1. “Abandoned sign” means a sign that no longer correctly identifies, exhorts or advertises any person, business, lessor, owner, product or activity conducted or available on the premises where such sign is located and which has not been changed or removed within 180 days of a tenancy change; or a sign which is damaged, in disrepair, or vandalized and not repaired within 60 days of the damaging event.

2. “Advertising copy” includes any sign graphics, background colors, logos or trademarks which identify or promote the sign user or any product or service; or which provide information about the sign user, the building or the products or services available.

3. “Awning” means a shelter projecting from and supported by a structure or building wall and constructed of a rigid supporting framework and a flexible or nonrigid covering.

4. “Awning sign” means a sign applied to or incorporated into the covering of an awning.

5. “Building” means a roofed and walled structure built for permanent use.

6. “Cabinet sign” means an internally illuminated sign in which a removable sign face (usually with translucent sign graphics) is enclosed on all edges by a metal cabinet. A cabinet sign may be multi-sided.

7. “Director” means the city’s community development department director, or the director’s designee, who shall be authorized to administer and enforce all of the provisions of the sign code.

8. District, Sign.

9. “Double-faced sign” means a sign that has advertising copy on opposite sides of a single display surface or sign structure.

10. “Electric sign” means a sign or sign structure in which electrical wiring, connections and/or fixtures are used as part of the sign proper.

11. “Electronic sign” means a sign designed to allow changes in the sign graphics electronically.

12. “Event” means a current or planned activity or occurrence which involves a gathering of people or solicits their participation. In this context, an event does not include the commemoration of a holiday.

13. “Facade” means the entire building front or street wall face of a building extending from the grade of the building to the top of the parapet or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation.

14. “Flashing sign” means a sign or a portion thereof which changes light intensity or switches on and off in a constant, random or irregular pattern or contains motion or the optical illusion of motion by use of electrical energy. Changing message centers shall not be considered flashing signs.

15. “Freestanding sign” means a sign supported by a pole(s) or mounted on a sign base and not connected to or supported by any other structure.

16. Freeway Interchange Area. The freeway interchange of State Route 16 (SR-16) is illustrated on Exhibit 1, attached to Ordinance No. 788 and available in the city clerk’s office, and defines the area where signage may be oriented to SR-16, subject to the provisions of GHMC 17.80.060(I).

17. “Frontage” means the linear distance of property along a street or highway.

18. “Holiday” includes all state holidays as defined under RCW 1.16.050, except Sunday.

19. “Internal illumination” means a source of lighting concealed entirely within a sign which makes sign graphics visible by transmitting light through a translucent or semi-translucent material.

20. “Landscaping” means the planned use of trees, shrubs and other living plant materials used in conjunction with a sign and other decorative features.

21. “Logo” means an identifying emblem or insignia containing sign graphics, symbols or colors typically used for identification and/or advertisement.

22. “Logo shield” means a logo contained within an area no greater than four square feet, incorporated into a larger sign face or designed as an individual sign or a component of a sign containing individually mounted sign graphics.

23. “Mansard roof” means a sloped roof or roof-like facade architecturally able to be treated as a building wall.

24. “Marquee” means a permanent structure attached to, supported by and projecting from a building and providing protection from the weather elements, but does not include a projecting roof. For purposes of this chapter, a freestanding permanent roof-like structure providing protection from the elements, such as a service station gas pump island, will also be considered a marquee. This also includes canopies.

25. “Neon lighting” means illuminated tubing forming sign graphics or which is otherwise used as an exposed lighting source. For the purpose of this chapter the term “neon” will be considered a generic term for this type of lighting regardless of the type of fluorescing gas or material contained within the tubing.

26. “Neon sign” means neon lighting used to draw attention in any manner, including (but not limited to) neon sign graphics, logos or outlining of a building’s architectural features.

27. “Nonresidential temporary sign area” means the area within the public right-of-way immediately adjacent to the public institutional (PI), downtown business (DB), neighborhood commercial (B-1), general business (B-2), commercial (C-1), residential and business 1 and 2 (RB-1 and RB-2), planned community development commercial (PCD-C), employment (ED), waterfront commercial (WC), waterfront Millville (WM), planned community business park (PCD-BP), and the planned community development neighborhood business (PCD-NB) zoning districts.

