19.23.030 Definitions and interpretation.
Words and phrases used in this chapter shall have the meanings set forth in this section. Words and phrases not defined in this section but defined elsewhere in this title shall be given the meanings set forth in this title. All other words and phrases shall be given their common, ordinary meaning, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Abandoned sign" means a sign that was legally erected, but whose use has ceased, has not been used to identify an ongoing business, product, or service available on-site, or the structure upon which the display is placed has been abandoned or not maintained for a period of ninety days or more.
"A-frame sign" means a freestanding sign usually hinged at the top, or attached in a similar manner, and widening at the bottom to form a shape similar to the letter A. Such signs are usually designed to be portable, hence they are not considered permanent signs.
"Alteration" means any change of copy, sign face, color, size, shape, illumination, position, location, construction or support of any sign or advertising device.
"Animated sign" means any sign that uses movement or change of lighting to depict action or create a special effect or scene, or gives the visual impression of such movement.
"Ancillary sign" means secondary or subordinate signage. See "Incidental sign."
"Architectural element" means an integrated component of the design of a building, including walls, windows, entryways, rafters, roofs, neon bands and other physical components.
"Awning sign." See "Canopy sign."
"Balloon" means a flexible, nonporous bag or similar object capable of being filled with air or gas such as helium. See also "Inflatable sign."
"Banner" means any sign intended to be hung either with or without frames, possessing characters, letters, illustrations or ornamentations applied to paper, plastic or fabric of any kind. National flags, flags of political subdivision, and symbolic flags of any institution or business are not considered to be banners.
"Beacon" means any light with one or more beams directed into the atmosphere or directed at one or more points not on the same site as the light sources; also, any light with one or more beams that rotate or move.
"Bench sign" means a sign located on any part of the surface of a bench or seat placed on or adjacent to a public right-of-way.
"Billboard" means a sign structure advertising an establishment, merchandise, service or entertainment, which is not sold, produced, manufactured or furnished at the property on which the sign is located (also known as an off-site sign).
"Cabinet sign" is a geometrically-shaped sign consisting of a rigid frame, which supports sign face panel(s) and/or a background constructed of plastic or similar material, and which may have an internal light source.
"Canopy sign" means a sign that is a part of or attached to an awning, canopy, or other fabric, plastic, or structural protective cover over a door, entrance, window, or outdoor service area. A marquee is not a canopy.
"Changeable copy sign" means a sign or portion thereof with characters, letters, or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged without altering the face or the surface of the sign.
"Channel letters" mean individual letters or figures, illuminated or nonilluminated affixed to a building or freestanding sign structure.
"Colonial post" means a temporary real estate sign constructed of a single vertical post, not to exceed six feet, with a horizontal crossbar from which a real estate identification sign is suspended.
"Commercial center" means a commercial development consisting of two or more businesses. The businesses may be in individual buildings or clustered in multiple buildings.
"Commercial message" means any sign wording, logo, or other representation that, directly or indirectly, names, advertises, or calls attention to a business, product, service or other commercial activity.
"Construction sign" means any structure, housing, device, figure, statuary, painting, display, message placard, or other contrivance, or any part thereof, which is designed, constructed, created, engineered, intended or used to advertise or to provide data or information on the nature of advertising for any of the following purposes: to designate, identify or indicate the name of the business of the owner or occupant of the premises upon which the advertising display is located; or, to advertise the business conducted, services available or rendered, or the goods produced, sold, or available for sale, upon the property where the advertising display is erected.
"Damaged sign" or "sign in disrepair" means any sign which has sustained physical damage or deterioration by intentional or unintentional means or through normal exposure to the elements over time.
"Design standards" mean detailed descriptions of prescribed sign type, size, illumination, location, construction, materials, text, font, and colors for a commercial center or specific site.
"Directional sign" means a sign that is limited to directional messages, principally for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, such as "no parking," "entrance," "loading only," "telephone," and other similar directives, and contains no commercial message of any kind.
"Director" means the community development director for the city of American Canyon or his or her duly authorized representative.
"Directory sign" means a sign for listing the tenants or occupants of their suite numbers of a building center.
"Double-sided sign" means a single structure designed with the intent of providing copy on both sides.
"Drive-through signage" includes any signs associated with a drive-through feature of a development, including, but not limited to, menu boards, height clearance bars, directional signage, and speaker boxes.
"Eave line" means the bottom of the roof eave or parapet.
"Electronic message board sign" means any sign that uses changing lights to form a sign message or messages wherein the sequence of messages and their rate of change is electronically programmed and can be modified by electronic processes.
"Flag" means any fabric, banner or bunting containing distinctive colors, patterns or symbols, used as a symbol of a government, political subdivision or other entity.
"Flashing sign" means any sign which contains or is illuminated by lights which are intermittently on and off, and change the intensity or create the illusion of flashing in any manner.
"Freestanding sign" means a sign supported by structures or supports that are placed on, or anchored in, the ground and that are independent from any building or other structure.
