A.
Purpose. This article is primarily intended to:
(1)
Promote and maintain overall community beautification.
(2)
Establish reasonable time, place and manner regulations on the exercise
of free speech, without regulating content of signs.
(3)
Promote traffic safety by avoiding distractions and sight distance
obstructions.
(4)
Protect property values and ensure compatibility with the character
of neighboring, existing and planned land use.
(5)
Carry out the goals of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Advertising Control
Act of 1971 (36 P.S. § 2718.101 et seq.).
B.
Compliance with article required. Signs may be erected and maintained
only when in compliance with the provisions of this article and any
and all other ordinances and regulations relating to the erection,
alteration or maintenance of signs and similar devices.
The following types of signs, and no other, shall be permitted
in residential districts:
A.
Signs advertising the sale or rental of the premises upon which they
are erected by the owner or broker or any other person interested
in the sale or rental of such premises may be erected and maintained,
provided:
B.
Signs advertising the sale and development of the premises upon which
they are erected, when erected in connection with the development
of the premises by a builder, contractor, developer or other person
interested in such sale or development, may be erected and maintained,
provided:
C.
Signs indicating the location and direction of premises available
for, or in process of, development, but not erected upon such premises,
and having inscribed thereon the name of the owner, developer, builder
or agent may be erected and maintained, provided:
D.
Signs bearing the word "sold" or the word "rented," with the name of the persons effecting the sale or rental, provided the conditions in Subsection A hereof, are complied with.
F.
Signs indicating the private nature of a driveway or trespassing
signs, provided that the size of any such sign shall not exceed two
square feet.
G.
Signs of schools, colleges, churches, hospitals, sanitariums or other
institutions of a similar nature, provided:
H.
Signs advertising home occupations, which signs shall be not larger
than six inches by 18 inches, bearing the name and occupation (words
only) of the practitioner. Such signs may be illuminated if such lighting
is shielded or indirect, but shall not include neon signs.
Signs bearing the name of the occupant and products manufactured,
processed, sold or displayed may be erected and maintained on the
premises in commercial and industrial districts subject to the following
regulations:
A.
Existing business identification signs on existing nonconforming uses may be continued and maintained, provided that such signs shall conform to the general restrictions in § 120-66, and further provided that such signs are not more nonconforming in any measurement than the previous signs, including but not limited to height and total square feet.
B.
The sign surface area on lots where less than 10% of the lot area
is covered by buildings shall not exceed four square feet in area
for each lineal foot of street frontage.
C.
The sign surface area on lots where 10% or more of the lot area is
covered by buildings shall be determined as follows:
(1)
Lower level (story) signs. The total permitted sign surface area
of all business identification signs located on a building within
the lower two stories or 26 feet, whichever is lower, and/or freestanding
on the lot shall not exceed an area equal to 25% of said lower two-story
area of the building facade to which the sign is oriented and/or attached;
provided, however, that if more than one sign is erected, the total
permitted sign surface area shall be reduced by 1/5 for each additional
sign.
(2)
Upper level (story) signs. The permitted sign surface area of all
business identification signs located on a building above the first
two stories shall not exceed an area equal to 10% of the area of the
building facade above the second story to which the sign is attached;
provided, however, that if more than one sign is erected, the total
permitted sign surface area shall be reduced by 1/5 for each additional
sign.
(3)
Lower and upper level signs may be continuous; however, if not, there
shall be at least 13 feet or one story, whichever is lesser, between
upper level and lower level signs.
(4)
Rooftop business identification signs shall be prohibited; no rooftop
signs shall be rented as billboards.
(5)
Existing business identification signs on existing nonconforming
uses may be continued and maintained, provided that such signs shall
conform to the general regulations below.
(6)
Each window or door sign shall not exceed 30% of each window or door
area.
Billboards or advertising signboards, including poster panels,
bulletins and the like, may be erected and maintained in commercial
and industrial districts, except C-1 and C-2 Districts, under the
following restrictions and controls:
A.
In commercial districts, no advertising signs shall be permitted
to be erected upon or within 200 feet of the premises containing a
unified, integrated shopping center.
B.
In other commercial districts, advertising sign structures are limited
to only one for each street frontage. No such structure shall contain
over one advertising sign per facing, nor shall any individual advertising
sign exceed 20 feet in vertical measurements or 25 feet in length.
