[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bath 4-10-1989 by L.L. No.
4-1989. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 40.
Street signs — See Ch. 703.
A.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote and protect the public
health, welfare and safety by regulating existing and proposed outdoor
advertising signs and outdoor signs of all types. It is intended to
protect property values, create a more attractive economic and business
climate, enhance and protect the physical appearance of the community,
preserve the scenic and natural beauty and provide a more enjoyable
and pleasing community. It is further intended hereby to reduce sign
or advertising distractions and obstructions that may contribute to
traffic accidents, reduce hazards that may be caused by signs overhanging
or projecting over public rights-of-way, provide more visual open
space and curb the deterioration of the community's appearance
and attractiveness.
B.
This chapter is intended to promote attractive signs which clearly
present the visual message in a manner that is compatible with their
surroundings. The appearance, character and quality of a community
are affected by the location, size, construction and graphic design
of its signs. Therefore, such signs should convey their messages clearly
and simply to enhance their surroundings.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The "area of a sign" shall be computed as including the entire
area within a regular geometric form or combinations of regular geometric
forms connecting all of the elements of the matter displayed. A sign
may be single-surfaced or multisurfaced. The area of each surface
shall be included in the calculation for the maximum permitted area
of the sign.
An advertising sign, structure or symbol erected and maintained
by an entity, which may or may not be engaged in the sale or rental
for profit of space to a clientele of manufacturing service or commercial
enterprises, upon which space there is displayed, by means of painting,
posting or other method, a business, commodity or service not necessarily
made, produced, assembled, stored or sold from the lot or premises
upon which the advertisement is displayed.
A sign attached to or made a part of a canopy.
Any sign not attached or part of any building or structure,
separate and permanently affixed by any other means, in or upon the
ground. Included are pole signs, pylon signs and masonry wall-type
signs. Billboards are not included in this definition.
A sign, whether on its own trailer, wheels or otherwise,
designed to be movable and not structurally attached to the ground,
a building, a structure or another sign.
Any sign which is attached to a building or other structure
and extends beyond the line of said building or structure or beyond
the surface of that portion of the building or structure to which
the sign is attached and not parallel to the face of the building.
Any sign erected, constructed and maintained wholly upon
or above the roofline of any building with the principal support on
the roof or eave structure.
Any material, structure or device or part thereof composed
of lettered or pictorial matter which is located out-of-doors or on
the exterior of any building or indoors as a window sign displaying
an advertisement, announcement, notice or name and shall include any
declaration, demonstration, display, representation, illustration
or insignia used to advertise or promote the interests of any person
or business or cause when such is placed in view of the general public.
A sign which is painted on or attached to the outside wall
of a building with the face of the sign in the plane parallel to such
wall and not extending more than 15 inches from the face of such wall.
A.
All applications per sign shall be submitted to the Code Enforcement
Officer on a standard form approved by the Town Board and available
from the Town Clerk. Upon the filing of the completed application
for a sign permit and the payment of the required fee, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall examine the plan specifications and other data submitted
on the premises on which the sign is to be erected or now exists.
If it shall appear that the sign is in compliance with all the requirements
of this chapter, he shall then, within 15 days, issue a permit for
the erection of a proposed sign or for an existing sign. The issuance
of a permit shall not excuse the applicant from conforming to all
other local laws of the Town of Bath.
B.
If the erection of the sign authorized under any such permit does
not commence within six months from the date of the issuance, the
permit shall become null and void but may be renewed within 30 days
prior to the expiration for good cause shown for an additional six
months upon payment of 1/2 of the original fee.
No one shall erect, alter or relocate any sign located within
the Town of Bath without first obtaining a permit from the Code Enforcement
Officer. Subsequent to the initial application, no permit shall be
required for a sign to be repainted, repaired or have its message
changed.
The following types of signs may be erected and maintained without
permits or fees:
A.
Temporary, nonilluminated, "for sale," "for rent" or "for lease"
real estate signs and signs of similar nature concerning the premises
upon which the sign is located, not exceeding six square feet if on
residential property and not exceeding 50 square feet if on commercial
or industrial property. All such signs shall be removed within two
weeks after the sale, lease or rental of the premises.
B.
Official signs, notices or direction devices erected or maintained
by federal, state, county or local government or an agency thereof.
C.