"Fuel price sign" means a permanent sign subject to state regulation, usually of a monument type, containing the prices and grades of fuel for sale at an automobile service station.
"Future facility sign" means a temporary sign denoting sale, lease, rental of a site that is under construction, or future use of a site or building.
"Garage sale sign" means a temporary sign announcing the limited sale, from a private resident, of goods, furniture, clothing, or similar articles.
"Government official signage" means a sign displaying information pertaining to services offered by city, county, state, or other official government agencies.
"Hanging sign" means a sign hanging from a building canopy, arcade, or other structural member.
"Holiday lighting" means strings of lights not permanently mounted to a rigid background between the week of Thanksgiving and January 12th.
"Human sign" means any person, live or simulated, attempting to attract the attention of a motorist by: (1) wearing a costume or uniform; (2) holding a sign or prop; or (3) making physical gestures.
"Identification sign" means, generally, any sign that identifies the business, service, or specific type of land use.
"Illegal sign" means any of the following: a sign erected without first complying with all ordinances and regulations in effect at the time of its construction and erection or use; a sign that was legally erected which later became nonconforming as a result of the adoption of a chapter; a sign which is a danger to the public or is unsafe; a sign which is a traffic hazard not created by relocation of streets or highways or by acts of the city or county.
"Incidental sign" means sign intended for informational purposes as opposed to commercial or advertising purposes. Typically smaller in size, examples of incidental signs include parking signs, restroom signs and entrance and exit signs. See "Ancillary sign."
"Incidental window/door sign" means incidental signs displaying business information (hours of operation, menus, credit card placards, phone number, or other nonprofit activities, etc.) and which do not constitute advertising.
"Inflatable sign" means a sign made of flexible material or fabric that is made to take on a three-dimensional shape (to blow up like a balloon) when filled with a sufficient volume of air or gas. Commonly used as a temporary sign for special events or promotions. See also "Balloon."
"Interior sign" means a sign located more than three feet inside of a building (not a window sign).
"Kiosk" means an off-premises sign used for directing people to the sales office or models of a residential subdivision project.
"Logo" means a name, symbol, or registered trademark of a company, business or organization.
"Lot" means any piece or parcel of land or a portion of a subdivision, the boundaries of which have been established by some legal instrument of record that is recognized and intended as a unit for the purpose of transfer of ownership.
"Marquee" means any permanent roof-like structure projecting beyond a building or extending along and projecting beyond the wall of the building, generally designed and constructed to provide protection from the weather.
"Marquee sign" means any sign attached to, in any manner, or made a part of, a marquee.
"Mobile sign" means signs attached to or painted on vehicles used for the purpose of transporting personnel or goods as part of the day-to-day operations of a business. A sign attached to or printed on a vehicle not used for this purpose is considered a portable sign.
"Monument sign" means an independent structure supported from grade to the bottom of the sign with the appearance of having a solid base.
"Motion picture theater marquee" means a marquee associated with a building containing a motion picture theater (see "Marquee" and "Marquee sign").
"Multitenant" means a building occupied by more than one business or organization.
"Municipal services sign" means any sign specifically sanctioned by the city council that serves a directional or informational purpose. Examples include decorative holiday banners on street lights and civic events such as a Fourth of July parade.
"Mural" means a display or illustration painted on a building or wall within public view.
"Neon band" means a neon light tube used to accent the lines of a sign or building, which follows the building form of the structure.
"Neon sign" means any glass tube lighting in which a gas and phosphors are used in combination to create a colored sign.
"Nonconforming sign" means a permanent sign legally erected, established and maintained in conformance with the applicable ordinances at the time of original installation, but which does not conform to the number, size, placement, or other physical requirements of this chapter.
"Noncommercial sign" means a temporary banner sign located on private property that does not propose a commercial transaction and may not advertise a business.
"Off-site sign" means any sign which advertises or informs in any manner businesses, services, goods, persons or events at some location other than that upon which the sign is located. Off-premises sign and off-site sign are equivalent terms.
"On-site sign" means any sign which directs attention to an occupancy, business, service or activity conducted, sold or offered upon the premises where the sign is located.
"Painted sign" means any sign which consists of paint or a similar substance applied directly to a building surface, such as a wall, window, rafter, canopy support, or applied directly to the surface of a sign face or structure.
"Parapet" means an architecturally integrated low wall, railing, or screen to protect the edge of a building's platform or roof.
"Pennant" means any lightweight plastic, fabric, or other material, whether or not containing a message of any kind, suspended from a rope, wire, or string, usually in series, designed to move in the wind.
"Pole sign" means any sign which is elevated from grade by one supporting member, pole or structure higher than one foot mounted in or upon the ground and independent of support from any building.
"Political signs" mean signs erected prior to an election to advise or identify a candidate, campaign issue, election proposition, or other related matters.
"Portable sign" means any sign not permanently attached to the ground or other permanent structure, or a sign designed to be transported, including, but not limited to, signs designed to be transported by means of wheels; signs converted to A- or T-frames upon approval of a sign permit; menu and sandwich board signs; balloons used as signs; and signs attached to or painted on vehicles parked and visible from the public right-of-way, unless the vehicle is used in the normal day-to-day operations of the business.
