(1) “Abandoned sign” means a sign that, for a period of more than six months, no longer correctly identifies, exhorts, or advertises any person, business, lessor, lessee, owner, product or activity conducted or available on or off the premises on which the sign is located. Signage on a property which is continuously listed for sale or lease shall not be considered abandoned.

(2) “Administrator” means the Director of the Clallam County Department of Community Development or their designee.

(3) “Advertising” means to announce publicly by emphasizing a printed notice or to call public attention to desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize. This also includes logos, borders, backgrounds and accents.

(4) “A-frame sign” or “sandwich board sign” means two usually hinged boards not permanently attached to the ground and generally oriented to pedestrians.

(5) “Alter” means to change the structure of a sign in height, foundation, size, weight, materials or design in a manner that would require issuance of a building permit, not merely the change of copy. This definition specifically excludes the content or message present in the sign.

(6) “Animation” means the manipulation of electronic images in order to create moving images; or a sign depicting action, motion, light, or color changes through electrical or mechanical means.

(7) “Awning” means a shelter extending from the exterior wall of a building and composed of nonrigid materials except for the supporting framework.

(8) “Backlit sign” means a sign whose face is illuminated from behind.

(9) “ Banner sign” means a flexible substrate on which copy or graphics are displayed. These signs can be mounted to a structure with a cord, rope, cable, or a similar method, or that may be supported by stakes in the ground. These signs are considered a temporary sign unless affixed to a building.

(10) “Building frontage” means the linear frontage of a building facing an abutting public or private street. When a building fronts on multiple streets, the building frontage shall be the one building front that would result in the greatest linear frontage.

(11) “Copy” means the words, logos, symbols, or message displayed on a sign.

(12) “Digital or electronic components” means changeable copy that uses illumination (LED-light emitting diodes, LCD-light crystal display, plasma display, individual light bulbs) to display or project copy.

(13) “Electronic sign” means a changeable sign that generally uses a matrix of illumination elements (such as light emitting diodes (LED), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, individual light bulbs, or other digital analog electronic media) capable of displaying words, symbols, figures, images, or graphics that can be electronically programmed to change automatically.

(14) “Exterior-illuminated sign” means a sign illuminated by a light source that is directed toward and shines on the face of a sign.

(15) “Facade sign” means a sign which is attached parallel to and within nine inches of the wall of a building, or vertical face of an awning or parapet which is supported by and confined within the limits of such wall, awning or parapet and which displays only one sign surface. “Facade sign” also includes signs affixed to (within nine inches at one point) or painted on an awning, canopy or roof so long as they do not extend above the primary roofline or more than eight feet from the outside edge of the building. Soft drink dispensing machines will be considered a facade sign if located within nine inches of the building.

(16) “Fade” means a mode of message transition on a digital sign accomplished by varying light intensity or color, where the first message gradually grows faint and disappears.

(17) “Feather, flutter, flag, or blade sign” means a freestanding portable sign that contains a harpoon-style pole or staff driven into the ground for support that resembles a sail or flag made of fabric, or nylon, or a flexible material.

(18) “Flashing sign” means a sign or a portion thereof which changes light intensity or switches on and off in a repetitive pattern at less than one-minute intervals, or uses electrical energy to provide motion or the optical illusion of motion.

(19) “Freestanding sign” means a sign which is supported by permanent uprights, pole or braces to the ground and which is not connected to a building.

(20) “Grade” means the average elevation of the natural ground surface immediately below the sign before construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign; and provided, that when the elevation of the natural ground surface of a freestanding/monument sign is below the grade of the edge of the adjacent roadway, then the height of a freestanding or monument sign shall be measured from the grade at the outer edge of the roadway nearest the proposed sign location.

(21) “Grand opening sign” means a temporary sign of no more than 30 days’ duration announcing the new opening of a store or a complete change in ownership or product line sold.

(22) “Illuminated sign” means any sign illuminated in any manner by an on-site artificial light source. These signs include both exterior-illuminated and backlit signs.

(23) “Illegal sign” means any sign placed without proper approval or permits as required by any applicable zoning or building code and also any sign placed contrary to the terms of time limits of any permit, or out of compliance with any applicable code.

(24) “Legal nonconforming sign” means any sign in existence within the County on the date of adoption of Ordinance 694, codified in the year 2000, which did not conform to all applicable laws in effect on the date the sign was originally erected. Also, those signs permitted under Ordinance 694 that do not conform to the standards herein.

(25) “Marquee” means a permanent, roof-like canopy with an integral sign that extends from part or all of the building face that may or may not project over a public right-of-way.

