14.245.075 Temporary Signs.
The following regulations shall apply to all temporary signs:
A. Types of Temporary Signs.
1. Portable signs.
2. Banners.
3. Construction site signs.
B. General Regulations for All Temporary Signs.
1. Only temporary signs as described in this section are allowed and, except as required by the International Building Code, or as otherwise required in this chapter, do not require building permits or sign permits.
2. Temporary signs shall not be:
a. Illuminated;
b. Inflated;
c. Animated or moving or have moving parts.
3. Balloons, festoon flags, pennants, lights or any other display shall not be attached to any temporary sign.
4. No landscaping, other than holes in sod for signposts, may be damaged or modified to accommodate a temporary sign.
5. Temporary signs shall not be placed on any streetlight, crosswalk, curb, curbstone, lamppost, street sign, utility pole, hydrant, tree or shrub.
6. Temporary signs shall not block the sight distances pursuant to SMC 14.210.150 or create a safety hazard as determined by the City Engineer or his/her designee.
7. The signs allowed in this section are in addition to any other signs allowed in this chapter.
8. Signs that do not comply with the provisions of this section are subject to removal and disposal.
9. Window signs are not regulated as temporary signs.
C. Portable Signs.
1. Except as noted below, portable signs are prohibited within the Historic Business District land use designation area because of their negative impact on the area’s historic character. A City-sponsored wayfinding sign program for the area has been established to serve the same purpose as A-board and sandwich board signs. However, portable signs are allowed on Second Street and Avenue D as those streets are on the edge of the District and portable signs located there will have minimal impact on the area’s historic character.
2. Portable signs shall not exceed six (6) square feet in area or exceed dimensions of twenty-four (24) inches in width and thirty-six (36) inches in height. Feather signs or feather flags which exceed these maximum dimensions are prohibited.
3. The top of portable signs shall not be more than forty-eight (48) inches above the ground as measured from the existing ground level to the top of the sign.
4. A sign permit shall not be required for portable signs.
5. Portable signs may be located on public right-of-way; however, they shall be located so as not to create a safety hazard to pedestrians or motorists.
D. Commercial Banners.
1. Banners shall be attached to a building or fence or strung between support posts. They shall not be:
a. Strung between trees; or
b. Placed on the roof of a building.
2. Banners shall not be torn or faded so the text is difficult to read and should be in generally good condition.
3. Banners shall not exceed forty-five (45) square feet in area.
4. The height of banners shall not exceed the height of the building or fence to which they are attached. If the banners are strung between support posts, the maximum height shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet, as measured from the existing ground level to the top of the banner.
5. A maximum of one (1) banner shall be allowed on a parcel.
6. A sign permit shall be required before displaying a banner.
7. Banners may be displayed for not more than thirty (30) days in a calendar year.
E. Noncommercial Banners.
1. Banners shall be attached to a building or fence or strung between support posts. They shall not be:
a. Strung between trees; or
b. Placed on the roof of a building.
2. Banners shall not be torn or faded so the text is difficult to read and should be in generally good condition.
3. Banners shall not exceed forty-five (45) square feet in area.
4. The height of banners shall not exceed the height of the building or fence to which they are attached. If banners are strung between support posts, the maximum height shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet, as measured from the existing ground level to the top of the banner.
5. Banners may be placed anywhere on a site with no restrictions on their orientation direction except they shall be:
a. Set back at least ten (10) feet from the back of the sidewalk, or if there is no sidewalk, fifteen (15) feet from the edge of the street pavement; and
b. Separated by at least fifty (50) feet from any other banner on the site.
6. The maximum number of banners allowed shall be:
a. One (1) on parcels less than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet; or
b. Two (2) on parcels twenty thousand (20,000) square feet or greater.
7. If both sides of a double-sided banner can be seen at the same time from any vantage point then each side shall be considered a separate banner.
8. No permit is required to display a banner.
9. Duration of Display.
a. Any individual banner shall be on display for no more than thirty (30) consecutive days.
b. There shall be at least thirty (30) days between the display of banners during which no banners are displayed.
c. A site shall not have any banner on display for at least two hundred forty (240) days in a calendar year.
10. Banner signs advertising an event or activity shall not advertise:
a. Events or activities provided off site; or
b. Anything involving the wholesale or retail sale of items/products.
11. Message banners shall not include any commercial content.
F. Construction Site Signs.
1. Construction site signs shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in area.
2. Construction site signs shall only be allowed on sites where an active development permit has been issued.
3. A maximum of two (2) construction site signs may be allowed on a single construction site.
4. Construction site signs shall be removed from a site no later than the date of issuance of the first occupancy permit for the site or two (2) years after placement of the signs, whichever occurs first. (Ord. 2109, 2006; Ord. 2362, 2018; Ord. 2421, 2021)