sign, emblem, or decal informing the public of goods, facilities, or services available on the premises. Examples of incidental signs include credit card signs, signs indicating the hours of business, no smoking signs, signs used to designate bathrooms, and signs providing information on credit cards and business affiliations.
Integral sign: A memorial sign or commemorative tablet which contains names of buildings, dates of erection, and monumental citations.
Luminous tube: See "neon" and "outline tubing sign."
Mansard: A sloped roof or roof-like facade. Signs mounted on the face of a mansard roof shall be considered wall signs.
Maintenance: For the purposes of this chapter, the cleaning, painting, repair or replacement of defective parts of a sign in a manner that does not alter the basic copy, design, or structure of the sign.
Marquee: A permanent roof-like structure or canopy supported by and extending from the face of the building. A marquee sign is a sign attached to or supported by a marquee structure.
Menu board, reader board, or bulletin board: See "changeable message sign."
Moving sign: A sign in which the sign itself, or any portion of the sign, moves or revolves. A "rotating sign" is a type of moving sign. This definition does not include "changeable message signs."
Mural: A design or representation which is painted or drawn on the exterior surface of a structure and which does not advertise a business, product, service, or activity.
Nameplate: A nonelectric, on-premises identification sign giving only the name, address, and/or occupation of an occupant or group of occupants.
Neon sign: See "outline tubing sign."
Nonconforming sign: A sign that does not comply with the size, placement, construction or other standards or regulations of this chapter, but were lawfully established prior to its adoption. Signs for which the zoning board of appeals has granted a variance are exempt and shall not be defined as nonconforming.
Obsolete sign: A sign that advertises a product that is no longer made or that advertises a business that has closed.
Off-premises sign: A sign which identifies a use or advertises products and services not available on the site or parcel on which the sign is located; a sign which directs travelers or provides a message unrelated to the site on which the sign is located, e.g., billboards.
On-premises sign: A sign providing the address and name of owner of a parcel of land; a sign advertising a business, service or product sold or produced on the same site or parcel.
Outline tubing sign: A sign consisting of glass tubing, filled with a gas such as neon, which glows when electric current is sent through it. See "neon" and "luminous tube".
Owner: A person regarded as such on city tax records, or a tenant of the premises so designated by the administrator.
Parapet: The extension of a false front or wall above a roof line. Signs mounted on the face of a parapet shall be considered wall signs.
Pennant: Any lightweight plastic, fabric, or other material whether or not containing a message of any kind, suspended from a rope, wire, or string, usually in series, designed to move in the wind.
Permanent sign: A sign designed to be installed permanently in the ground a minimum of forty-two (42) inches deep by use of a steel post, wood post or other appropriate materials.
Political sign: A temporary sign used in connection with local, state, or national elections or referendums.
Portable sign: A sign designed to be moved from place to place, whether or not it is permanently attached to the ground or structure. This includes hot-air and gas-filled balloons, banners, pennants, streamers, festoons, ribbons, tinsel, pinwheels, non-government flags, and searchlights; but excludes political signs, real estate signs, construction signs, permanent changeable message signs, and regulatory/government signs.
Poster panel sign: A type of temporary sign that is used to draw attention to matters that are temporary in nature, such as price changes or sales. "A" frame or sandwich signs are types of poster panel signs.
Premises: The contiguous land in the same ownership or control which is not divided by a public street.
Principal building: The building in which is conducted the principal use of the zone lot on which it is located. Zone lots with multiple principal uses may have multiple principal buildings, but storage buildings, garages, and other clearly accessory uses shall not be considered principal buildings.
Programmable display sign: An animated sign, including LEDs, made up of a field of individual electronic elements or mechanical grids that, when programmed and activated, create still or moving images or words. The elements may be internally illuminated or may be illuminated by reflected light. The sign may be framed by permanent, nonmoving signage.
Projecting sign: A sign, other than a wall sign, that is affixed to any building or wall and whose leading edge extends more than twelve (12) inches beyond such building or wall.
Public sign: A sign erected in the public interest by or upon orders from a city, state, or federal public official. Examples of public signs include: legal notices, safety signs, traffic signs, memorial plaques, signs of historical interest, and similar signs.
Pylon or pole sign: A sign supported on the ground by a pole, braces, or monument, and not attached to any building or other structure.
Real estate development sign: A sign that is designed to promote the sale or rental of lots, homes, or building space in a real estate development (such as a subdivision or shopping center) which is under construction on the parcel on which the sign is located.
Real estate open house sign: Temporary signs which advertise and direct the public to an open house for a building which is available for sale or lease, with the event held on a specific day.
Real estate sign: An on-premises temporary sign advertising the property or structure's availability for sale or lease.
Regulatory sign: A sign installed by a public agency to direct traffic flow, regulate traffic operations and provide information in conformance with the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Residential entranceway sign: A sign which marks the entrance to a subdivision, apartment complex, condominium development, or other residential development.
Roof line: The top edge of a roof or building parapet, whichever is higher, excluding cupolas, pylons, chimneys, or similar minor projections.
Roof sign: Any sign that extends above the roofline or is erected over the surface of the roof.
Rotating sign: See "moving sign."
Sign: Any device, structure, fixture, figure, symbol, banner, pennant, flag, balloon, logo, or placard consisting of written copy, symbols, logos and/or graphics, designed for the purpose of bringing attention to, identifying or advertising an establishment, product, goods, services, or other message to the general public. Unless otherwise indicated, the definition of "sign" includes interior and exterior signs which are visible from any public street, sidewalk, alley, park, or public property, but not signs which are primarily visible to and directed at persons within the premises upon which the sign is located.
Temporary sign: A sign not constructed or intended for long-term use. Examples of temporary signs include signs which announce a coming attraction, a new building under construction, a community or civic project, or other special events that occur for a limited period of time such as a garage or estate sale.
Time and temperature sign: Signs which display the current time and/or temperature.
Vehicle sign: Signs affixed to a parked vehicle or truck trailer which is being used principally for advertising purposes rather than for transportation purposes.
Wall sign: A sign attached parallel to and extending not more than twelve (12) inches from the wall of a building. Painted signs, signs which consist of individual letters, cabinet signs, and signs mounted on the face of a mansard roof shall be considered wall signs. Permanent signs, which are not affixed directly to a window or are positioned next to a window so that they are visible from the outside, shall also be considered wall signs.
Window sign: A sign located in or on a window which is intended to be viewed from the outside. Permanent window signs which are not affixed directly to a window or are positioned next to a window so that they are visible from the outside shall be considered wall signs.
(Ord. No. 783, § 2, 6-19-17)