CHAPTER 7
SIGNS
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL SIGN REGULATIONS
SECTION:
§3227 Permitted Sign Area, Encroachment, Height, Number, Illumination And Movement
§3227 PERMITTED SIGN AREA, ENCROACHMENT, HEIGHT, NUMBER, ILLUMINATION AND MOVEMENT
A. Commercial And Industrial Zones:
1. One and one-half (1 1/2) square feet of sign area for every ground level linear foot of parcel frontage. No more than two-thirds (2/3) of this allowed signage to be freestanding.
2. On corner lots the maximum allowable number and square footage of on site signs are permitted for each street frontage up to two (2). Said maximum allowances, however, are not transferable either in whole or in part from one street frontage to another, except when the sign is placed at a forty five degree (45o) angle in the corner of the parcel, in which case site development is required.
3. In no case shall the total square footage of signs on a building frontage exceed the number of linear feet in the frontage or five hundred (500) square feet, whichever is the lesser figure.
4. Signs in commercial and industrial zones shall not overhang the public right of way in excess of four feet (4’).
5. The provisions of this section do not prohibit in addition to other freestanding signs, one portable sign per parcel, subject to the following:
a. Sign area shall not exceed six (6) square feet per side and four feet (4’) in height.
b. The sign shall be removed during hours that the business is not open to the public.
c. In cases where more than one business is located on a parcel, the total number of signs under this section shall not in the aggregate exceed the following:
(1) One portable sign per fifty (50) linear feet of street frontage per parcel. When four (4) or more businesses are located on a parcel under one ownership, one portable sign per four (4) businesses shall be permitted. Except, on parcels within the downtown revitalization district where there is no setback between the building and the public right of way line and a freestanding or projecting sign is not feasible, one sign per business shall be allowed, not exceeding one sign per fifteen (15) linear feet of street frontage per parcel.
(2) The sign(s) allowed by this section shall be placed along the street frontage of the business; or may be oriented to parking areas, pedestrian malls or internal courts on the same parcel.
(3) Parcels with no public street frontage other than the accessway (flag lots) shall be allowed one off premises sign, regardless of the number of businesses, placed near the primary entrance to the parcel with either the approval of the owner of the property where the sign is placed or with the issuance of an encroachment permit if located within the public right of way.
d. The sign shall at all times present a tastefully designed and well maintained appearance. Notwithstanding their temporary nature, such signs shall not be made of cardboard or similar materials which exhibit a makeshift or haphazardly constructed or designed appearance.
e. Notwithstanding section 6170 of this code, signs allowed by this section may be placed within the public right of way, provided an encroachment permit has been issued by the public works department and compliance therewith is maintained. In addition:
(1) Signs in the public right of way shall be maintained free of appendages or conditions that pose a hazard to pedestrians and vehicles, and ensure visually impaired pedestrians can detect the sign safely. Supporting members should be located within the footprint of the sign to prevent tripping; any projection shall be flat and measure no more than one-half inch (0.5") in height above the sidewalk surface. Dome shaped support bases are prohibited. The sign shall not be secured to trees, hydrants, street signs, or any other infrastructure by any means. The sign shall not be illuminated.
(2) Sign placement shall provide for the safe and unobstructed movement of pedestrians and vehicles including adequate sight distance to the satisfaction of the planning director and public works director. The placement of signs shall maintain a minimum five foot (5’) wide clear space on any sidewalk or pedestrian path and be coordinated with other elements to provide for the public convenience, reduce hazards, and maintain an uncluttered and unobstructed appearance. Signs shall be situated so that neighboring businesses and all legal signs are visible to pedestrians and motorists.
f. Deviations from the provisions of this subsection, excluding the requirement for issuance of an encroachment permit for signs placed in the public right of way, may be allowed pursuant to the approval of a use permit.
