Ordinance No. 131 Consolidated Land Use Ordinance

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2. Development Standards. 1. Wall Signs. Wall signs are permitted on buildings located in the Neighborhood General, Neighborhood Mixed -Use, and Neighborhood Center subzones of the Gateway District. Wall signs, other than those exempted from regulations as stated above, are not permitted in Residential zoning districts and the Neighborhood Edge subzone of the Gateway District. 1. The basic allowance for wall signs shall be limited to 2 square feet of sign area for each lineal foot of building or tenant frontage. 2. Each owner or tenant may have multiple wall signs as long as the total wall sign area does not exceed the allowances established for wall signs. If multiple signs are used on a building facade, the display method (i.e. individual letters, box and panel, etc.) shall be the same for the entire facade. 3. Wall signs shall not be greater than eighty (80%) of the length of the tenant space or the length of the building frontage. 4. Each building frontage or frontage section may be evaluated separately or in combination, but primary and secondary frontages will not be combined for purposes of determining allowable sign size. 5. In addition to wall signs otherwise permitted by these regulations, an additional sign may be permitted up to a maximum of 40% of the wall sign area allowed for the building for the purposes of identifying owners or tenants that occupy upper floors or do not have outside building frontage. 6. An arcade or gallery may have sign space on it relating to the activities of owners or tenants whose entrances are under the arcade or gallery. If the sign on the arcade or gallery is illuminated, 100% of the sign space is deducted from the total available area for wall signs. If the sign space on the arcade or gallery is not illuminated, 50% is deducted from the area available for wall signs. Projecting signs are permitted in addition to any allowances for wall signs when the projecting signs are designed and placed for the purpose of identifying the owner or tenant for a pedestrian walking along the same side of the street as the sign, or under a continuous arcade or gallery. Projecting signs shall have a maximum area of eight (8) square feet. The bottom of the sign shall be a minimum of eight (8) feet above the sidewalk. The sign may project a maximum of six (6) feet from the wall of the building, or be centered under any arcade, awning or canopy. Projecting signs shall not be closer than fifteen (15) feet from any other projecting sign. 8. Wall signs shall not be installed on a roof surface or otherwise project above the top of a building facade. 2. Freestanding Signs. Freestanding signs are permitted in all zoning districts. Such signs may only be erected by an owner or a tenant of a building located on the property for which the sign is proposed. 1. Residential Zones and Neighborhood Edge subzone. Freestanding signs in residential zoning areas may be erected up to a cumulative maximum of ten (10) square feet in display area, and up to six (6) feet in height. 2. All Other Zones. Freestanding signs in the remaining zoning areas of the City may be erected up to fifty (50) square feet per owner or tenant entrance to a building. Permitted sign area may be aggregated into fewer and larger signs at the election of the property owner, provided that the size of any single sign does not exceed one hundred and fifty (150) square feet. Freestanding signs shall not exceed thirty-five (35) feet in height, and signs over fifteen (15) feet in height shall be no closer than seventy-five feet to any other sign. Instructional or directional signs of up to six (6) square feet in area may be erected to satisfy a clear instructional or directional purpose without counting against the total freestanding sign area allowed for the property. 3. Freestanding signs shall be setback a minimum of five feet from the right-of-way line. 4. No portion of a sign shall be in, or project over, a public right-of-way. Updated January 2025 — Gem Lake Consolidated Land Use Ordinance No. 131 100