One sign denoting the name and address of the occupants of the premises
which shall not exceed two square feet; one sign denoting the architect,
engineer or contractor placed on the premises where construction,
repair or renovation is in progress, which sign shall not exceed 32
square feet in surface area and must be removed within seven days
after such construction, repair or renovation is completed.
D.
One sign for a home occupation, not to exceed 16 square feet and
set back 10 feet from any highway right-of-way.
E.
One sign for roadside stands selling agricultural produce not exceeding
20 square feet in area, not to be illuminated and to be set back 10
feet from any highway right-of-way.
F.
Temporary nonilluminated window signs and posters not exceeding 25%
of the window surface.
H.
Directional signs for meetings, conventions and other assemblies.
I.
Political posters, banners, promotional devises and similar signs
not exceeding 32 square feet, provided that:
[Amended 8-14-2000 by L.L. No. 2-2000]
J.
Historical markers, tablets and statues, memorial signs and plaques,
names of buildings and dates of erections when cut into any masonry
surface or when constructed of bronze, stainless steel or similar
material and any emblems installed by governmental agencies, religious
or nonprofit organizations not exceeding six square feet.
K.
Flags and insignia of any government, except when displayed in connection
with commercial promotion.
L.
On-premises directional signs, for convenience of the general public,
identifying public parking areas, fire zones, entrances and exits
and similar signs not exceeding four square feet. Business names and
personal names shall be allowed, excluding advertising messages.
M.
Nonilluminated warning, "private drive," "posted" or "no trespassing"
signs not exceeding two square feet per face.
N.
Number- and nameplates identifying residences mounted on a house,
apartment or mailbox not exceeding two square feet.
O.
Private owner merchandise sales signs for garage sales and auctions
not exceeding four square feet for a period not exceeding seven days
and to be removed within 48 hours of completion of the sale or auction.
No signs shall be erected or maintained within the Town of Bath
except under the exempt signs provisions of this chapter, as follows:
A.
No signs shall be illuminated by or contain flashing, intermittent,
rotating or moving lights, except to show time and temperature.
[Amended 2-10-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 5-12-1997 by L.L. No. 2-1997]
B.
No illumination of signs shall interfere with normal enjoyment of
residential uses of adjacent residential properties.
C.
No sign shall appear or cause confusion of vehicular or pedestrian
traffic in its design, color or placement. No sign shall impair visibility
for the motorist at a street corner or intersection by placement and
location within 50 feet of the intersection of the street or highway
lines.
D.
No sign or sign supports shall be placed on the roof of any building.
E.
No sign shall be placed within 50 feet of any street or highway right-of-way.
A.
Property owners will be responsible for maintaining signs in a good
condition and maintaining signs in such a manner that they will not
endanger the health and safety of the public.
B.
A sign readable from two sides with parallel faces shall be considered
to be one sign.
C.
If a business leaves its premises, the owner of the building shall
be responsible for the removal of any business signs from said premises.
A.
Wall signs.
(1)
A wall sign shall not extend beyond the ends or more than six feet
over the top of the walls to which it is attached.
(2)
A wall sign shall not extend more than 18 inches from the face of
building to which it is attached.
(3)
Any part of a sign extending over a pedestrian traffic area shall
have a minimum clearance of eight feet.
(4)
Wall signs shall have a total surface area not exceeding 30% of the
total area of the wall to which the signs are attached.
(5)
The total area of individual letters printed on or attached to the
wall spelling out individual words or sentences shall be the entire
area within a perimeter composed of not more than two squares, rectangles,
circles, ovals or other geometrical shapes which enclose each block
of letters.
B.
Projecting signs.
(1)
No projecting sign may be higher than the roofline.
(2)
The exterior edge of the projecting sign shall extend not more than
10 feet from the building face.
(3)
No part of a projecting sign shall extend into a vehicular traffic
area, and any part extending over pedestrian areas shall have a minimum
clearance of eight feet.
(4)
No projecting sign shall may be larger than 100 square feet.
(5)
No projecting sign may be closer than 15 feet to the corner of a
building located at a street intersection.
(6)
No projecting sign may be closer than 20 feet to any other projecting
sign.
(7)
In determining the total area of a projecting sign, only the length
and width of one side of the sign is used.
C.
Freestanding signs.
