[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trafford 10-3-1989
as Ch. 164 of the 1989 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The word "sign," as used in this chapter, shall mean and include any
structure, board or article (any part of which is located out of doors), including
all frames, braces and supports thereof, used or intended to be used for the
carrying or display of any announcement, advertisement or notice. The word
"sign," as used in this chapter, shall not include any of the following:
A.
Anything lettered directly upon the wall of any building
or upon any other part thereof.
B.
Any nameplate or professional sign not over one square
foot in area attached directly to the wall of a building occupied by the person
to whom such nameplate or professional sign is applicable.
D.
Any street name sign or directional sign erected by or
under the direction of the borough.
E.
Any "danger" sign.
F.
Any legal notice.
G.
Any "no trespassing" sign.
H.
Any bulletin board not over eight square feet in area
for any public, charitable, religious or educational institution, when such
sign is located entirely upon the premises of such institution.
I.
Any nonilluminated real estate sign not exceeding eight
square feet in area advertising the sale or rental of premises upon which
such sign is located.
J.
Any sign not in excess of 15 square feet in area announcing
the name of any architect, engineer, contractor or artisan engaged at work
upon a building under construction, alteration or repair and located upon
such premises, provided that such signs are removed within ten-day of the
completion of the work.
K.
Any sign that is embedded or set into a building or which
is so constructed as to become a part of such building, provided that such
sign bears only such information as the following: the name of the owner of
the building, the name of the building, the date of erection of the building
and the nature of the business or other activity conducted therein.
L.
Any tablet constructed entirely of stone, metal or some other noncombustible material that is built into or firmly attached to the wall of a building, provided that such tablet contains only such information as is mentioned in Subsection K of this section or reading matter commemorating a person or event; provided, however, that nothing herein shall authorize the erection or maintenance of any sign or type of sign at any location in the borough where such type of sign is not an authorized use of land or buildings under the Zoning Ordinance[2] of the borough.
No person shall hereinafter erect or locate any sign upon the roof of
any building in the Borough of Trafford.
[Amended 10-20-1998 by Ord. No. 667]
No person shall erect, construct, locate, relocate or maintain any sign
at any place within the Borough of Trafford unless he shall first obtain a
permit therefor, which shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer upon
payment to him of a fee as set forth from time to time by resolution of the
Borough Council. No permit shall be issued for any sign that shall be prohibited
by this chapter or any other ordinance of the borough or which shall not conform
to all the applicable requirements of this chapter. No permit shall be issued
for any sign extending over a street, public alley or sidewalk unless the
applicant for such permit shall first furnish to the Borough Secretary a certificate
to the effect that liability insurance in an amount set forth from time to
time by resolution of the Borough Council is carried against personal injury
and property damage. Failure to furnish such insurance certificate and to
keep the same in force shall be cause for revoking such permit. Each day that
any sign shall be maintained within the borough without a valid permit therefor
shall constitute a separate violation of this chapter.
[Amended 10-20-1998 by Ord. No. 667]
In order to check upon the continued maintenance of all signs in a safe
and secure condition, the Code Enforcement Officer shall cause a routine inspection
to be made of all signs in the borough, at least twice a year, and at any
other time when he shall deem such inspections necessary. He shall report
to the Council all unsafe or insecure signs, all signs failing in any respect
to conform to the requirements of this chapter and all signs maintained without
proper permit. To cover the cost of inspection of all signs, as required by
this section, the owner of every sign located in the borough shall, annually,
on or before the first day of January, pay an inspection fee as set forth
from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, which shall be for
the use of the borough.
The following regulations shall apply to all signs located in the Borough
of Trafford:
A.
No sign shall be erected or located so as to prevent
free ingress or egress from any window, door or fire escape or upon any building,
nor shall any sign be attached to any fire escape.
B.
Every electrical device and all electrical wiring installed
for any purpose upon any sign or places within such sign or constructed on
the outside of such sign shall conform to the requirements of the Building
Code[1] of the borough applicable to electrical wiring.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 77, Building Construction.
C.
No sign shall be so erected or located that, by reason
of its location, shape or color, or the color, shape or location of the lights
used in conjunction therewith, such sign might interfere with traffic or be
confused with or obstruct the view or effectiveness of any official traffic
sign, traffic signal or traffic marking.
D.
Every sign erected or located within the fire limits
of the borough shall be constructed entirely of metal or other nonflammable
material, with the exception of any ornamental molding thereof.
E.
No sign or any posts, supports or braces thereof shall
be constructed, erected or located upon any sidewalk, street, public alley
or borough property.
F.
Every sign shall be designed and constructed to withstand
a wind pressure of at least 35 pounds per square foot of area.
G.
Every sign projecting or extending over any street, alley
or sidewalk shall conform to all of the following requirements:
(1)
No such sign shall project more than seven feet beyond
the property line into or in the direction of the street, nor shall any portion
of any such sign be closer than 18 inches inside of the outer curbline, provided
that this shall not apply to any banner extending from one side of a street
to the other; but no such banner shall be installed across any street without
prior permission of the Code Enforcement Officer, and then only for such limited
time as may be specified by him and subject to such conditions as to the location,
the clearance above the street and the security of the fastenings, as may
be specified by the Code Enforcement Officer.
(2)
No portion of any such sign shall be less than 12 feet
above the surface of the sidewalk, street or alley above which such sign projects.
(3)
No such sign shall have a greater area on one side than
50 square feet.
[Amended 5-10-2005 by Ord. No. 702]
Any person who shall violate or fail to conform to any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, for each and every such violation, upon conviction
thereof before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution, or in default thereof
to imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 days; provided that each day's
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate
offense.
