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ORDINANCE NO. NS-1210 PAGE THREE Sec. 41-619.17. Same - Provisions pertaining to variances. In any case where an application is submitted for a variance to maintain an amortized nonconforming sign, the provisions of Article V of this chapter shall apply, except that the provisions of this section shall be controlling to the extent they apply to any such application. (1) In any case where the requirements imposed in section 41-619.14 would operate to prevent the sign owner from recovering his investment costs in the sign from the income produced by the sign for the sign owner or for his predecessors in interest in the sign, a variance may be granted permitting the continued use of the sign for a period of time necessary to allow such recovery, subject to the provision of this section. (2) Any sign which has been fully depreciated for federal income tax purposes shall be conclusively presumed to have provided the sign owner with recovery of investment costs for purposes of paragraph (1) of this section. Any amortized nonconforming sign shall be presumed to have been fully depreciated for federal income tax purposes in the absence of evidence to the contrary submitted by the applicant at the time of application for a variance. (3) Investment costs shall include expenditures for construction, alteration, improvement, repair and maintenance of the sign which were incurred prior to the time the sign became nonconforming to the pro- visions of the Sign Ordinance of the City of Santa Ana and shall not include any such expenditures incurred thereafter. (4) Nothing herein shall preclude the applicant from receiving a variance pursuant to the standards set forth in section 41-638 of this chapter in addition to or in lieu of the grounds set forth in subsection (1) of this section. The application for a variance shall set forth the grounds upon which the variance is claimed. In any case where an application is submitted for a variance to maintain an amortized non- conforming sign, the application may be made by the sign owner and need not contain the signature or other authorization of the record owner of the property upon which the sign is located. (5) In granting a variance for the continued maintenance of an amortized nonconforming sign, the Planning Commission or, on appeal, the City Council may set a date for the expiration of the variance not to exceed ten (lO) years from the date of the grant, as part of the conditions for the grant, based upon a finding that the period of time for such continued maintenance is necessary and reasonable to allow the sign owner to recover investment costs or to substantially mitigate the hardship which would be imposed by denial of a variance. In the absence of any such express provision, any variance granted for an amortized nonconforming sign shall expire upon a date which is ten (lO) years from the date upon which the variance was granted. In any case where a variance granted to an amortized nonconforming sign has expired or is due to expire within a one (1) year period, the sign owner may apply for a new variance. SECTION 3: That Section 41-619.55 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-619.55. Location of off-premise advertising signs. (a) Off-premise advertising signs and sign structures are not permitted and shall not be constructed or maintained in any use district other than in the C 2, C 3, M 1 and M 2 -3-