Signs shall be permitted only in compliance with the following
regulations which are intended to provide coordinated, informative
and efficient signs in the Township.
The following regulations shall apply to all permitted and preexisting
nonconforming signs:
A. No sign shall be constructed, displayed or erected unless written
application has been made to the Zoning Officer by the owner of the
property and a permit issued upon payment of a fee as set from time
to time by the Township Council.
B. When a sign is a temporary sign as permitted in §
185-71, the property owner or applicant shall submit a plot plan or survey indicating the location of the sign. The Zoning Officer will determine if the proposed location is safe and out of the public right-of-way. In the event that the Zoning Officer has concerns regarding the location of the proposed sign, the Township Engineer will make a determination and, if necessary, recommend an alternative location.
C. When a permanent sign is not included as part of an approved site
plan, the property owner or applicant shall obtain site plan approval
from the appropriate land use board. An application to replace existing
conforming signs shall not require board approval.
D. All signs and supporting structures shall be maintained in a structurally
safe condition and in good repair, including the maintenance of legibility
and all lighting elements. The owner of the premises shall be responsible
for the maintenance of the ground area surrounding signs in a neat
and clean condition, and all landscaping shall be maintained in good
repair.
E. Directional signs having areas of less than two square feet are exempt
from area and location regulations, except they shall be located a
minimum of five feet from any property line, and further provided
that they do not constitute a hazard to the traveling public as determined
by the Township Zoning Officer or the Township Engineer.
F. The applicant shall comply with all applicable county, state and
federal sign regulations.
G. No sign shall constitute a hazard to the traveling public, as determined
by the Township Zoning Officer or the Township Engineer.
H. Whenever the Zoning Officer shall determine that there is a violation
of any sign regulation, he or she shall direct that the sign shall
be removed or brought into compliance within a specified time.
The following signs shall be prohibited in all zoning districts:
A. Any sign which does not pertain to an occupant, service or product
actually occupying or provided on the premises where such sign is
located.
B. A sign attached to any building which projects more than six inches
from the wall to which it is attached or which extends above the wall
to which it is attached.
C. A roof sign which extends above the highest point of the roof to
which it is attached.
D. Marquees and canopy signs, except as permitted in §
185-73.
E. Banners, streamers, advertising flags, twirlers and like objects, except as permitted for temporary signs in §
185-71.
F. Signs posted on fences, posts, utility poles or trees (except for
"no trespassing," "no hunting" signs and similar restrictive signs).
G. Signs posted on municipal property without the consent of the governing
body.
H. Signs standing, installed or painted on sidewalks or curbs.
I. Exterior moving, rotating, blinking or flashing signs of any nature, except for electronic message signs as permitted in §
185-76.1.
K. Sandwich boards, banners, placards, or other forms of advertisement, except as permitted for temporary signs in §
185-71.
L. Sandwich boards, banners, placards, or other forms of advertisement
which are carried by, worn by, or otherwise held by one or more individuals.
M. Signs posted within a public right-of-way without the consent of
the public agency which controls the affected right-of-way.
The following signs shall be exempt from obtaining a zoning
permit but shall comply with all placement and size requirements for
the type of sign category under which they are classified (temporary,
window signs and lettering, specific uses, multi-use/multi-tenant
structures, residential, and nonresidential):
A. Political signs (not to exceed four square feet).
B. Public signs or notices (sign on behalf of a municipal, county or
state agency).
C. Sign face changes on existing legally conforming signs.
D. Directional signs such as "No Parking," "No Loading," "Entrance."
E. Community organization signs (neighborhood association, church, civic
organization).
F. Real estate signs for residential sales and rent in all residential
zones (not to exceed four square feet).
G. American, state, county and Township flags.
H. Yard sale/garage sale signs. (Such signs shall be removed within
24 hours of the end of the event.)
Temporary signs as defined in §
185-4 shall be permitted as follows:
A. Temporary signs shall be permitted identifying architects, builders,
brokers and contractors on premises where a building is being constructed,
altered or repaired. No sign shall be displayed for a period exceeding
the time required for such construction, alteration or repair or for
one year, whichever is less. Unless affixed to the principal building,
such signs shall be set back at least 10 feet from all property lines.
There shall be no more than one such sign on any property. Said sign
shall not exceed six square feet in size and shall not stand more
than four feet above ground level.
B. One temporary sign shall be permitted announcing that the property
on which it is located is for sale or rent, provided that such sign
shall be displayed for only so long as such property is for sale or
rent and shall be removed within seven days after such sale or rental.
