This article is intended to:
A.Â
Provide for signs as a means of effective visual communication;
B.Â
Promote adopted comprehensive planning and zoning
objectives;
C.Â
Assure compatibility of signs with land uses and buildings
in the vicinity of the signs and in the community as a whole;
D.Â
Improve the safety of pedestrians, vehicular traffic,
and property;
E.Â
Enhance the economic value of the community;
F.Â
Enhance the aesthetic environment;
G.Â
Minimize adverse effects of signs on nearby property;
H.Â
Otherwise promote the public health, safety, morals,
and general welfare of the community;
I.Â
Regulate the use of signs through a sign permitting
process; and
J.Â
Enable the fair and consistent enforcement of these
sign regulations.
The following definitions of "sign" and kinds
of signs shall apply to those terms whenever they appear in this article:
An off-premises, permanent sign that directs attention to
a product, service, business, or cause.
A sign attached to or painted on a building that has a use
in addition to supporting the sign; this includes wall signs and roof
signs. A building sign may also be placed on an awning of a building
that projects a maximum of 48 inches from the building wall.
A business sign that provides identification at the main
entrance to a center such as a shopping center, office complex, or
industrial park.
A sign that directs attention to any business, professional,
commercial, or industrial activity occurring on the premises on which
the sign is located, but not including a home occupation sign. (Also
see "business center sign.")
A temporary sign that carries the name and information about
a contractor who is involved in construction work occurring on the
premises or the institution or agency financing the construction on
which the sign is located.
A temporary sign that directs attention to a candidate or
candidates for public office, a political party, or a ballot issue.
A sign not attached to or painted on a building or a sign
attached to or painted on a building that has no use in addition to
supporting the sign.
A temporary sign that directs attention to the sale of personal
goods on the premises on which the sign is located.
An off-premises sign placed by a governmental unit, such
as a traffic, directional, informational, or street name sign or an
historical marker.
A sign providing information about a business activity conducted
within a dwelling unit on the premises on which the sign is located.
A sign used to identify the name and display information
about the individual, organization, agency, institution, facility,
or development located on the premises on which the sign is located,
but not including a business sign. (Also see "development sign" and
"public use sign".)
An informational sign, no more than two square feet in size,
that carries a message such as "enter," "open," "telephone," "rest
rooms," "no parking," "no trespassing," "warning," a listing of hours
when open, an on-site direction, or anything similar. Incidental signs
may not include any commercial message or logo, except that one "enter"
sign per entrance may include a logo or business name, as long as
the entrance is exclusively for that business and the logo or business
name is subordinate to the word "enter."
A temporary sign that directs attention to an opinion of
a public or private nature, such as but not limited to a community,
social, or religious issue.
An off-premises sign displaying information about a place
of worship, service club, or other organization that does not operate
for the purpose of making a profit.
A sign that does not apply to the property on which it is
displayed.
A sign that applies to the property on which it is displayed.
A temporary sign that provides information about a real estate
open house, including the words "open house," the day and time of
the open house, and the name of the realtor.
A sign located such that pedestrian or vehicular traffic
might pass beneath any part of it.
A sign intended to be displayed for an unlimited period of
time.
A flat, two-sided sign that extends perpendicular outward
from the front of a building and which may extend over a sidewalk
if authorized under this article.
An identification sign used to identify the name and display
information about a public use, such as a government building, school,
park, firehouse, or church.
A sign with a message relating to a business organization
performing a public service and subject to special governmental regulations
(e.g., an electric company, sewer authority, or telephone company).
A temporary sign that provides information about a real estate
activity on the premises on which the sign is located, such as a sign
advertising a sale, rental, or property available for or in the process
of development, but not including an open house sign.
An identification sign at the entrance to a residential development.
A sign attached to or painted on a roof.
A temporary sign placed on the sidewalk adjacent to the commercial
activity it advertises, but not including a contractor sign, a garage/yard
sale sign, a home occupation sign, an open house sign, a real estate
sign, or a special event sign.
A device for visual communication that is used to bring the
subject to the attention of the public. Signs do include lettering,
logos, trademarks, or other symbols that are an integral part of the
architectural design of a building, that are applied to a building,
or that are located elsewhere on the premises; signs affixed to windows
or glass doors or otherwise internally mounted such that they are
obviously intended to be seen and understood by vehicular or pedestrian
traffic outside the building; flags and insignia of civic, charitable,
religious, fraternal, patriotic, or similar organizations; insignia
of governments or government agencies; banners, streamers, pennants,
spinners, reflectors, ribbons, tinsel, and similar materials; and
inflatable objects. Signs do not include architectural features that
may be identified with a particular business; backlit awnings that
include no lettering, logos, or other symbols; signs within a building
that are obviously intended to be seen primarily from within the building;
outdoor signs intended for use within a property, such as menu signs
by fast-food restaurant drive-through lanes, signs with regulations
within a park, and building identification signs within a campus;
flags of governments or government agencies; decorative seasonal and
holiday banners on residential properties; and displays of merchandise
either behind store windows or outdoors.
