The purpose of this regulation is to establish minimum standards to safeguard life and property and promote public welfare and community aesthetics by regulating the appearance, construction, location and maintenance of all signs and billboards. The provisions herein shall be binding upon every owner of a building, every lessee and every person in charge or responsible for who causes the construction, repair, relocation or alteration of any outdoor sign and other advertising structures in the Town with the exception of painting, posting and general maintenance. The following definitions apply to this regulation:
ABANDONED SIGN
A sign that no longer identifies or advertises an ongoing business, product, location, service, idea or activity conducted on the premises on which the sign is located.
ALTERATION
Any modification in the size, shape, height, dimensions, location or mounting of a sign for any reason other than routine maintenance.
ANIMATED SIGN
A sign employing actual motion, the illusion of motion, or light and/or color changes achieved through mechanical, electric, or electronic means.
BILLBOARD
An off-premises sign that is larger than 32 square feet in area.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN, OFF-PREMISES
A sign intended solely for the purpose of directing people to a specific use and not located on the lot which contains the use for which directions are being provided.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN, ON-PREMISES
A sign intended solely for the purpose of directing people to a specific business, department, use area, or destination within a development or lot and which is located on the same lot which contains the business, department, use area, or destination for which the directions are being provided.
GROUND SIGN
A sign which is supported by two or more columns, poles, uprights, or braces placed in or upon the ground, or set within a foundation, and is not part of a building.
MURAL
A painting or pictorial representation applied to or incorporated into a structure or wall, that can be viewed from public places, alleys, or rights-of-way.
NONCONFORMING USE
A continued and lawful use of a sign lawfully installed in accordance with laws and ordinances prevailing at the time of installation.
OFF-PREMISES SIGN
A sign not larger than 32 square feet that is not located on the lot on which the individual, firm, association, corporation, profession, business, commodity, or product promoted on the sign is located.
ON-PREMISES SIGN
A sign located on the same lot on which the individual, firm, association, corporation, profession, business, commodity, or product promoted on the sign is located.
PORTABLE SIGN
A sign that is not permanently affixed to a building, structure, or the ground, is not designed to be permanently affixed to a building, structure, or the ground, and is designed to be moved from one location to another.
PROJECTING SIGN
A sign, generally oriented perpendicular to the face of a building wall, which is attached to a building and which extends more that six inches from a building wall, typically having two viewable sides.
SIGN
Any device visible from a public place which operates and is designed to convey either commercial or noncommercial messages by means of graphic presentation of alphabetic or pictorial symbols or representations.
TEMPORARY SIGN
Any sign that is erected or displayed for a limited period of time. For purposes of this chapter, a portable sign is not a temporary sign.
WALL SIGN
A sign mounted flat against and projection less than 15 inches from a building or structure with the exposed face of the sign in a plane parallel to the face of the wall. This does not include window signs or murals.
WINDOW SIGN
A sign affixed to the surface of a window with a message intended to be visible to the exterior environment.
[Amended 7-8-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-03]
No sign, unless listed in § 285-66, shall be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted or otherwise altered without a sign permit and without being in conformity of the provisions of this chapter. An application for a sign permit must be submitted to the Zoning Administrator and contain the sign dimensions, display surface, materials, illumination, wiring, height above grade, distance from lot lines, and the person, firm or corporation erecting or altering the sign. A permit is not required for a copy change when no change in the existing sign dimension is involved. A permit fee shall be determined by the Town Board and shall be paid to the Town Clerk for each sign application. If a sign is not installed within six months following the issuance of a sign permit, the permit is void.
The following signs do not require a permit, provided that they are not located in a public road right-of-way or in, on, or over public water or erected or maintained at the intersection of the streets in such a manner as to obstruct a clear vision of the intersection.
A. 
Warning signs not to exceed four square feet located on the premises.
B. 
Signs erected by the Town or any government agency or utility, including traffic control, parking restrictions, utility, safety, railroad crossings, legal notices and identification signs for public facilities and events.
C. 
Temporary signs in residential districts including, but not limited to, signs advertising for rummage or garage sales, real estate signs that advertise the sale, rental, or lease of the premises upon which the sign is temporarily located, contractor signs during the time in which a contractor is performing work on a structure or building located on the premises upon which the sign is temporarily located, political signs and the like. Temporary signs in residential districts must not exceed 32 square feet in total area. One sign may be displayed per 30 feet of frontage at any one time on a lot located in a residential zoning district. All signs must be removed within 10 days after the applicable event, such as the sale, lease, contracted work, or election has concluded.
D. 
Temporary signs in nonresidential zoning districts including, but not limited to, on-premises or off-premises signs advertising special events or sales, real estate signs that advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises or business upon which the sign is temporarily located, contractor signs during the time in which a contractor is performing work on a structure or building upon which the sign is temporarily located, and political signs. Temporary signs in nonresidential zoning districts must not to exceed 32 square feet in total area. Two signs may be displayed per 30 feet of frontage at any one time on a lot located in a nonresidential zoning district. All signs must be removed within 10 days after the applicable event, such as the sale, lease, contracted work, or election, has concluded.
E. 
Flags and insignia up to 15 square feet in area.
F. 