Unless such sign is attached to the principal building, it shall be
no closer than 10 feet to any property line. Such sign shall not exceed
six square feet in size, nor stand more than four feet above ground
level. Commercial sales and rental real estate signs shall not exceed
15 square feet.
[Amended 11-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-08]
C. Signs locating and advertising subdivision of land projects requiring
site plan approvals, which have received preliminary or final approval
by the Township, provided that each such sign shall not exceed 24
square feet in area, shall not exceed two in number and shall not
be located closer than 20 feet to any property line. Such sign permits
shall be valid for not more than one year. All such signs shall be
renewed annually by January 31. Such signs shall be removed, in the
case of land subdivision, when either 75% of the lots created have
been built upon or after 75% of the lots have been sold by the developer,
or any combination thereof. In the case of projects receiving site
plan approval, such signs shall be removed upon the issuance of a
certificate of occupancy.
D. Grand opening signs shall be considered temporary and shall include:
suspended signs, banners, streamers, advertising flags, twirlers and
like objects in nonresidential zones. They may be allowed by permit
from the Township Zoning Officer for a period not to exceed 90 days
for new business grand openings. Grand opening signs shall be erected
no more than 30 days prior to the grand opening and shall be removed
not more than 60 days after the grand opening. Grand opening signs
must be a minimum of 10 feet from any property line.
E. Special promotion and event signs, including banners, streamers,
advertising flags, twirlers, suspended signs and sandwich board signs,
in nonresidential zones may be granted by permit from the Township
Zoning Officer. Special promotion and event signs may be displayed
for not more than 30 consecutive days within any established business
quarter. A waiver from the above requirements and restrictions can
be requested from the Township Council. Special promotion and event
signs must be a minimum of 10 feet from any property line and shall
not impede, restrict, or otherwise interfere with sight distances
in and around the special promotion and event signage.
[Amended 11-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-08]
F. Sandwich board signs as defined in §
185-4 shall not exceed 36 inches in height, and each side of the sign shall not exceed seven square feet in area. Sandwich board signs may only be displayed during business hours and shall not have internal or external illumination, contain moving parts or have balloons, streamers, pennants or similar adornment attached to them. Sandwich board signs must be a minimum of 10 feet from any property line.
G. Suspended signs as defined in §
185-4 shall not exceed 60 inches in width and 30 inches in height. The bottom edge of the suspended sign shall be a minimum of seven feet from the ground/sidewalk to avoid obstructing the entrance to the establishment.
Window lettering and signs shall be permitted only in the business
zones. For the purpose of enforcing this chapter, window lettering
and signs shall not be construed as signs but shall be subject only
to the following restrictions:
A. All window lettering and window signs shall be inside the window.
B. Permanent window lettering and window signs shall be permitted only
if the space confining such lettering and signs or the background
upon which it appears does not exceed 40% of the window area. Any
painted area of any window shall be construed as window lettering
or signs, whether or not such area actually contains lettering or
advertising.
C. Window lettering or window signs shall pertain only to that establishment
occupying that portion of the premises where the window is located.
D. Temporary window lettering or window signs, advertising special sales
or events, shall be permitted subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Such lettering or window signs shall be subject to the length-of-time restrictions established for temporary grand opening and special sales or events signs pursuant to §
185-71;
(2) Such window lettering or window signs, in conjunction with permanent
window lettering or signs, shall not cover, in the aggregate, more
than 40% of the window area.
E. Illuminated window lettering and window signs which are not continuously
lit, blink, flash, flicker, use sequential lighting, have a revolving
message display or which otherwise produce a glare that interferes
with pedestrian or vehicular traffic are prohibited.
F. All window lettering and signs shall be maintained in good repair.
Shopping centers, industrial parks, multifamily developments,
multi-tenanted structures or multi-structure developments shall be
governed by the following regulations:
A. Each such development as part of its site plan shall submit a signing
plan to the Planning Board. Such signing plan shall include details
on:
(4) Construction and materials.
(6) Height above grade or below roofline.
B. The signing plan shall be based on an integrated design theme to include all of the elements in Subsection
A(1) through
(8) above. All of the above elements shall be designed to be in harmony and consistent with each other, the architecture and materials of the principal structure and the landscaping plan. The Planning Board or Zoning Board, in its sole discretion, shall determine if a proposed signing plan meets the goals and objectives of this section.
C. The total area of all signs affixed to nonresidential structures
shall not exceed 20% of the building facade of the structure. The
total area of all signs affixed to residential structures shall not
exceed 2% of the building facade of the structure.