A temporary sign that carries information about a special
event, such as an auction, flea market, festival, carnival, meal,
or fund-raising event, but not including any business sign, such as
a "sale" sign at a store.
A sign that is displayed for no more than three months in
any year, unless stated otherwise in this chapter.
A sign that identifies or directs persons to buildings and
activities owned or leased by a college or university.
A sign attached to or painted on the wall of a building.
An exhibit behind a window that is intended to draw attention
to a product, service, business, or cause.
The following guidelines shall apply when interpreting
area and height regulations in this article:
A.Â
Sign area. The area of a sign shall be the area of
the smallest rectangle, triangle, or circle that will encompass all
elements of the sign, such as letters, figures, symbols, designs,
or other display.
(1)Â
When the sign is a separate unit, the area shall include
any borders, framing, trim, decorative attachments, background, and
space between elements; it shall not include any supporting structure,
unless that structure is illuminated, is in the form of a symbol,
or contains advertising elements.
(2)Â
When the sign is applied to a wall or otherwise has
no definable edges, the area shall include all color, artwork, or
other means used to differentiate the sign from the surface upon which
it is placed.
(3)Â
When a single sign structure has more than one face
with the same message, and no two sign faces are more than three feet
apart at any point, the area shall be computed by determining the
greatest total area of all sign faces visible from any single location.
B.Â
Sign height. The height of a sign shall be measured
from the average ground level beneath the sign to the highest point
of the sign. No person(s) shall artificially increase the maximum
height of a sign by altering the grade at the base of the sign.
(2)Â
Unless otherwise stated, wall signs may be at any
height on the wall to which they are attached, except that they may
not extend higher than the top of the wall.
(3)Â
Roof signs may extend no more than five feet above
the lowest point where they are attached to the building and may not
extend above the highest point of the roof.
A.Â
The following regulations shall apply to all signs,
in addition to the specific regulations contained in the following
provisions of this article. Where the general regulations are conflict
with a specific regulation, the specific regulation shall control:
(1)Â
All signs shall reflect the general character of the
neighborhood.
(2)Â
All signs shall be constructed of durable materials,
maintained in good condition, and secured in a safe manner.
(3)Â
When a sign becomes unsafe, the Zoning Officer shall
give written notice to the owner of the premises on which the sign
is located that the sign must be made safe or removed immediately.
(4)Â
The areas surrounding all signs shall be maintained
in a neat, clean, and attractive condition.
(5)Â
All signs shall be removed within three months if
the purpose for which they were erected no longer exists. If business
property is offered for sale or lease, an existing sign may be changed
to a blank face or a "for sale" or "for rent" sign until a new use
occupies the property.
(6)Â
Each property shall display the number of its street
address in a manner that is prominently visible from slow-moving traffic
at the front of the property from the street. The numbers should be
at least three inches high. The area taken up by the address does
not count as part of the sign area.
(7)Â
No temporary signs shall be permitted, except as authorized
elsewhere in this article.
(8)Â
No sign shall be located within a street right-of-way,
except a government sign, a public utility sign, a sidewalk sign,
a nonprofit organization sign, or another sign approved by the Borough
Council or the State Department of Transportation.
(9)Â
No signs, except official signs, shall obstruct the
required clear sight triangle or otherwise cause a significant sight
obstruction to oncoming vehicle traffic.
(10)Â
No signs shall be painted, pasted, nailed, stapled,
or otherwise attached to utility poles, trees, fences, fire hydrants,
or in an unauthorized manner to walls or other signs, except insofar
as such signs comply with generally applicable rules, regulations,
or policies formally adopted by the Borough Council.[1]
(11)Â
Any freestanding sign within a floodplain must
receive approval under the floodplain regulations if it could obstruct
floodwaters.
(12)Â
No sign shall be placed so as to obstruct any
door, stairway, window, fire escape, or other means of egress or ingress.
(13)Â
No sign shall be placed so as to obstruct ventilation
or light from a building.
