§ 530.010. Definitions.

For the purpose of this Chapter, certain words and terms are defined as follows:

ADVERTISING SIGN

An announcement directing attention toward a business, product, commodity, service or entertainment.

ATTACHED SIGN

A wall sign or projecting sign attached to a building wall or the generally vertical plane of a mansard type roof.

AWNING

Any structure entirely supported by the wall to which it is attached and which has a frame covered by canvas, cloth or other similar temporary material and/or which can be retracted or rolled to the structure by which it is supported.

BALLOON SIGNS

An inflatable balloon of any size which is used to advertise a product or service. Balloon signs are "FLUTTERING SIGNS".

BANNER

A temporary paper, plastic or cloth device hung to attract attention to a business or special event.

BILLBOARD

An off-premise advertising sign, or a sign which directs attention to a business, product, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered at a location other than the premises on which the sign is located. These signs are regulated under "standard outdoor advertising structure" as defined below.

BOX SIGN OR CUT-SHEET SIGN

A sign where the entire sign surface is illuminated from an internal lighting source.

BULLETIN BOARD

A sign indicating the name, activities and/or key personnel of a public or private institution.

CANOPY

Any structure attached to a building at the inner end and supported on the outer end.

CITY

The City of Warson Woods, Missouri.

CIVIC ACTIVITY SIGN

Decorative displays or signs used for holidays, public events, promotion of civic causes or for charitable or not-for-profit purposes and on which there is no commercial advertising.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SIGN

A sign pertaining only to the prospective rental, lease or sale of the property on which it is located.

CONSTRUCTION SIGN

A temporary sign used during construction of new buildings or reconstruction of or additions to existing buildings, such as those identifying the project and denoting the owner, architect, engineer, contractor and/or financing institutions of the project.

DIRECTIONAL SIGN

A sign which indicates a direction for vehicular or pedestrian traffic or other movement such as parking, no parking and other such information signage.

ERECT

To build, construct, attach, hang, rehang, place, affix or relocate, including the painting and repainting of permanent window signs.

FLAGS, GOVERNMENTAL AND TRADEMARK

Any official flag of the United States, the State of Missouri, the County of St. Louis or the City shall be considered a governmental flag. Any flag which displays only a registered trademark, logo and/or corporate name and no other wording or display of any kind shall be considered a trademark flag.

FLASHING SIGN

An illuminated sign on which artificial or reflected light is not steady or on which colors change (and which is not a traffic sign).

FLUTTERING SIGN

A sign which flutters or is made of flexible materials which move with the wind or by some other artificial means, including, but not limited to, pennants, banners, balloons, whirligigs, streamers and flags other than governmental and trademark flags as defined elsewhere in this Section.

FREESTANDING SIGN

Any sign erected, constructed or maintained for the purpose of displaying outdoor advertising by means of posters, pictures, pictorial and reading matter when such sign is resting on the ground or supported by one (1) or more uprights, posts or braces placed upon or affixed in the ground and not attached to any part of a building.

FRONTAGE

The length of the lot along the street side. The front of a lot bordering more than one (1) street is considered separate for each street.

HANGING SIGN

Any sign hanging entirely beneath a canopy, portico or marquee.

IDENTIFICATION SIGN

A sign providing the name, address, hours or activities of a subdivision, church, government, school or institution (includes subdivision signs, subdivision map signs).

IDENTIFICATION SIGN, BUSINESS

A sign indicating the name of a company, product, service or entertainment offered on the premises, which sign may provide price information.

ILLUMINATED SIGN

Any sign which is illuminated by light sources mounted on or in the sign or at some other location.

LICENSED SIGN ERECTOR

A person, his/her agents and employees who has secured a sign erector's license. Licenses issued by St. Louis County or other governmental agencies will be acceptable.

LOGO

A symbol, trademark, insignia, letter or design that is intended to provide an abbreviated form of identification for a business or product.

LOT

A parcel, tract, plot or area of land accessible by means of a street or other permanently reserved principal means of access. It may be a single parcel separately described in a deed or plat which is recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Deeds, or it may include parts of or a combination of such parcels when adjacent to one another and used as one.

MARQUEE

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

A sign attached to or illustrated on the generally vertical plane of a marquee, canopy or awning, respectively. These are considered to be wall signs. Also known as canopy or awning signs.

MEMORIAL OR TABLET SIGN

The permanent part of a building which denotes the name of the building, date of erection, historical significance, dedication or other similar information. These are not considered as signs, provided they are less than six (6) square feet in surface area and no more than one (1) per building. These signs are not regulated.

MONUMENT SIGN

Any detached sign on the same lot or parcel as the use it advertises which has its bottom portion erected upon or supported by the ground, a ground planter box or other supports.

MOVING SIGN

A sign, all or any part of which moves or is so designed or constructed as to facilitate movement of all or any portion thereof by means of any mechanical, electric, pneumatic, hydraulic or other natural or artificial force. These types of signs are prohibited.

MULTI-TENANT RETAIL BUILDING

A building housing more than three (3) tenants, with separate entrances, more than fifty percent (50%) of which building is used for the retail sales of products or in which building more than fifty percent (50%) of the tenants are engaged in the retail sales of product.

MUNICIPAL SIGN

A sign erected by the City for street or other municipal purposes including signs that identify governmental or public facilities.

NAMEPLATE

A sign not larger than two (2) square feet in area identifying the name of a person occupying a building, including, where appropriate, initials identifying a university degree or an occupation of said person.

NON-CONFORMING SIGN

Any sign lawfully in use (advertised a business that was conducted or a product sold on the premises or lot) at the time of passage of this Chapter or amendments thereto that does not conform after the passage of this Chapter or amendments thereto with the sign regulations of the district in which it is situated or with these sign regulations generally.

