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of wall signs also include:signs on parapets,wingwalls,and Suspended Signs other nonstructural flat surfaces, which may or may not As typically used in sign regulations, the term have'been built as sign surface;signs attached flush with a "suspended"refers to a sign hanging down from a porch or structural wall but extending above it; signs painted on or other structural element that would exist with or without the attached flush with a functional roof surface. sign.Thus,although many projecting signs are suspended from some sort of bracket or other structural member,they Roof Signs typically do not fall in this category. Suspended signs are There is no common definition of a roof sign.Some com- often little more than duplicate address signs or nameplates munities refer to a freestanding sign that happens to be on to provide orientation to a.pedestrian who cannot see the a rooftop (often found on older, flat-roofed commercial large wall sign above the porch or portico on the front of the buildings)as a roof-sign, and many communities prohibit building.Such signs are usually small and relatively unob- such signs.Some communities refer to anything that extends trusive. Because they often overhang a public sidewalk, above the top of the highest wall of the building and that some communities also impose clearance and insurance re- does not project horizontally as a roof sign. Other com- quirements on them. munities have definitions carefully drafted to include as roof signs such devices as the Pizza Hut'sign, integrated into a Marquee Signs gambrel roof,or the 7/11 sign, integrated into a fake man- Definitions of marquee signs usually include any movie- sard porch.Whether roof signs are prohibited,severely re- type marquee with manually changeable copy.Some defini- stricted, or simply treated as another classification of sign tions focus on the triangular projecting marquees depends in large part on the definition. characteristic of old movie theaters,but most definitions in- As a practical matter,much if not all of the energy spent clude all types. Electronic marquees are often treated in defining roof signs is wasted.The issue of whether or not separately because of the lighting issue(see the discussion of a sign should be allowed to project above the top of the lighting in a subsequent section of this chapter) but are highest wall or the highest functional part of a structure is sometimes included with manually changeable marquees. basically a dimensional issue(see the section on sign dimen- Note that marquee signs will also be classified as freestand- sions in this chapter).For purposes of measuring sign area, ing,pole,wall,or projecting signs.The principal reason for there may be valid reasons for distinguishing between defining marquee signs separately is usually an unwarranted freestanding signs and signs attached to a building on the concern about the possible abuses of manually changing same site, but there is little reason for having separate copy.If a community can resign itself to the possibility that number and area rules for roof signs and wall signs on the such a sign may,quite legally and legitimately,someday be same building.Thus,roof signs can simply be included in the changed to read"Impeach the Mayor,"such signs can be same classification as wall signs (whether or not they are regulated simply by their structural characteristics. called something else)and regulated accordingly. Window/Door Signs Canopy and Awning Signs Window and door signs are simply signs on windows and Merchants in downtown areas and in strip commercial doors.Although there may be a valid reason for prohibiting centers sometimes install awnings or canopies on or in front the obstruction of more than a specified percentage of the of their businesses and integrate signs into the awning or glass area of a business,there is usually little other reason to canopy.Awning and canopy signs include signs on tradi- regulate window and door signs separately from other signs tional canvas awnings, signs on the edges of structural on the front or sides of a building.Note that some window canopies,and translucent plastic canopies that use dark let- signs may be permanently painted onto the window,while ters or logos on a lighted background. Some communities others may be temporary paper signs. consider signs such as 7/11 signs in the fake mansard porch The principal concerns with window and door signs are covers to be canopy signs rather than roof signs.All such that they create clutter and that they block views in and out; signs are,in a sense,a type of wall sign and should generally the latter issue is often a security concern because such signs be counted as such in determining permissible sign area. might make it impossible for police to see into a business However, separate regulation of this sign type may be while passing by.Both of these issues can be addressed by justified in order to allow it in some districts while pro- regulating the amount of sign coverage allowed.Complex hibiting it in others. definitions are not necessary. Projecting Signs Billboards Many modern sign regulations prohibit signs that are in- Most local sign regulations address the issue of billboards stalled perpendicular to or at an angle to a building wall. by distinguishing between on-premises signs and off- Even when they are permitted, projecting signs are often premises signs,with the latter more heavily restricted.For treated in a separate sign classification because of the legal reasons discussed both in this chapter and in the next,such and practical issues that arise when such a sign projects over a distinction raises difficult legal and planning issues. a public street or sidewalk.Thus,local regulations often in- A better approach to the billboard issue is to address it clude clearance requirements for projecting signs,and many through a combination of size and number regulations and require that owners of projecting signs furnish proof of in- through special limitations applying to signs of a certain surance in case the sign should fall on someone walking classification.The simplest way to regulate billboards,with- by. Such additional restrictions can be both useful and out addressing content, is to define a billboard as a sign necessary. located on a zone lot not containing a building and to include 5