(14)Â
No overhead sign shall have a clearance of less
than eight feet between any pedestrian walk and the lowest part of
the sign and less than 17.5 feet between any roadway and the lowest
part of the sign.
(15)Â
No sign that is parallel to and attached to
the face of a building shall project more than 18 inches over a public
sidewalk.
(16)Â
No sign that is perpendicular to and attached
to the face of a building shall project more than 48 inches from the
building.
(17)Â
No sign shall have lights or other illuminating
devices that constitute a public safety or traffic hazard.
(18)Â
No sign shall be permitted that imitates or
that might be confused with an official traffic sign or signal, such
as by containing the words "stop" or "danger" or by including red,
green, or yellow lights.
(19)Â
No sign or window display shall include a revolving
beam or beacon of light resembling an emergency vehicle or facility.
(20)Â
No sign shall advertise activities or products
that are illegal under federal, state, or local municipal laws or
regulations.
(21)Â
No sign visible from outside of a building shall
include statements, displays, words, or pictures that are vulgar,
obscene, or pornographic.
(22)Â
No streamers, pennants, spinners, reflectors,
ribbons, tinsel, balloons or similar materials shall be displayed
outside a building. (See "special event sign" in Table 2 for regulations
that apply to banners used as special events signs.[2])
[2]
Editor's Note: Table 2 is included at the end of this chapter.
(23)Â
In addition to any other signs permitted by
this article, each principal institutional, commercial or industrial
property may display one flag not to exceed 35 square feet, in addition
to flags of the United States and Pennsylvania.
(24)Â
No animated, sequential, intermittent, flashing,
rotating, or oscillating signs shall be permitted, except for time-and-temperature
signs.
(25)Â
No sign shall emit smoke, visible vapors, particles,
sound, or odor.
(26)Â
No sign shall be placed on an automobile, truck,
or other vehicle if that vehicle is being used primarily for displaying
such sign.
(27)Â
No inflatable signs shall be permitted.
(28)Â
No open flames shall be permitted as part of
a sign or in any other way to attract attention.
(29)Â
Advertising painted upon or displayed upon a
barn or other structure shall be considered a sign and shall comply
with the regulations of this article.
(30)Â
Any sign that has been authenticated as historically
significant and accurate for its specific location, whether original
or a replica, may be exempted from the regulations of this article
as a special exception.
(31)Â
Signs may be interior-lighted with nonglaring
lights; or signs may be externally lighted by lights that are shielded
so there is no direct light transmitted to other properties or public
rights-of-way. The light bulb shall not be directly visible from a
street, sidewalk or other property.
(32)Â
The light from any illuminated sign shall not
adversely affect safe vision of operators of vehicles moving on public
or private streets or parking areas, any residential district, or
any part of a building or property used for residential purposes.
(33)Â
No lighting shall be permitted to outline buildings
or structures or parts thereof through the use of exposed neon tubing,
strings of lights, or other means, with the exception of customary
holiday decorations between November 9th and January 6th.
(34)Â
Business signs in other than commercial and
industrial districts shall not be illuminated when the business is
closed.
(35)Â
All electrically illuminated signs shall be
constructed to the standards/listing of the latest edition of the
National Electrical Code.
A.Â
Tables 1 and 2 provide regulations for specific kinds
of signs in each zoning district. Table 1 provides regulations for
permanent signs; Table 2 provides regulations for temporary signs.
Kinds of signs not provided for in Tables 1 or 2 or anywhere else
in this article shall not be allowed.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1, Regulations for Permanent
Signs, and Table 2, Regulations for Temporary Signs, are included
at the end of this chapter.
B.Â
Sign permits. All of the signs listed in Table 1 shall
require sign permits, except government signs. None of the signs listed
in Table 2 shall require sign permits.
Sign permits for the placement of signs are
required as indicated by the last column in Tables 1 and 2.[1] Sign permit application requirements, such as forms, plans,
and fees, shall be established by the Borough Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Tables 1 and 2 are included
at the end of this chapter.
Nonconforming signs may continue to be displayed,
as long as there is compliance with the following limitations and
conditions:
A.Â
There may be no expansion or increase in the nonconformity
in any way.
B.Â
Maintenance and repair of the sign are permitted.
C.Â
Except as required by Subsection D below, an existing lawful nonconforming sign serving an existing use may be voluntarily replaced with a new sign, provided that the new sign is not more nonconforming in any manner than the existing sign.
D.Â
The sign must be brought into conformity or replaced
by a conforming sign if, for a period of at least three months, the
message has no longer applied to an activity on the premises (this
does not apply to billboards).