"Premises" mean any building, property or other area upon which business is conducted in the city of American Canyon including the parking area provided for customers.
"Primary business façade" means the width of the exterior wall of a business most exposed to public view.
"Projecting sign" means a sign affixed to a building or wall in such a manner that its leading edge extends in a perpendicular manner more than twelve inches beyond the surface of such building or wall.
"Public right-of-way" means any area of real property dedicated to or owned in fee by the city or the public or any other public body, or over which the city or the public or any other public body holds an easement for public street, alley, sidewalk, pedestrian, equestrian, or public utility purposes which is within the city boundaries excluding areas of real property which are on, or adjacent to, the side or rear yard of any parcel or any area within the curtilage of any parcel.
"Pylon sign" means a sign with visible support structure or with the support structure enclosed with a pole cover.
"Raceway" means an enclosed conduit that forms a physical pathway for electrical wiring.
"Revolving sign" means a sign, which all or a portion of, may rotate either on an intermittent or constant basis.
"Roof sign" means any sign erected and constructed wholly on and over the roof of a building, supported by the roof structure, and extending vertically above the highest portion of the roof.
"Roof sign, integral" means a sign erected or constructed as an integral or essentially integral part of a normal roof structure of any design, such that no part of the sign extends vertically above the highest portion of the roof and such that no part of the sign is separated from the rest of the roof by a space of more than six inches.
"Seasonal decorations" means any lights, signs, or accessories which are applied or installed on a temporary basis for the purpose of acknowledging holidays or seasons, but not for advertising.
"Sign" means any object, device, display, or structure, or part thereof, situated outdoors or indoors, that is used to advertise, identify, display, direct, or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event, or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures, colors, illumination, or projected images.
"Sign area." See Section 19.23.080 of this chapter.
"Sign copy" means any words, letters, numbers, figures, designs or other symbolic representations incorporated into a sign.
"Sign face" means the surface, or that portion that is visible from a single point as a flat surface or a plane, and considered as such, together with the frame and the background.
"Sign feature" means a unique, artistic, two- or three-dimensions image reflective of a company's use, product or service.
"Sign height" means the written dimension of a sign as computed by Section 19.23.080 of this chapter.
"Single tenant building" means a building occupied by a single business or organization.
"Site" means contiguous parcels that are linked by shared access and parking. Site also applies to contiguous parcels that share a sign program.
"Snipe sign" means any sign, usually found off-site (except campaign signs), made of cloth, paper, cardboard, poster material, plastic, metal or other material affixed to or upon fences, posts, trees, buildings, people, or other structures or surfaces.
"Special event sign" means a temporary sign used to publicize a special event, such as a grand opening, charitable or civic event, or promotional sales for a period no longer than thirty consecutive days and not more than twice a year on the same parcel. Special event signs require the approval of the community development director for conformance to the city's zoning ordinance prior to installation.
"Special sign district" means a specific geographic area that possesses a unique identity and warrants a cohesive sign program that defines the area as a distinctive economic district (i.e., commercial zone properties adjacent to Highway 29, and/or industrial zone properties).
"Stake sign" means any sign supported by stake-like structures or supports that is placed on, or anchored in, the ground and that is independent of any building or other structure.
"Street" means a strip of land or way subject to vehicular traffic (as well as pedestrian traffic) that provides direct or indirect access to property, including, but not limited to, highways, alleys, avenues, boulevards, courts, drives, highways, lanes, places, roads, terraces, trails, or other thoroughfares.
"Street frontage" means the distance for which a lot line of a lot adjoins a public street, from one lot line intersecting the street to the furthest distance lot line intersecting the same street.
"Subdivision sales and model home directional sign" means a sign within a residential tract or a main street entrance providing direction to a residential land development project.
"Suspended sign" means a sign that is suspended from the underside of a canopy, eave or marquee and is supported by such surface.
"Temporary sign" means any sign that is used only temporarily and is not permanently mounted, such as signs to promote the sale of new products, new management, new hours of operation, a new service, or a special sale.
"T-frame sign" means a portable sign constructed of wire and paper not permanently attached to the ground or other permanent structure that resembles a T shape due to the exterior wire frame.
"Travel directory sign" means a sign to inform the motorist as to the route or direction to travel in order to arrive at the residential subdivision development project for sale or rent to which it pertains. See "Kiosk sign."
"Vehicle sign" means a sign which is attached to or painted on a vehicle which is parked on or adjacent to any site, the principal purpose of which is to attract attention to a product sold or an activity or business located on such site.
"Wall sign" means a sign attached parallel to, but within six inches of, a wall, painted on the wall surface of, or erected and confined within the limits of an outside wall of any building or structure, which is supported by such wall or building, and which displays only one sign surface.
"Window sign" means any sign, picture, symbol, or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service, that is placed within three feet inside a window or upon the window panes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window.