Article 5. Signs and Billboards.

4-61.   PERMIT REQUIRED.

            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.

4-62.   FEES; BILLBOARDS, FREE STANDING SIGNS.

            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 free standing 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.

4-63.   BOND.

            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 five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars, 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.

4-64.   BUILDING OFFICIAL TO ISSUE LICENSE.

            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.

4-65.   SAFELY BUILD, ETC.

            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.

4-66.   EXISTING BILLBOARDS.

            This article shall apply to billboards already existing and all such billboards must conform to the provisions thereof.

4-67.   APPLICATION.

            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 thirty-six (36) square feet in area.

4-68.   HOW CONSTRUED.

            No billboard license shall be construed to permit the same where otherwise prohibited by ordinance.

4-69.   PROPERTY OWNER'S CONSENT.

            No license shall authorize any billboard to be erected on any private property without the consent of the owner.

4-70.   OFFENSE.

            It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to throw at, mark out or otherwise deface, impair or damage any licensed billboard.

4-71.   LICENSE NUMBER.

            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 (1) inch high, followed by the words, "city license".

4-72.   LICENSE NUMBER, OFFENSE.

            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.

4-73.   CONDITIONS.

            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 five hundred (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 (3) feet above the level of the ground on which it is located, or in cases where the ground slopes, not less than two (2) feet at the closest point;

            7.         Exceed sixteen (16) feet in height above the ground;

            8.         Approach nearer than six (6) feet to any building or to the side line of any lot, or nearer than two (2) feet to any other billboard.

4-74.   RESIDENTIAL SECTION.

            No signs of any kind are allowed in residential districts except those allowed for home occupations as specified by Section 18-29, paragraph 3,c.

4-75.   SPACING.

            1.         In all commercially zoned districts, no nonaccessory sign shall be constructed, erected, placed or replaced closer than five hundred (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 (4) or more traffic lanes shall be constructed, erected, placed or replaced closer than eight hundred (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.

(Added 10/14/98, Ordinance 1998-12)