C.
No advertising sign shall be permitted to be erected upon the roof
of any building, and advertising signs shall be required to be set
back 30 feet from the front lot line or to the established building
line, whichever is less.
D.
No advertising sign shall be permitted to be erected within 50 feet
of any adjoining residential district if visible from and designed
to face into such district.
E.
Advertising signs, if lighted, shall be indirectly illuminated, and
all such signs shall conform to the height regulations for buildings
in the district in which they are located.
The following regulations shall apply to all permitted sign
uses:
A.
Signs must be constructed of durable materials, must be maintained
in good condition and not allowed to become dilapidated, and shall
not be hand-written.
B.
Signs shall not be placed in such a position that they will cause
danger to traffic on a street by obscuring the view.
C.
Signs, other than an official sign, shall not be erected within the
lines of any street.
D.
Signs and banners (except banners extending across streets under the provisions of § 120-66R) that project beyond property lines or over public sidewalk areas shall be a maximum width and height of four feet at a minimum height above the sidewalk of 10 feet.
E.
Signs shall not project above the height limit permitted in any district
in which they are located.
F.
No sign shall be permitted which rotates and/or causes interruption
or flashing of light.
G.
All signs erected within the right-of-way of a state highway shall
be in accordance with the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation.
H.
A permit shall be required for the erection, alteration or reconstruction
of billboards or advertising signboards, including poster panels,
bulletins, temporary or permanent business signs and the like. No
sign permit shall be issued until written permission from the building
owner for the placement of the sign is given to the Zoning Officer.
I.
A permit shall not be required for the erection, alteration or maintenance
of any signs permitted in a residential district, with the exception
of a home occupation sign, for which a permit shall be required.
J.
All signs shall be removed when the circumstances leading to their
erection no longer apply, including, but not limited, to the following
circumstances:
(1)
Following the closing of any business, any and all related exterior
signs, fixtures, hardware, framework and bracing used to support signs
which hang over a sidewalk or other pedestrian walkway will be removed
within 30 days of the effective business closing date.
(3)
It shall be the responsibility of the building owner to ensure that
signs are removed or changed to a blank face.
K.
All nonconforming signs, billboards or advertising signboards, including
poster panels, bulletins and the like, shall be made to conform to
all pertinent regulations or be removed within two years after the
effective date of this chapter, except that business identification
signs on legal nonconforming uses may be continued and maintained
as a part of the legal nonconforming use.
L.
Once an existing nonconforming sign is removed, it shall only be
replaced with a sign that conforms to this chapter.
M.
Freestanding signs.
(1)
Movable freestanding signs.
(a)
Movable freestanding signs (example: A-frame signs) are permitted
on the sidewalks.
(b)
Movable freestanding signs are subject to the following conditions:
[1]
Must be of a framed design.
[2]
Must allow 36 inches of clearance for pedestrian traffic.
[3]
Must be weatherproof.
[4]
Must be no larger than four feet in height and two feet in width.
[5]
Must be located on the sidewalk adjacent to the property within
which the business is located.
[6]
Does not require the use of electric power cords.
(c)
The building owner, who will be jointly responsible with any
other sign permittee for the property (lessee, etc.) for noncompliance,
must indicate his, her or its consent in writing to the use of the
movable freestanding sign.
(d)
Signs are subject to the same removal rules as any other sign for a closed business; see § 120-66J.
(e)
Signs are limited to one per business.
(2)
Nonmovable freestanding signs:
(a)
Are permitted if the building in which the business is located
is set back 30 feet or greater from the existing sidewalk and/or street.
(b)
Must identify the business name which it represents and may
contain contact telephone number, website address, and/or specialty
sales/service statement.
(c)
Shall be a maximum of four feet in height and five feet in width.
(d)
Must be supported by a pole, pylons or similar standards in
the ground and shall be a maximum height at the top of the sign of
25 feet.
(e)
Must be weatherproof.
(f)
Must be located on the property outside of the sidewalk area.
(h)
Are limited to one per property.
(i)
Are permitted to have one message display sign permanently affixed
to the pole of a nonmovable freestanding sign and must be located
directly below said nonmovable freestanding sign not to exceed four
feet in height and five feet in width.