PERMANENT SIGN

A sign firmly attached to the ground, wall or other portion of a building and not designed or intended to be readily removed or relocated.

PERMANENT WINDOW SIGN

A sign that is permanently affixed to either side of the glass of an exterior door or window. For the purpose of this Chapter, a "glass brick wall" shall be deemed a window. These are only allowed to display the street address,number and business name and hours or the words "open" or "closed" and must be two (2) square feet or less in area.

PERSON

Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.

PLAZA

A lot or series of lots combined to form a single commercial development containing a building or buildings devoted to retail and/or restaurant uses and that is anchored by a grocery store or large general light retail store (over twenty thousand (20,000) square feet).

POLE SIGN

Any detached sign located on the same lot or parcel as the use it advertises which is supported by one (1) or more stationary poles or other sign supports longer than two (2) feet above the mean grade line of the ground at its base.

POLITICAL SIGN

A unlighted, temporary sign advocating or opposing any political proposition or candidate for public office and usually made of paperboard, plastic or other lightweight material.

PORTABLE SIGN

A sign designed to be moved about from one place to another rather than set in or fixed to the ground or other. This includes signs placed on trucks, trailers or other transportable devices. A truck or trailer or other vehicle with advertising signs painted on the sides or rear and parked in a conspicuous location will be considered a portable sign.

PREMISES

That portion of a lot or building occupied by a single occupant, exclusive of common area, if any, shared with adjacent occupants.

PROJECTING SIGN

Any sign which projects more than fifteen (15) inches beyond the plane of the wall on which the sign is erected or attached.

REAL ESTATE SIGN

A sign pertaining only to the prospective rental, lease or sale of the property on which it is located. Real estate signs are excluded from the definition of pole signs.

RESIDENTIAL SERVICE SIGNS

Any sign erected or placed on any lot in the City, which displays information relating to a service relating to the premises on which the sign is erected or placed.

RESIDENTIAL TEMPORARY SIGNS

Any sign advertising a home for sale, garage sales, estate sales and the like to be held on the property on which the sign is located.

ROOF SIGN

Any sign erected on a roof but excluding marquee and canopy signs and excluding wall or projecting signs which do not project greater than twenty-four (24) inches above a parapet wall. The generally vertical plane of a mansard type roof shall be interpreted as the same as a wall of a building. Roof signs are prohibited.

SHOPPING CENTER

A shopping center is a group of retail stores, planned and developed for the site upon which they are built and owned or managed as a unit and designated as such by filing in the office of the City Clerk a declaration showing the legal boundaries of such center and listing the name and address of the owner and manager thereof.

SIGHT TRIANGLE

Generally, a triangular-shaped portion of land at a street intersection in which nothing shall be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner as to materially impede, limit or obstruct the sight distance or vision of motorists entering or leaving the intersection.

SIGN

An identification, description, illustration affixed to or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or land, or a structure or part of a structure, including structural trim, that displays or upon which is displayed any colors, message, name, logo or symbol of any kind for the purpose of advertising, announcing, directing or attracting attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution or business from persons located outside a building. Sign supports are not part of a sign.

SIGN AREA

The area of the sign face. If a sign is attached to a building or suspended in any manner whereby there is no apparent trim or confining border, the sign area shall be computed by drawing an imaginary straight line around a generally rectangular margin and measuring the area so encompassed by these lines.

SIGN FACING OR SURFACE

Any surface of a sign upon, against or through which the advertising message is displayed or illustrated, including structural trim, which displays or upon which is displayed any color, message (including any informational or letter-board portion), name or symbol of any kind for the purpose of advertising, announcing, directing or attracting attention from persons located outside of a building and which can be seen from a single location on an adjacent street provided that the ends or thickness of a sign shall not be counted as a separate sign face unless an advertising message is conveyed thereon.

SIGN STRUCTURE

The sign and all parts associated with its construction including the sign supports and the sign facing or surface.

SIGN SUPPORTS

All structures by which a sign is held up including, for example, poles, braces, guys and anchors.

STANDARD OUTDOOR ADVERTISING STRUCTURE

All signs which advertise products or businesses which are not located on the same premises as the sign, including billboards, detached pole signs on separate parcels, wall signs and signs otherwise attached to buildings and/or supported by uprights or braces on the ground. Real estate signs are excluded from this definition.

STREET ADDRESS

The official street number of a building location as determined by the U.S. Post Office. These numbers are automatically allowed to all businesses and residences provided they are two (2) square feet or less in size. No permit is needed.

STREET BANNER

A cloth sign stretched across and above a City street.

STRUCTURAL TRIM

The molding, battens, cappings, nailing strips, latticing and platforms which are attached to the sign structure.

SUBDIVISION MAP SIGN

A street map of any area placed on a sign. These are considered as identification signs.

SUBDIVISION REAL ESTATE SIGN

A temporary real estate sign advertising an entire residential subdivision.

SUBDIVISION SIGN

A marker identifying a subdivision entry, subdivision name and/or street names within the subdivision.

TEMPORARY SIGN

Any sign intended for a limited or intermittent period of display.

TEMPORARY WINDOW SIGN

A temporary sign affixed to the inside of an exterior window or glass door. These are limited to a thirty (30) day time period.

WALL SIGN

Any sign erected or attached against the wall of any building with the plane of the face parallel to the plane of the wall below the roof line. Any wall sign projecting more than fifteen (15) inches from the wall is prohibited as a projecting sign.

R.O. 2012 §545.010; Ord. No. 1295 §4, 8-19-2003; Ord. No. 1331 §1, 12-21-2004