(1)
No freestanding sign or structure shall be located closer than 20
feet to any side property line.
(2)
If for any reason the property line is changed at some future date,
any freestanding sign made nonconforming thereby must be relocated
within 90 days to conform with the minimum setback requirements.
(3)
No freestanding sign shall be more than 20 feet in height above road
level or finished grade, whichever is greater. Such height shall be
measured vertically from the established average grade directly below
the sign to the highest point of the sign, including supporting sign
structures.
(4)
No freestanding sign shall extend over or into a public right-of-way.
(5)
Freestanding signs under which a pedestrian walkway or driveway passes
must have a ten-foot vertical clearance.
(6)
The surface area of a freestanding sign shall not exceed 130 square
feet.
(7)
In determining the total area of a freestanding sign, only the length
and width of one side of the sign is used.
D.
Portable signs. Portable signs are not allowed, except that a new
business or a business in a new location awaiting installation of
a permanent sign may utilize one portable sign for a period of not
more than 60 days or until installation of a permanent sign, whichever
occurs first. Such portable sign must meet all the construction standards
of the municipality and may not be larger than 32 square feet.
E.
Billboards.
(1)
The size of all billboards shall not exceed 200 square feet and shall
not be higher than 25 feet from the road level or from the finished
grade, whichever is greater.
(2)
No billboard may be attached to any building or vehicle.
(3)
All billboards shall identify the name and address of the owner,
person or corporation responsible for the general requirements and
maintenance of such sign.
(4)
No billboard may be located closer than 1,500 feet to any other billboard.
(5)
In determining the total area of a billboard, only the length and
width of one side of the billboard are used.
(6)
Billboards include all signs advertising a business, service or commodity
located other than upon the premises where the sign is located.
(7)
Billboards shall be at least 150 feet from any highway right-of-way.
G.
Window signs. The maximum dimensions of a window sign shall be six
square feet.
Sign permit fees shall be as determined by resolution of the
Town Board.
If any section or part thereof of this chapter shall be determined
void, unconstitutional or invalid by a proper court of law, such determination
shall not be deemed to affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof.
In the event that a sign lawfully erected prior to the effective
date of this chapter does not conform to the provisions and standards
of the chapter, then such sign should be modified to conform or be
removed according to the following regulations:
A.
All nonconforming signs shall be modified by their owners to comply
or be removed within 30 days after the owners receive written notice
from the Code Enforcement Officer to so comply.
B.
If an owner has not complied as necessary with the above provision
and the sign remains a nonconformity, he may apply for a permit to
maintain the nonconforming sign for a fixed period based upon the
remaining undepreciated useful life of such sign as determined by
the appropriate depreciation formula (example: value standards in
use by New York State Department of Transportation). Application for
such permit shall be filed with the Code Enforcement Officer within
six months of the effective date of this chapter and shall include
satisfactory proof of the date of the erection of said sign. A permit
to continue a nonconforming sign shall in no case exceed five years.
C.
A nonconforming sign shall not be enlarged or replaced by another
nonconforming sign. Any maintenance, repair or alteration of a nonconforming
sign shall not cost more than 50% of the current depreciated value
of the sign as of the date of the alteration or repair.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Code Enforcement
Officer relative to the provisions of these regulations may appeal
such decision to the Planning Board of the Town of Bath. The Planning
Board shall then submit to the Town Board of the Town of Bath, in
writing, its recommendation in the granting of any variance from the
provisions of this chapter. The Town Board must find that the variance
is necessary for the reasonable use of the land or buildings and that
granting the variance is in harmony with the general purposes in the
chapter and that such use will not be injurious to the neighborhood
character or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare and that
denial of the variance would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary
hardship to the applicant.
Any owner, tenant, general agent, architect, builder, contractor
or any other person who violates any provision of this chapter or
any regulation adopted hereunder upon conviction shall be guilty of
a violation and subject to a fine not exceeding $250 or imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 15 days, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Each week of continuous violation of this chapter shall constitute
a separate additional violation. In case of a violation of this chapter,
the municipality and its officers may, in addition to any other remedies
specifically conferred by law or ordinance, institute any appropriate
proceedings to prevent unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction,
alteration or use of any sign not in compliance with this chapter.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall be empowered to enforce this
chapter and the regulations set forth herein.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing with
the Secretary of State of New York.
