§ 31.5-67. Ground signs.

(a)

Ground signs may be permitted in any zoning district, except (subject to section 31.5-74 and section 31.5-141) residential districts.

(b)

The maximum height of any ground sign in a commercial, industrial or agricultural district shall be twelve (12) feet, except that a monument-style ground sign may be a maximum of fifteen (15) feet in height, provided it has a solid structural base and generally maintains the same width from bottom to top, and is compatible with the architectural style of the principal building or structure. The maximum height of any ground sign in a professional-office district shall be ten (10) feet. If a ground sign on a commercial, industrial, agricultural, or professional-office parcel is located within one hundred (100) feet of a residential district, and no right-of-way exists between the sign and the residential district, the maximum height of the sign shall be eight (8) feet. The maximum height of a ground sign in a residential district shall be eight (8) feet. Any sign that would otherwise fall within the definition of a ground sign and proposed through a variance application to be more than fifteen (15) feet in height shall be deemed to be a pole sign, and therefore subject to the applicable provisions regulating pole signs.

(c)

The height of any ground sign shall be measured from the finished grade level to the top of the sign face.

(d)

The maximum clearance of the bottom of the sign face of any ground sign shall be two (2) feet from the finished grade level.

(e)

A maximum number of one (1) ground sign may be permitted per parcel, provided that any pole signs and ground signs on the parcel shall be separated by a distance of not less than one hundred (100) feet.

(f)

Notwithstanding subsection (e), a maximum number of two (2) ground signs may be permitted on a parcel with a right-of-way frontage in excess of four hundred (400) linear feet, provided that any pole signs and ground signs on the parcel shall be separated from each other by a distance of not less than one hundred (100) feet, and that any ground sign shall be separated from any other ground sign on the parcel by a distance of not less than one hundred (100) feet.

(g)

The minimum setbacks for any ground sign shall be ten (10) feet from any right-of-way line, ten (10) feet from any side property line, ten (10) feet from the rear property line and twenty (20) feet from any residential district where no right-of-way exists between the sign and the residential district.

(h)

Subject to subsection (i), the maximum allowable copy area of any ground sign on a parcel in a commercial, industrial or agricultural district shall be one hundred twenty (120) square feet per sign face, and the maximum allowable copy area of any ground sign on a parcel in a professional-office district shall be one hundred (100) square feet per sign face. If a sign on a commercial, industrial, agricultural, or professional-office parcel is located within one hundred (100) feet of a residential district and no right-of-way exists between the sign and the residential district, the maximum allowable copy area shall be thirty-two (32) square feet per sign face.

(i)

The minimum allowable copy area for each individual tenant on a multitenant ground sign shall be twelve (12) square feet per sign face.

(j)

A ground sign shall not be erected on unimproved property.

(k)

Big box development (defined in section 38-1, Orange County Code) shall be allowed to display ground signs measuring no larger than one hundred (100) square feet, with a maximum height of twelve (12) feet.

(Ord. No. 90-10, § 4(a)(1), 5-21-90; Ord. No. 94-14, § 12, 7-26-94; Ord. No. 2007-01 , § 10, 3-20-07; Ord. No. 2015-17 , § 7, 9-22-15)