Sec. 326.107. - Maintenance.

(a) Signs shall be maintained in good repair at all times by their owners, lessors, or other users jointly and severally, and, where signs become unsafe due to lack of maintenance, or are otherwise improperly maintained as required by this Section, the Building Official may order their repair hereunder or removal under Section 320.413 . Signs shall be plainly marked with the name of the person erecting and maintaining them. Maintenance required hereunder shall include, at a minimum: (1) Keeping exposed surfaces clean enough so as not to obscure to the public all or any substantial portion of the message the sign is intended to convey; (2) Keeping well enough painted any painted portions of such signs so as to prevent chipping, peeling or flaking of paint which is plainly visible to the public on all or any substantial portion of the sign; (3) Replacing promptly any missing, torn or defective parts or portions of such signs which are plainly visible to the public including, but not limited to: (i) Significantly deteriorated poles, pylons, columns, uprights and braces which, if not fixed, could foreseeably pose a reasonable danger presently or in the reasonably foreseeable future to the public or to the structural integrity of the sign; (ii) Broken or burned-out light bulbs which are part of the indirect lighting or illumination system of a sign; and (iii) All or any portion of the sign facing, lettering or numbering which substantially detracts from the message the sign is intended to convey. (b) For purposes of this Section: (1) Plainly visible means visible to the naked eye of a person with normal vision, unaided by any artificial amplification devices such as binoculars or telescopes (excepting only corrective prescription glasses or contact lenses), from a street, right-of-way, walkway or other pathway from which the sign is intended to be viewed by the public, given its location, upon viewing the sign for the period of time reasonably necessary for persons of average intelligence and reading skills to perceive, read and comprehend the design or message it contains. (2) Substantial portion means any part of a sign which is plainly visible, as defined above, to the public or to inspectors of the Division which is prominent enough in color, size, content or location on a sign to be an integral part of the design or content of the message the sign is intended to convey, and which, if not properly maintained as required in this Part, materially detracts from or interferes with either the design or content of the message of such sign, or with the aesthetic and visual image the sign was designed to evoke, when originally constructed or placed. (c) Any person who fails to comply with the maintenance requirements of this Part within 30 days of receipt by hand delivery or regular or certified mail of a notice of noncompliance from the Division shall be fined $75 as provided by law, which fine shall be paid into the Sign Enforcement Fund under Section 110.340, for each day the subject sign remains in noncompliance, and the permits issued for such improperly maintained sign(s) shall promptly be revoked, and the signs removed in accordance with the procedures of Section 320.413 . In addition, if the fine herein imposed or the costs of removal, if any, are not paid within the times required by law, there shall be imposed against the sign and the real property on which it is located a lien in accordance with the provisions of Section 326.208 and all remedies available thereunder may be utilized by the Division in addition to such other remedies as are authorized by law. (Ord. 71-342-174; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 85-1201-663, § 6; Ord. 86-1523-663, § 4; Ord. 2001-1160-E, § 13) Editor's note— Section 3 of Ord. 80-611-278 waived the provisions of this Section for the purposes of the "Neighborhood Watch Program" authorized by § 1 of Ord. 80-611-278. Note— Former § 900-1602.3; § 334.107.