Sign rules in the Chinatown visitor retail district

These types of business signs are allowed in the Chinatown visitor retail district.

You may paint a sign or apply a sign directly on the surface of your window glass.

• Number of signs: No limit
• Illumination: None, indirect, or direct
• Area: The total area of all window signs cannot exceed one third of the area of the window that the sign is on

You may paint or place a sign directly against a flat building wall.

• Number of signs: No limit
• Illumination: 
  • All hours: None or indirect 
  • Business hours only:  None, indirect, or direct
• Area: 
  • Maximum of 100 square feet, or 2 square foot per foot of business street frontage, whichever is less
    • Example: If business has 25 feet of frontage along front property line(s), then 50 square feet of wall signs are allowed
  • Cannot cover more than 75% of the surface of a wall, excluding openings
• Height: 24 feet or the height of the wall the sign is attached to or the lowest residential windowsill on the wall the building is attached to, whichever is less

Projecting signs are allowed for a business.

• Number of signs: 1 per business
• Illumination: 
  • All hours: None or indirect
  • Business hours only:  None, indirect, or direct
• Area: Maximum of 24 square feet
• Height: 15 feet or the height of the wall the sign is attached to or the lowest residential windowsill on the wall the building is attached to, whichever is lower
• Projection: Cannot project more than 75% of the distance between the street property line and the curb, or 6-feet 6-inches, whichever is less
  • Example: If the distance between the street property line and curb is 8 feet, then a sign may project 6 feet.

A sign may be located on an awning. If a sign is located on an awning, the business may not have any wall signs or projecting signs.

• Illumination: None or indirect
  • Exception: Marquees for movie theaters or places of entertainment may directly illuminate awning signs during business hours
• Area: Maximum of 30 square feet

Freestanding signs or a sign tower are allowed in place of a projecting sign if the building is setback from the property line. If a freestanding sign or sign tower exists, a projecting sign is not allowed.

• Number of signs: 1 per lot
• Illumination:
  • All hours: None or indirect
  • Business hours only: None, indirect, or direct
• Area: Maximum of 20 square feet
• Height: 24 feet or lower
• Projection: Cannot project more than 75% of the distance between the street property line and the curb, or 6-feet, whichever is less