(j)
The building owner, who will be jointly responsible with any
other sign permittee for the property (lessee, etc.) for noncompliance,
must indicate his, her or its consent in writing to the use of the
nonmovable freestanding sign.
N.
Temporary signs.
(1)
Temporary signs are not to be displayed for more than 30 days in
any calendar year.
(2)
A permit is required for all temporary signs in any nonresidential
area, with the exception of signs indicating sale or rent of the property
and signs of contractors while they are actually working on the property
or charitable event signs.
(3)
No temporary sign with an area of over 75 square feet is permitted.
(4)
The total combined area of all temporary signs in use at any one
time shall not exceed 75 square feet.
(5)
No temporary sign shall exceed 30 inches in height or 30 feet in
width.
(6)
No permit fee shall be required for temporary signs.
(7)
All temporary signs displayed outside the building must be weatherproof.
(8)
The building owner, who will be responsible for noncompliance, must
indicate his, her or its consent in writing to the use of the temporary
sign.
O.
Business signs advertising daily specials, discounts, special events
or other daily changing activity:
(1)
Must be framed and securely attached to building.
(2)
Must be weatherproof.
(3)
Must not exceed three square feet in area, 18 inches in length or
24 inches in width.
(4)
Are to be considered in the overall square footage of allowable sign
area, except in the case of business existing at the time of adoption
of this article and which are already at their allowable sign area.
(5)
The permit fee shall be based on the square footage of the sign.
(6)
The building owner, who will be responsible for noncompliance, must
indicate his, her or its consent in writing to the use of the temporary
sign.
(7)
Are subject to the same removal rules as any other sign for a closed
business.
P.
Garage sale and charitable event signs:
(1)
Do not require a permit.
(2)
Must contain the phone number or address of the person responsible
for removing signs; any sign not containing this information will
be removed immediately upon discovery by the Borough.
(3)
May not be displayed more than 15 days prior to the event and must
be removed within seven days following the event; signs remaining
after seven days will be subject to a fine equal to the cost incurred
by the Borough for removal.
Q.
Mobile signs.
(1)
These standards recognize a sign on a mobile stand as a particular
type of sign that has the characteristics of a temporary sign but
that has been inappropriately used as a permanent sign. This subsection
is based on the policy that if the owner or user desires to regularly
display a sign for regularly changing messages, he, she or it must
erect a permanent sign meeting all of the requirements of this article.
(2)
Mobile signs are prohibited in all districts, except that a new principal
commercial use in the commercial light industrial manufacturing or
heavy industrial/manufacturing districts may use one sign on a mobile
stand with a maximum sign area of 20 square feet for a maximum of
60 days; thereafter a permanent permitted sign is required.
(3)
A permit is required for this temporary use of a mobile sign.
(4)
To ensure that a sign on a portable stand is removed within the sixty-day
limit, the applicant shall be required to pay a $150 deposit to the
Borough. This deposit shall be refunded if the sign is removed within
the sixty-day limit; thereafter, the sign may be removed by the Borough,
which shall apply the $150 deposit to the costs of removal. Refusal
to remove the sign after the 60 days shall also constitute a zoning
violation and be subject to the penalties and enforcement procedures
of this chapter.
R.
Banners (extending across streets). Council must receive a request
90 days prior to the proposed date for the banner to be hung. All
necessary clearances must be presented, in writing, with the request.
The banner must meet all the requirements of this article.
Existing signs may be continued, provided that signs conform to the general requirements as set forth in § 120-66, above, of this article.
A.
Except for signs exempted under § 120-66I and § 120-69, no person shall erect, cause to be erected, change or alter any sign on any property within the Borough until a permit for the same has been issued by the Zoning Officer. Property owners who authorize or allow any sign on their property shall ensure that all provisions of this article are adhered to and shall comply with the following provisions:
(1)
Application for a permit shall be made on an authorized Borough form
and shall be accompanied by the following:
(a)
A detailed scale drawing showing the sign and its intended location;
(b)
A description of its type, construction, manner, and method
of installation, and materials to be used;
(c)
Written authorization of the owner or lessee of the property,
if other than the applicant; and
(d)
A permit fee, as established by resolution of Borough Council.
(2)
For the purpose of this article, the terms "alter" or "change" shall
not be interpreted to include routine maintenance.
