Section 204 of the Saipan Zoning Law of 2008 authorizes the Zoning Administrator to interpret the text of the Law.
Section 1005(c)(4) of the Saipan Zoning Law of 2009 states “The total of all window signs in a given window shall not cover or obscure more than 20 percent of the window area.” However, the Law does not define “window.”
This guideline shall be used to interpret Section 1005(c) of the Saipan Zoning Law of 2009.
“Window” means any opening in a wall or roof that functions or appears to function to admit light to a building or structure.
“Window pane” means an individual piece of glass or other such material in a window.
“Window” means a window pane or a series of adjacent window panes that are separated by dividers less than 12 inches wide. The dividers may be horizontal or vertical and may be structural or nonstructural.
Adjacent window panes set at different angles shall constitute separate windows regardless of the width of separation.
Example 1. A wall has two 2’ x 4’ window panes separated by more than 12 inches from each other.
a. Each window pane would be considered as a separate window.
b. One or more window signs may be placed on each window pane as long as the total area covered is less than 1.6 square feet (20 percent) of each window pane.
Example 2. A wall has five 2’ x 4’ window panes separated from each other by dividers less than 12 inches wide.
a. The five window panes are considered to be one window.
b. The total area of the five window panes is 40 square feet.
c. The maximum sign area would be 8 square feet (20 percent).
d. The signage could be placed as one sign on one of the panes or as several signs on one or more of the panes.
