Section 6.07 General Regulations

Chapter 6 SIGN REGULATIONS

A. Any sign hereafter erected or maintained shall maintain conformance to the provisions of this ordinance and the provisions of the Town of Fountain Hills Building Code.

B. No sign, other than an official traffic sign or similar sign shall be erected within the lines of any street or public right-of-way unless specifically authorized herein, or by other Town ordinances or regulations or by special Town authorization.

C. No sign, including temporary signs, or sign structure shall be erected or placed in a manner that would obscure vehicular visibility; nor at any location where by its position, the shape or color of the sign may interfere with, or obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device.

D. Every sign permitted by this ordinance must be kept in good condition and repair. When any sign becomes in danger of falling, or is otherwise deemed unsafe by the Town’s Chief Building Official, or if any sign shall be unlawfully installed, erected or maintained in violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance, the owner thereof, or the person or firm using the sign, shall, upon written notice by the Chief Building Official, or immediately in the case of immediate danger, and in any case within not more than ten days, make such sign conform to the provisions of this ordinance, or shall remove the sign. If, within ten days, the order is not complied with, the Chief Building Official may remove or cause such sign to be removed at the expense of the owner and/or user of the sign.

E. Any sign legally existing at the time of the passage of this ordinance that does not conform in use, location, height, or size with the regulations of this ordinance shall be considered a protected non-conforming use and may continue in use until such time as it is abandoned or removed. Any change in the sign, including a change of sign copy shall be considered an abandonment, and the protected non-conforming status of the sign shall become void.

F. Except when otherwise allowed, all signs must be located on the lot for which it advertises, informs, or otherwise attracts attention.

G. Sign areas shall be measured as follows:

1. Sign copy mounted or painted on a background panel or area distinctively painted, textured or constructed. Sign area is the area within the outside dimensions of the background panel or surface.

Example Sign Copy Area

2. Sign copy consisting of individual letters and/or graphics affixed to a wall or portion of a building, which has not been painted, textured, or otherwise altered to provide a distinctive background for the sign copy.

Sign area is the area within the smallest rectangle that will enclose the sign copy.

Example Sign Area

3. Sign copy mounted or painted on an internally illuminated sign or internally illuminated element of a building.

The entire internally illuminated surface or architectural element, which contains sign copy, will be counted as sign area.

Example Illuminated Sign Area

4. Number of sign faces:

One - Area of the single face only.

Two - If the interior angle between the two sign faces is forty-five (45) degrees or less, the sign area is the area of one face only; if the angle between the sign faces exceeds forty-five (45) degrees, the sign area is the sum of the areas of the two faces.

Example Sign Face Area

Three or more – For any sign containing three or more faces, the sign area shall be measured as the sum of areas of the all the sign faces.

Three dimensional, sculptural, or other non-planar signs. -- Sign area will be the sum of the areas of the vertical faces of the smallest polyhedron that will encompass the sign structure.

Example Dimensional Sign Area

5. Sign area is the sum of the areas of all permitted signs, except directional signs, street addresses, or safety signs (e.g., stop engine, no smoking).

6. For signs having more than one component (e.g., a service station identification/price sign combination mounted on a common base), the sign area is the area of the rectangle enclosing all components of the sign.

Example Fuel Price Sign Area

H. Sign height is defined as follows:

1. Free-standing sign: Sign height is the distance from the top of the sign structure, to the top of curb of the public road nearest the sign, or to the crown of public road nearest the sign if no curb exists.

Example Freestanding Sign Height

2. Wall or Fascia Mounted Signs: Sign height is the distance measured from a point perpendicular to the top of the midpoint of the sign structure, to the top of the finished floor of the ground floor level directly below the midpoint of

the sign.

Example Midpoint of Sign

I. Signs not specifically authorized herein are prohibited, including, but not limited to the following.

1. Neon signs.

2. Signs mounted, attached or painted on trailers, boats, motor vehicles or any moveable object placed on premises to serve as additional advertising signage.

3. Roof signs, or signs that project above the highest point of the roofline, parapet, or fascia of the building.

4. Any sign emitting sound.

5. Any sign with intermittent or flashing illumination, animated or moving signs, including Electronic Message Center signs.

6. Mobile signs.

7. Billboard signs.

8. Non-electrically illuminated signs.

9. Any non-public signs in public right-of-way or on public property except as otherwise allowed. The town may install signs on its own property to identify public buildings and uses, and to provide necessary traffic control.

10. All portable signs except as otherwise allowed.

11. All off-premise signs except as otherwise allowed.

12. Signs mounted, attached, or painted on trailers, boats or vehicles. Business vehicles displaying signage or advertising, as a normal part of business activity shall be parked in an assigned parking space, which is not immediately adjacent to a street frontage and must be removed at close of business hours.

13. All banners, pennants, streamers, balloons, flags, searchlights, strobe lights, beacons, inflatable signs, except as otherwise provided.

14. Any sign imitating an official traffic control sign, any sign or device obscuring such traffic control signs or devices.

15. No temporary or portable sign shall be permitted within the Shea Boulevard right-of-way.

16. Wall or window signs above first floor of multiple story buildings.

J. Whenever the name of a business changes, the signs on the premises shall be modified to bring them into conformance with these regulations, even though the change is a change of sign copy only. This paragraph shall not apply to directory signs designed with interchangeable letters or panels.

K. Non-conforming freestanding signs, sign structures, poles and other related equipment that have been abandoned or not in use for more than six months shall be removed and building, land or site restored to it’s original state.

L. The source of a sign's illumination shall not be visible from any adjacent residential streets or neighborhoods.

M. No sign shall be erected or placed within any center median or any public sidewalk or bicycle path. The Town employees may remove any sign located in these areas. Directional signs owned by the Town shall be exempted from these regulations.

N. When any window sign or signs are placed so as to attract the attention of persons outside the building where such signs are displayed, the total area of all such window signs shall not exceed 25 percent of the total area of the windows through which they are visible.

(00-07, Amended, 11/17/2000, Prior Text; Manual, Amended, 03/28/2000, Prior Text)