19.60.700 Signs permits.
A. Permits – When Required. No person except a public officer or public employee in the performance of an official duty shall paste, post, paint, print, nail, tack, erect, place or otherwise fasten, or maintain or permit any sign, pennant or notice of any kind, facing or visible from a public street, public or private right-of-way in the City except as provided herein. To ensure compliance with this section, a sign permit shall be required for any sign, except as provided herein. The procedure regarding application for and processing of sign permits, as well as the procedures for the appeal of decisions thereon, is set forth beginning with CVMC 19.60.800.
B. Purpose of Permitting. All permitting and approval processes required by this chapter are intended to ensure compliance with this chapter and various safety codes, as well as to prevent the loss of time, effort and materials which might otherwise be invested in an illegal sign.
C. Exempt Signs. The signs described in this subsection are not subject to the permit requirement, and do not count towards the total signage which is otherwise allowable.
1. Signs described in other sections of this chapter as not requiring or being subject to the permit requirement.
2. Street address signs not exceeding three square feet in area total per parcel.
3. Symbols or insignia which are an integral part of a doormat or welcome mat, or embedded directly into the sidewalk or entrance surface, so long as such device is otherwise legal and is located entirely on private property and on the ground or sidewalk.
4. Signs used in conjunction with “special events” as defined and regulated by CVMC 19.58.370 and 19.58.380.
5. Any public or legal notice required by a court or public agency.
6. Signs authorized or required by another body of law.
7. Flags displaying noncommercial images; provided, that the total area (one side only) does not exceed one percent of the square feet of surface area of the parcel, the number of flag poles on a parcel does not exceed one per 100 linear feet of street frontage, and the height of any flag pole does not exceed 30 feet.
8. Construction signs which meet these requirements: maximum number per project under construction: one; maximum area: 150 square feet; maximum height (if freestanding): 25 feet; minimum setback: 10 feet from all interior property lines; maximum display time: from the time a grading or building permit is issued and remains valid and unexpired, until the construction project is completed or abandoned.
9. Hand held and portable signs that do not display a commercial message and are otherwise legal or allowed under this chapter.
10. Mass Transit Signage. Advertisements or banners mounted on trains or duly licensed mass transit vehicles that legally pass through the City.
11. On-site informational signs not viewable from the public right-of-way or adjacent properties.
12. Off-site directional signs located wholly on private property.
13. Professional signs not exceeding one square foot in area and located wholly on an appurtenant commercial building.
14. Window signs which otherwise comply with all applicable regulations.
15. Temporary noncommercial signs which otherwise comply with all applicable regulations.
16. Real estate and open house signs which otherwise comply with all applicable regulations.
18. Messages relating to the business of which the vehicle or vessel is an instrument or tool (not including general advertising) and messages relating to the proposed sale, lease or exchange of the vehicle or vessel.
19. Interior Signs. Signs or other visual communicative devices that are located entirely within a building or other enclosed structure and are not visible from the exterior thereof, provided the building or enclosed structure is otherwise legal. (Ord. 2924 § 2, 2003).