A. Title. This chapter shall be known as the Bellevue sign code.

B. Purpose and Scope. The purpose of this code is to protect the health, safety, property and welfare of the citizens of the city of Bellevue (hereafter “city”), by establishing standards for the design, placement, size and maintenance of all exterior signs and sign structures in the city. Furthermore, it is the purpose of the regulations, standards and criteria of this code to permit and encourage the design of signs which are responsive to the needs of the public in locating a business establishment by identification, address and product and/or services information.

The rapid economic development of the city has resulted in a great increase in the number of businesses located in the city, with marked increase in the number and size of signs related to those businesses. This proliferation of signs has resulted in a reduced effectiveness of individual signs. As the number, size and intensity of signs increase without regard to quality and placement, the impact of the individual sign is diminished.

Lack of control of signs may cause potentially dangerous conflicts between advertising signs and traffic control signs, thus destroying the effectiveness of both. The great increase in automotive traffic experienced within the city has greatly aggravated this danger.

Furthermore, the uncontrolled use of signs and their shapes, motion, colors, illumination and their insistent and distracting demand for attention can be injurious to property values of both business and residential areas of the city, and may seriously detract from the enjoyment and pleasure of the natural beauty of the city.

It is recognized that the right of a business to identify itself contributes to the economic well-being of the community. This right can be exercised in such a way as to bring great benefit to the public without affecting the welfare of the business. The responsible regulation of signs may, in fact, improve business opportunity and the effectiveness of individual signs as a result of the increased attractiveness of the city’s environment. (Ord. 4818 § 1, 1995; 1961 code § 17.01.010.)