For the purpose of protecting life and property it is hereby
made unlawful to construct or maintain or cause to be constructed
or maintained any billboard without first securing a permit therefor
from the City Building Official and strictly complying with the provisions
of this article.
1.
The permit charged for each and every billboard shall be determined
by the City Commission. All licenses shall be due and payable before
any billboard is erected or used.
2.
Fees for freestanding signs will be based on value and calculated as set out in Building Permit, Section 4-15 of this Code.
3.
Applications for sign permits shall contain all applicable information
required on the sign permit form, and shall be accompanied by drawings
of proposed work, clearly indicating the size and material of sign
or billboard.
Every person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of
constructing and maintaining billboards shall file with the City Clerk
a bond with sufficient surety to be approved by the Board of Commissioners
in the sum of $5,000, conditional that such person, firm or corporation
shall hold the municipality free from all damages, loss, expense or
decrees which may be secured against the municipality on account of
the construction or maintenance of any billboard.
All licenses must be paid for in advance to the Building Official
who shall issue his receipt therefor, upon payment of the required
fees, the Building Official shall issue a license permitting construction
or maintenance or both of such billboards. No free license shall be
granted or rebate allowed for the occupation or business covered hereby,
for any cause, nor any sum accepted less than the amount herein specified,
nor for a shorter period of time than herein stated.
No billboard or billboards shall be erected in an unsafe manner
or in any sense dangerous to life or property nor shall such billboard
be used to display any obscene or immoral pictures or language. Each
billboard shall have printed thereon, in clear view, the name of its
owner. For breach of any of the provisions of this article, the license
shall be revoked and no further license shall be issued to said party
except upon satisfactory proof to the Board of Commissioners that
the party's intent and ability to meet the provisions of this section
has been established.
This article shall apply to billboards already existing and
all such billboards must conform to the provisions thereof.
This article shall not apply to billboards or signboards attached
to the surface of a permanent building and designed to give publicity
to any business carried on in such building or to billboards used
to advertise the sale or lease of the property upon which they shall
be erected when same do not exceed 36 square feet in area.
No billboard license shall be construed to permit the same where
otherwise prohibited by ordinance.
No license shall authorize any billboard to be erected on any
private property without the consent of the owner.
It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to throw
at, mark out or otherwise deface, impair or damage any licensed billboard.
Each and every billboard which is erected or operated under
a city license shall have the license number marked on the front side
thereof in a plain and conspicuous place in letters not less than
one inch high, followed by the words, "city license".
Any person who shall put an unauthorized name or license number
on a billboard shall commit an offense and each day the same remains
shall be a separate offense.
It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain or cause to be
constructed or maintained, any billboard in such a manner as to:
1.
Obstruct the free use of the streets, alleys or sidewalks;
2.
Be dangerous to the public by falling or blowing down;
3.
Exceed 500 square feet in area;
4.
Obstruct the view of railroad or street crossings;
5.
Increase the danger of loss by fire or increase the rate for fire
insurance;
6.
Be less than three feet above the level of the ground on which it
is located, or in cases where the ground slopes, not less than two
feet at the closest point;
7.
Exceed 16 feet in height above the ground;
8.
Approach nearer than six feet to any building or to the side line
of any lot, or nearer than two feet to any other billboard.
No signs of any kind are allowed in residential districts except those allowed for home occupations as specified by Section 18-29, paragraph 3c.
[Added 10-14-1998, Ordinance
1998-12]
1.
In all commercially zoned districts, no nonaccessory sign shall be
constructed, erected, placed or replaced closer than 500 feet from
another nonaccessory sign facing in the same direction and on the
same side of the street or highway.
2.
Regardless of the applicable zoning, no sign displayed to be read
from a divided, limited access roadway with four or more traffic lanes
shall be constructed, erected, placed or replaced closer than 800
feet to another nonaccessory sign facing in the same direction and
on the same side of the roadway from which the sign is intended to
be read.
