Rules for placing and building signs

Free Ingress and Egress. No sign or support or hangings therefor shall be erected so as to obstruct the doors or windows of any building, or to prevent free ingress and egress to or from any window, door or fire escape of any building; nor shall any sign be attached to any part of a fire escape or upon or to any standpipe or fire escape support, or be placed nearer than two (2) feet from any fire escape platform. All signs shall be so arranged as to swing away from a fire escape or platform.Interference with Public Alarms, Signals, or Signs. No sign or supports or hangings therefor shall be placed in a position or manner so as to obstruct or interfere with any fire alarm, police alarm, sign or any device maintained by or under public authority.Structure. Every sign, together with its framework, braces, angles or other supports, shall be maintained in a safe condition, properly secured, supported and braced and shall be kept in good structural condition.Support. Every sign shall be constructed to withstand wind pressure of not less than thirty (30) pounds per square foot of sign area exposed to wind pressure, shall be rigidly and firmly braced, and where applicable, be securely attached to the building or structure by metal bolts, anchors, chains, cables, or guys.Wood. All wood permitted to be used either for new signs or replacement of existing signs, or for any part thereof, shall be rot and termite resistant through open-cell preservation methods as specified by the American Wood Preservation Association, or by any other open-cell preservation treatment approved by the County Engineer.Projection from Building Line. Except for marquee signs, no sign or portion thereof shall project over any public area or way more than five (5) feet from the boundary of the property upon which is located the building or structure to which the sign is attached; provided, that no sign shall project over any public highway, or interfere with vehicular traffic.Distance above Ground. The lower edge of all signs projecting over any public area, except marquee signs, shall have a vertical clearance of at least nine (9) feet from such public area. The highest point of any permissible sign attached to part of a building or structure shall not exceed twenty-five (25) feet above the ground directly below.Distance above the Building. The highest point on any sign attached to the side of a building or structure shall not extend more than two (2) feet above the part of the building or structure to which it is attached, or two (2) feet above the lowest edge of the roof, whichever is the higher.Determination of Size of Signs. The size of all signs shall be measured and determined in the following manner:When signs are framed on a plate, all of the plate or frame shall be included in the dimensions;When signs are not on a plate or framed but are partly or entirely outlined by a painted border, or if on a plate or frame and circumscribed by a painted border, all of the area circumscribed by the painted border shall be included in the dimensions;When a sign consists only of letters, designs, or figures, engraved, painted, projected or fixed on a wall, the total area of the sign shall include the entire area within a single, continuous perimeter or regular geometric form enclosing the extreme limits of writing, representation, emblem or any fixture of similar character, together with any frame or other material or color forming an integral part of the display or used to differentiate such sign from the background against which it is placed. Where a sign has two (2) or more faces, the area shall be computed as the largest area projected on the vertical plane for each face exceeding two (2).Height of Ground Signs. When not specifically permitted under this Article, the top of any ground sign shall not be higher than eight (8) feet from the ground.