6. Parcels under one ownership which contain four (4) or more businesses may erect a freestanding sign in addition to other permitted signs are which:
a. Constitutes the single freestanding sign permitted in subsection A5 of this section.
b. Shall not exceed two hundred (200) square feet. One hundred (100) square feet of the total sign area may be used for individual identification signs uniform in size, shape and lettering.
c. Shall not exceed thirty feet (30’) in height and shall have a minimum clearance of ten feet (10’) from the finished grade of the existing or future sidewalk.
d. Shall not contain "reader boards".
7. Regardless of any other provisions to this section, no sign attached to a building shall exceed the roof height of the main building on a parcel. Freestanding signs may exceed the roof height of the main building, providing the sign is thirty feet (30’) or less and subject to a site development permit.
8. Signs in commercial and industrial zones, if illuminated, shall be indirectly illuminated, i.e., shall not have directly exposed bulbs, lamps, tubes or other illumination devices.
9. Signs in commercial and industrial zones shall not flash, revolve, move or be animated in any way.
10. A shopping center, in addition to the signing permitted each occupant on the basis of their frontage, may have freestanding main identification signing with area equal to one-fourth (1/4) square foot for each ground floor foot of total building frontage up to a maximum of two hundred (200) square feet. This signing may be a name, a roster of tenants or a combination thereof. The maximum height of this freestanding sign shall be thirty feet (30’).
11. Placement of signing shall be limited to street frontages and business frontages except sign orientation to parking areas, freeways, pedestrian malls, internal courts or sign programs may be allowed subject to a site development permit.
12. Prepared food, gasoline and lodging businesses specifically related to the traveling public along U.S. 101 freeway within six hundred feet (600’) of the freeway centerline and three hundred feet (300’) of the centerline of any intersecting street within the city limits may have the allowed single freestanding sign at a height not to exceed fifty feet (50’) regardless of the main building height, with planning commission site development permit approval. Sign placement for both freestanding and attached shall be subject to the site development permit.
At such time that a freeway logo board system is in place these special provisions no longer apply and the signs will have to conform to the general provisions of the city of Ukiah sign ordinance. All such signs must be removed in favor of the freeway logo program within three (3) years of availability of the logo system.
B. R-3, General Multiple-Family Zone And P, Public Zone:
1. The total permitted sign area is one-fourth (1/4) square foot for each linear foot of the longest property frontage. In no case shall a sign exceed forty (40) square feet in total area.
2. In no case shall there be more than one sign for any one use in these zones.
3. Signs in the R-3 and P zones shall not revolve, flash, move or be animated in any way, nor shall such signs be illuminated other than by low level indirect lighting devices.
4. Freestanding signs in the R-3 and P zones shall not exceed four feet (4’) in height and shall be either of wood or masonry construction.
5. Signs in the R-3 and P zones shall not encroach into the public right of way.
6. Signs advertising home occupations shall conform to the requirements of subsection C1 of this section.
7. Signs in the R-3 and P zones which are attached to buildings shall not exceed the eaves height of the first story of the main building on any parcel.
C. R-1, Low Density Residential And R-2, Multiple-Family Residential District:
1. One sign not exceeding two (2) square feet in total area attached to the principal structure on a parcel for the purpose of identifying the occupant of the parcel or a home occupation.
2. One sign not exceeding two (2) square feet in total area attached to a curbside mailbox for the purpose of identifying the occupant of the parcel or owner of the mailbox.
3. Signs in the R-1 and R-2 zones shall not flash, revolve, move or be animated in any way, nor shall such signs be illuminated other than by low level indirect lighting devices.
4. Signs in the R-1 and R-2 zones shall not encroach into the public right of way except where attached to a curbside mailbox.
5. Signs in the R-1 and R-2 zones shall not exceed the eaves height of the first story of the principal structure on a parcel.
D. Nonconforming Signs: Signs that do not otherwise conform to the requirements of this chapter and are either necessarily temporary or unusual because of the unique character of a site, may be approved by the planning commission in the form of a use permit. (Ord. 756, §2, adopted 1981; Ord. 822, §1, adopted 1983; Ord. 1106, §5, adopted 2008)