House numbers.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection G, regarding off-premises and on-premises directional signs, which immediately followed, was repealed 7-8-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-03.
A. 
Ground signs shall meet all yard requirements for the district in which they are located and shall be limited to only one sign for each street frontage. Such signs shall not exceed eight feet in height and 32 square feet in total area. Such signs shall not be erected so that they impede visibility for safe pedestrian and/or vehicle movement.
B. 
Projecting signs shall not exceed 24 square feet in area; not extend more than five feet from the wall to which it is attached; be at least seven feet above the grade directly below the sign; and not extend above the building's roof.
C. 
Wall signs placed against the exterior walls of buildings shall not extend more than six inches outside of the wall surface; shall not exceed 150 square feet in area for any one business; and shall not exceed 20 feet in height above the street grade. Wall signs may only advertise on-site businesses.
D. 
Murals are only permissible upon the grant of a conditional use permit.
E. 
Business and industrial signs may be internally lighted by a hooded reflector, provided that such lighting shall be arranged to prevent glare and that no sign shall be lighted by a lighting of intermittent or varying intensity.
F. 
No sign or advertising device shall be erected or maintained at the intersection of the streets in such a manner as to obstruct a clear vision of the intersection.
The following signs are prohibited:
A. 
Billboards.
B. 
Animated or blinking signs, signs having moving parts, or signs which may be mistaken for traffic signal devices.
C. 
Signs that have any flashing, rotating or brilliant intermittent parts or lights or bare reflecting-type bulbs, other than reader or message boards displaying time, temperature, and other community messages, reviewed by the Zoning Administrator.
D. 
Signs that create a hazard to vehicular traffic or a nuisance to adjoining residential property.
E. 
Signs on public rights-of-way, except for public entity signs for traffic control, parking and directional signs as authorized by this chapter.
All signs shall be removed or rebuilt by the owner or lessee of the premises upon which the sign is located if in the judgment of the Town such sign is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous or unsafe. If the owner or lessee fails to remove it, the Town may remove the sign at the cost of the owner, following adequate notice. The cost to remove the sign may be placed on the owner's tax bill as a special charge.
Portable signs shall be limited in use to 15 days at a time subject to approval by the Town; provided, however, that such signs shall not be displayed more frequently than four to six times per calendar year at any one location and not more than 60 total days per year. The maximum size of a portable sign shall be 32 square feet on each face, back-to-back. Portable signs shall not be located in any public rights-of-way.
The placement of a temporary sign on a parcel may not exceed 28 consecutive days unless the sign is displayed only during regular business hours and removed for storage at other times. A temporary sign shall not exceed nine square feet in area.
A. 
All signs shall be constructed and mounted so as to comply with state building and electrical codes.
B. 
No sign or any part thereof, or anchor, brace, or guide rod shall be attached, fastened, or anchored to any fire escape, fire ladder, or standpipe.
C. 
No sign or any part thereof, or anchor, brace or guide rod shall be attached, erected, or maintained which may cover or obstruct any door, doorway, or window of any building which may hinder or prevent ingress or egress through such door, doorway, or window, or which may hinder or prevent the raising or placing of ladders against such building in the event of fire.
D. 
Signs must be designed and constructed to withstand winds during typical Wisconsin storm events regardless of location.
E. 
No freestanding sign shall be erected at any location which is not designed and constructed with footings for support of such sign which extend not less than 42 inches below the existing ground level.
F. 
No sign attached to a building which is permitted to project away from the building wall shall be designed and constructed when the attachment to such wall extends above a point of bearing with the roof rafters.
G. 
All signs and structures appurtenant thereto shall be maintained in a neat and proper state of appearance.
H. 
Proper maintenance shall be the absence of loose materials (including peeling paint, paper or other material), the lack of excessive rust, the lack of excessive vibration or shaking, and the presence of the original structural integrity of the sign, its frame and other supports, its mounting, and all components thereof.
I. 
The repainting, changing of parts, and preventive maintenance of signs which completely conform to the requirements of this section, and result in absolutely no change in the appearance of the sign from that originally approved, shall not be deemed alterations requiring a zoning permit.
J. 
The owner, lessee, or manager of a sign, and the owner of the land on which the same is located, shall keep grass or weeds and other growth cut and debris and rubbish cleaned up and removed from the lot on which the sign is located.
A sign loses its nonconforming status if one or more of the following occurs:
A. 
When a sign or sign structure is removed or intentionally destroyed, replacement signs and sign structures must comply with the current standards. However:
(1) 
Repair and maintenance. A nonconforming sign or sign structure may be removed temporarily to perform sign maintenance or sign repair.
(2) 
Unintentional destruction. When a sign or sign structure that has nonconforming elements is partially or totally damaged by fire or other causes beyond the control of the owner, the sign and sign structure may be rebuilt to the same size and height using the same materials.
B. 
The sign fails to conform to the Town requirements regarding maintenance and repair, abandonment or dangerous or defective signs.
C. 
Nothing in this chapter shall relieve the owner or lessee of a legal nonconforming sign from the provisions of this chapter regarding safety, maintenance and repair of signs.
If any word, sentence, section, or portion of this chapter is invalidated by any court or competent jurisdiction, the remaining words, sentences, sections, or portions will not be affected and will continue in full force and effect.