(26) “Memorial sign” means a sign memorializing a person, event, or significance related to a site, building, or structure.

(27) “Monument sign” means a ground-related, freestanding sign which is attached to the ground or to its base on grade by a solid sign structure and which structure extends from the ground or base to the sign face at the same or greater width as the sign face. Banner signs on fences are considered a form of monument sign and are only allowed to be placed temporarily.

(28) “Multiple-business complex” means a group of structures housing at least two separate businesses or agencies operating under separate State tax numbers, or a single structure containing more than one business with separating walls and at least one outside or inside access for each business which shares a common lot, access and/or parking facility operating under separate State tax numbers.

(29) “Mural” means an outdoor wall painting on a building which consists exclusively of paint applied to the wall or to framework attached within nine inches of the wall and which contains no advertising.

(30) “Noise” means any intended or unintended sound created by the sign or its installed equipment which exceeds 40 decibels as measured from the nearest point adjacent to the property or place of business, whichever is closer.

(31) “Permanent sign” means a sign attached to a building, structure, or the ground, in a manner that enables the sign to resist environmental loads, such as wind, and precludes ready removal or movement of the sign.

(32) “Portable sign” or “movable sign” means any sign which is not permanently affixed to the ground or a structure or building. This definition includes movable reader boards, outdoor soft drink dispensers located farther than nine inches from a building and sandwich boards that are placed so as to be seen from public rights-of-way.

(33) “Primary roofline” means the roofline under which a majority of the square footage of the business is located.

(34) “Real estate sign” means a temporary sign advertising real estate for sale, rent or lease.

(35) “Rotating sign” means a moving sign that physically revolves about an axis.

(36) “Sidewalk sign” means a moveable sign not secured or attached to the ground or surfaces upon which it is located, supported by its own frame.

(37) “Sign” means any object, device, fixture, placard, banner, structure or portion thereof, including any letters, figures, design, symbol, trademark or device that uses any color, form, graphic, illumination, symbol or writing intended to advertise, announce the purpose of, or identify the purpose of a person or entity, or to attract attention to any message, activity, service, place, subject, person, firm, corporation, public performance, article, machine or merchandise or to communicate information of any kind to the public, and which is visible from any right-of-way open to the public. Lighting that highlights an architectural feature of a building and does not consist of lettering, symbols or graphics shall not be considered a sign.

(38) “Sign area” means the face of the sign, including advertising surface, backlit surface, but does not include any framing, trim or molding, or supporting structure. Sign area is measured by multiplying the maximum horizontal width by the maximum vertical width. The surface area of a sign painted on a wall, awning or roof shall be measured by multiplying the maximum width of the copy by the maximum length of the copy. Sign areas may also be calculated by measuring the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the advertising copy, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, including an awning. Supportive framework which contains no written copy or other advertising and is clearly incidental to the display itself shall not be included in sign area calculations; provided, that the sign support structure shall be the minimum necessary to support the sign. For the purpose of this chapter the total sign area of any two faced sign with parallel faces or V-type sign having an interior angle of 45 degrees or less shall be calculated as the area of the larger of the two faces or one face if equal in size. All other multiple-faced or paneled signs shall be the total area of all faces or panels combined.

(39) “Sign surface” means any surface of a sign upon which there is lettering, logos, symbols, or other advertising.

(40) “Sign height” means the vertical distance from grade to the highest point of a sign or any projection thereof.

(41) “Sign structure” means any structure that supports or is capable of supporting any sign as defined in this chapter. A sign structure may be a pole or poles, or may be an integral part of a building. Structures that perform a separate use, such as a telephone booth, bus shelter, recycling or used goods container, etc., shall not be considered a sign structure. Sign structures shall be the minimum necessary to support the sign and shall not depict any product being advertised.

(42) “Street” means a public or private way open to the general public for the purpose of vehicular traffic, including all classes of roadways and easements.

(43) “Temporary sign” means a nonpermanent sign intended for use for a short period of time.

(44) “Under common ownership” describes a situation where one person, corporation, legal entity or related legal entities owns contiguous properties occupied by closely related businesses in which case these businesses will be considered to be one business, operating on one property for the purpose of applying this chapter (i.e., a car dealership may cover multiple contiguous parcels and have several related businesses on these parcels but shall be considered to be “under common ownership” for the purpose of interpreting the provisions of this chapter).

(45) “Vehicular signs” are signs affixed or painted on work vehicles, tractor-trailers, buses, vans or other vehicles.

(46) “Window sign” is any sign viewable through and/or affixed in any manner to a window or exterior glass that is intended to be viewable from the exterior. These signs count toward the square footage of facade signs.