D. Freestanding signs.
(1) A standing pole sign shall be permitted in a nonresidential multi-use
development. It shall not exceed 50 square feet in area for each face,
the bottom of each sign face shall be at least 10 feet above ground
level, and the total height of the sign from the ground to the top
of the sign face shall not exceed 20 feet, and it shall be no closer
than five feet to any property line.
(2) A freestanding monument sign shall be permitted in a multi-structure residential development not exceeding 10 feet in height and 50 square feet in area on each face, or there may be two single-face signs, each of which shall not exceed 50 square feet in area. Said sign or signs shall be at least 15 feet from any property line and shall be placed in such a way as to not impose on the line of sight. Nonresidential multi-use developments may erect the above-described monument signs in place of the pole sign permitted in Subsection
D(1).
(3) Only one such freestanding sign shall be permitted on any single
property, regardless of the number of establishments on the property,
except that the Planning Board may authorize an additional freestanding
sign if the property has access from more than one public street.
The freestanding sign shall comply with all setback requirements of
the zone.
The following types of signs shall be permitted in residential
districts:
A. Signs accessory to parking areas for institutional uses. Signs designating
entrance or exits to or from a parking area shall be limited to one
sign for each such exit or entrance, with a maximum size of four square
feet for each sign. One sign per parking area designating the conditions
of use or identity of such parking area and limited to a maximum size
of 32 square feet shall be permitted. Private driveway signs indicating
the private nature of a driveway shall be permitted, provided that
the size of any such sign shall not exceed four square feet.
B. Nameplate and identification signs for single-family dwellings. A
sign indicating the name or address of the occupant may be permitted,
provided that the sign shall be no larger than two square feet on
each face. A permitted home occupation may be included with the name
of the occupant.
C. Institutional signs. Signs of schools, colleges, churches and other
institutions of a similar public or semipublic nature may be erected
and maintained, provided that:
(1) The size of any freestanding sign shall not exceed 100 square feet
and not more than one such sign is placed on a property, unless such
property fronts upon more than one street, in which instance a sign
may be erected on each frontage.
(2) Signs may be affixed to a maximum of two walls of a structure. The
total sign area on each wall shall not exceed 2% of the wall, whichever
is less.
The following signs shall be permitted in nonresidential districts not regulated by §
185-74 of this article.
A. Number and size of exterior wall signs. Exterior wall signs shall
not exceed 20% of the facade of the building upon which they are located.
Each establishment shall be allotted its proportionate share of the
total sign area in a ratio of its frontage to the total building frontage.
B. Rear and side wall signs. No signs shall be permitted on rear or
side walls.
C. Freestanding signs. There shall be permitted one freestanding pole
or monument-type sign, provided that:
(1) Pole signs shall:
(a)
Have a sign face that is at least 10 feet above the ground level
and the total height of the sign shall not exceed 20 feet above the
ground level.
(b)
Be at least five feet from any property line.
(c)
Not exceed 60 square feet of area on each face.
(2) Monument signs shall:
(a)
Not exceed 10 feet in height.
(b)
Be at least 15 feet from any property line and shall be placed
in such a way as to not impose on the line of sight.
(c)
Not exceed 50 square feet in area on each face.
(3) The base of said signs shall be appropriately landscaped and maintained.
[Amended 11-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-08]
Electronic signs, as defined in §
185-4, shall be permitted in the B-1, B-2, 1-1, 1-2 and R-C Zones, subject to the following conditions, and shall require approval by the Township of Hardyston Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Adjustment:
A. Shall be consistent with the requirements set forth for freestanding signs in §
185-76, including height, setbacks, and maximum area.
B. Shall contain block letters only and shall consist of only one color
on a neutral color background.
C. Shall be no more than 36 square feet.
D. Messages shall change at no less than twenty-second intervals and
shall not blink, flash or flicker rapidly when changing as to cause
a distraction to drivers.
E. Messages shall contain no more than three lines of text.
F. Illuminated signs shall be turned off between the hours of 9:00 p.m.
and 6:00 a.m. when located on lots immediately adjacent to residential
districts.
[Added 11-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-08]
Message board signs, as defined in §
185-4, shall be permitted in the B-1, B-2, R-C, I-1 and I-2 Zones, subject to the following conditions:
A. Message board signs shall be consistent with the requirements set forth for freestanding signs in §
185-76, including height, setbacks, and maximum area.
B. Message board signs shall consist of letters and numbers only, using
only one color on a neutral color background.
C. Message board signs may be installed as part of an existing freestanding permanent sign, subject to the requirements of §
185-76.
D. New permanent message board signs shall require approval by the Township
of Hardyston Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Adjustment.
E. Illuminated message board signs shall be turned off between the hours
of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. when located on lots immediately adjacent
to residential districts.