28. “Pan-channel” means a sign graphic that is constructed of a three-sided metal channel, usually having a light source contained within the channel. The open side may face inward, resulting in silhouette lighting, or it may face outward to allow full illumination. The open side of the channel may be enclosed with a translucent material.

29. “Portable sign” means a freestanding sign made of any material, which by its design is readily movable and is not permanently affixed to the ground.

30. “Portal sign” means a sign that spans the entrance onto a dock or pier owned and operated by the city of Gig Harbor.

31. “Projecting sign” means a sign which is attached to and projects more than one foot from a structure, building face or marquee.

32. “Public event” means an event held no more than once a year by an individual sponsor, business or agency, and which is on a site normally associated with activities or uses other than the event, and which does not represent or promote a use, product or service normally associated with the site of the event. Special sales or promotions of products or services commonly available on the site, or which are readily available at a permanent outlet or site within the city, do not represent public events.

33. “Readerboard” means a sign face designed to hold readily changeable sign graphics allowing frequent changes of copy.

34. “Residential temporary sign area” means the area within the public right-of-way immediately adjacent to the single-family residential (R-1), planned community development low density residential (RLD), medium density residential (R-2), planned community development medium density residential (RMD), multiple-family residential (R-3), and waterfront residential (WR) zoning districts.

35. “Returns” are the exposed sides of pan-channel sign graphics and cabinet signs.

36. “Revolving sign” means a sign which rotates or turns in a circular pattern.

37. “Roof sign” means a sign supported by and erected on and above a roof, parapet or fascia of a building or structure (shall not include a sign erected on the face of a mansard roof).

38. “Sandwich board/sidewalk sign” means a portable sign consisting of two sign faces hinged at the top and separated at the bottom to make it selfstanding.

39. “Seasonal decorations” means temporary decorations for holidays which do not fall under the definition of a sign and which are installed no sooner than 30 days before a holiday and removed no later than five days after the holiday. Decorations which fall under the definition of a sign must conform to all provisions of the sign code.

40. “Sign” means:

41. “Sign area” means the entire area of a sign on which advertising copy, logos, trademarks, and business or corporate colors are to be placed. Sign structures and associated architectural embellishments, framework and decorative features which contain no written or advertising copy, which are not illuminated, and which contain no logos or trademarks shall not be included. Sign area shall be calculated by measuring the area of the smallest rectangle, circle, triangle or parallelogram that can be drawn around all parts of the sign from the viewpoint exposing the largest sign surface area, including the sign face background, and including all spaces and voids between or within letters or symbols which comprise a single word, statement, description, title, business name, graphic symbol or message. Sign supporting structures which are part of the sign display shall be included in the area of calculation.

42. “Sign graphics” include all lines, strokes, text, symbols and logo shields applied to a sign surface and do not include the background surface to which they are applied.

43. “Silhouette lighting,” sometimes called “halo lighting,” means lighting being emitted from the back side of a pan-channel sign graphic which has the open side of the channel facing the wall or sign face it is mounted to, thereby silhouetting the sign graphics.

44. “Temporary sign” means any sign or advertising display constructed of cloth, canvas, light fabric, paper, cardboard or other light materials, with or without frames, intended to be displayed for a limited time only and not permanently attached to a building or site.

45. “Trim caps” are the corner trim pieces holding the translucent materials or sign faces on panchannel sign graphics and cabinet signs.

46. “Underlying property owner” means the individual or entity with legal title to a piece of property where the boundaries of that property include within it the location at issue despite existence of any easement on top of the land.

47. “Wall graphics” means a wall sign of which color and form are part of an overall design on the building.

48. “Wall plane” includes that portion of a facade which is contained on one general plane. If there is a shift in the facade, forward or back, a new plane is created. A single wall plane may contain windows and doors, but it is generally a solid surface. The fascia of projecting porches or colonnades may be considered part of the wall plane the porch or colonnade projects from for calculating signage area.

49. “Wall sign” means a sign attached or erected parallel to and extending not more than one foot from the facade or face of any building to which it is attached and supported throughout its entire length, with the exposed face of the sign parallel to the plane of said wall or facade. Signs incorporated into mansard roofs, marquees or canopies shall be treated as a wall sign.

50. “Window sign” means a sign that is mounted on, painted on or attached to a window, or is placed within three feet of the inside of a window or opening, or is within an enclosed display window (i.e., the display area in the window is separated from the main floor area by a wall, curtain or screen). (Ord. 1427 § 3, 2019).