§ 108-239. Findings and purpose.

(a)

Findings.

(1)

The city finds that signs are a proper use of private property, are a means of personal free expression and a necessary component of a commercial environment. As such, signs are entitled to the protection of the law. In the absence of regulation, however, the number of such signs tends to proliferate, with property owners desiring ever increasing numbers and sizes of signs, leading to cluttered and aesthetically blighted thoroughfares. In addition, the competition among competing sign owners for visibility of their signs contributes to safety hazards for both vehicles and pedestrians and undermines the sign owners' original purpose of presenting a clear message of their idea or identification of their premises.

(2)

Regulation of the size, height, number and spacing of signs throughout the city is necessary to protect the public safety, to ensure compatibility of signs with surrounding land uses, to enhance the business and economy of the city, to protect the public investment in the streets and highways, to maintain the tranquil environment of residential areas, to promote industry and commerce, to eliminate visual clutter and blight, to provide an aesthetically appealing environment, and to provide for the orderly and reasonable display of advertising for the benefit of all the citizens of the city.

(3)

The city further finds that there is a substantial difference between signs erected by public authority and signs erected by private citizens or businesses. Signs erected by public authority are virtually all erected for the purpose of maintaining the public safety either through direct control of traffic or through provision of such type of signage as street signs which enable the traveling public to know where they are located and to find where they are going. As such, with the exception of signs identifying government buildings or facilities, virtually all government signs are erected purely for public safety purposes. Moreover, their use in the public right-of-way is necessary to ensure their visibility to the motoring public. The city finds that public utility signs are frequently of the same nature as those signs erected by governmental entities in that they provide necessary information to safeguard the public from downed power lines and from street excavations. Even where signs serve a proprietary purpose, such as identifying markings on utility poles, those signs are marked primarily for the purpose of benefitting the public generally through identification of locations where there may be temporary losses of power.

(4)

The city finds that some signage has a single targeted function and that identification of such signage by description is impossible without referring to its function. For instance, address numerals are used for the sole purpose of locating addresses, which is of benefit to persons looking for those addresses and is essential to public safety personnel responding to emergencies. Signs at the entrances to subdivisions or major developments favor a similar purpose in enabling both the traveling public and emergency personnel to quickly locate entrances for the purpose of either visitation or responding to emergency calls. While such signage is referenced based upon the function it serves within the context of this article, the provisions of this article are unrelated to the content of the speech provided and allow maximum expressive potential to sign owners.

(5)

In considering the appropriate level of sign regulation for the city, the city council has considered planning studies, reports, news articles and related information from a variety of sources. The city finds that advances in technology utilizing LED components results in signs brighter in appearance for LED signs than for signs not utilizing LED technology. While exact measurements have not been determined, some of the explanation for the additional brightness by LED signs is that the field of light projection is diametrically opposed to that of standard signs. Standard sign lighting, whether ground-mounted or platform-mounted, is directed at the sign itself, leaving very little light emission elsewhere; whereas, the LED sign faces the road system providing a brighter, more readable sign. Studies, particularly during non-daylight hours, demonstrate that attention given by drivers to such signs is longer than attention given to non-LED signs. These findings have been reported by such diverse agencies as the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in its March 22, 2007, report on Driving Performance and Digital Billboards and the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation in its December 1994 Milwaukee County Stadium Variable Message Sign Study. As a result of these and other studies pertaining to sign research and information, a compilation of 16 studies and reports, the city has determined that use of LED technology on signage in the city results in potential driver distractions and competing traffic interferences.

(b)

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to permit signs that will not endanger public safety, confuse, mislead, or obstruct vision, or otherwise adversely impact the public health, safety, morality or welfare of the community; to regulate signs to protect and enhance the significant scenic, natural and visual assets of the community and its gateways and corridors; to create orderly and uncluttered zoning districts and corridors; and to otherwise support and complement the objectives in this article.

(Code 2004, § 152.165; Ord. No. 456, 9-16-2013)