As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ERECT
To build, construct, attach, hang, place, suspend, or affix
and shall also include the painting of wall signs.
GRAND OPENING
When a new business holds its initial opening; or when an
existing business comes under new management.
SIGN
Includes every sign, billboard, ground sign, wall sign, roof
sign, illuminated sign, projecting sign, temporary sign, marquee,
awning and canopy containing lettering or other advertising and shall
include any announcement, declaration, demonstration, display illustration,
or insignia used to advertise or promote the interests of any person,
firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization
of any kind when the same is placed out of doors in view of the general
public. The term "sign" shall further include all articles, matters
or devices, whether or not containing lettering or advertising material,
which have as their major purposes the attraction of patrons or calling
attention to the business premises. When such articles are arranged
in a series of strings, such as strings of pennants, each of such
articles or pennants shall be treated as a separate sign.
A.
GROUND SIGNA sign placed on the ground with main supports planted firmly into the ground, and not attached to any building.
B.
WALL SIGNA sign placed against and permanently attached to, or painted directly on, the wall surface of a building.
C.
ROOF SIGNA sign erected, constructed and maintained wholly upon or over the roof of any building.
D.
PROJECTING SIGNA sign attached to a building and extending away or hanging from the surface or portion of the building to which it is attached at a ninety-degree angle.
E.
WALL PLAQUEA wall sign protruding no more than 1 1/2 inches from the surface to which it is attached and having no sharp edges which may be hazardous to pedestrians.
F.
ILLUMINATED SIGNAny sign which has characters, letters, figures, designs, or outline illuminated by electric lights or luminous tubes either as a part of the sign proper or directed at the sign.
G.
TEMPORARY SIGNAny sign, banner, pennant, valance, or advertising display constructed of cloth, canvas, light fabric, cardboard, wall board, or other light material, with or without frame, displayed for a period not exceeding one week excluding signs for businesses permitted under §
185-92B(1)(a). Temporary signs shall be permitted to advertise grand openings, distress sales, change in ownership, or temporary businesses which have been approved by the Borough Council or the Zoning Hearing Board.
H.
OFF-SITE DIRECTIONAL SIGNA ground sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than on the premises where the signs are displayed. Directional signs are limited to those businesses having 50 or more on-site employees, or groups of 10 or more businesses having a common name, i.e., shopping centers, industrial parks. Where a business is part of a shopping center, or an industrial park, containing three or more businesses, directional signs shall be limited to the common name of the overall development.
I.
MARQUEE SIGNSSigns placed on the edge of any hood or awning of permanent construction projecting from the wall of a building above an entrance to the building, and not having supports to the ground or sidewalks.
J.
AWNING OR CANOPY SIGNSAny structure made of cloth, fiberglass, or metal frame attached to a building and containing lettering or other advertising material; or any structure made of cloth, fiberglass, or metal frames attached to a building, and carried by a frame supported by the ground or sidewalk and containing lettering or other advertising matter.
STRUCTURAL TRIM
The molding, battens, cappings, latticing and platforms which
are attached to the sign structure.
WALL
Includes the parapet above any wall of a building; and the
term "roof" shall include the upper surface of building extensions
of permanent construction having structural supports to the ground
and protruding over pedestrian cartways. The above may be used as
a sign base provided their structural strength can be clearly demonstrated.
In the S Conservancy District and the R1 Residence
District, only the following exterior signs shall be permitted:
A. Signs permitted under §
185-82, General sign provisions.
B. A sign not exceeding 1 1/2 square feet in area, used
to display and identify only the name of the individual, profession,
organization, or institution occupying the premises.
C. A bulletin board for each street frontage not exceeding
30 square feet in area, indicating the services of an educational,
philanthropic or religious institution including the institution name,
if desired.
D. A sign not exceeding 12 square feet in area, unlighted,
appertaining only to the rental, lease, or sale of the property on
which it is displayed.
In the R2, R3 and P/PRD Districts, only the
following exterior signs shall be permitted:
A. Signs permitted in the S and R1 Districts.
B. A sign for each street frontage not exceeding 12 square
feet in area in connection with a multiple-family dwelling, a hospital
or sanitarium, a funeral home, or a tourist home, used to identify
only the name of the structure.
C. A wall sign on R2, R3, and P/PRD structures over four
stories in height which is limited to displaying the name of the development
only. Said permanent wall signs shall be limited to a maximum area
not exceeding 33 1/3% of the total square foot area of the exposed
wall surface of one story of the building on the side to which the
sign is to be affixed; but in no case shall the sign exceed 225 square
feet in area.
In the C2 Residential Service District and the
C1 Community Business District, only the following exterior signs
shall be permitted:
A. Signs permitted in S and R Districts.
B. A sign which directs attention to a business commodity,
service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered upon the premises,
including ground signs, wall signs, wall plaques, roof signs, projecting
signs, temporary signs, marquees, and awnings and canopies as described
in this article.
All signs shall be securely built, constructed
and erected:
A. On the ground with posts sunk at least three feet
below the surface of the surrounding ground and grouted with concrete
for its full depth, and shall be supported and braced by metal rods
extending from the top thereof to a point in the ground at least a
distance equal to 1/2 of the height of the sign, measured from the
base of the sign on the ground, or by some other method which provides
equivalent support.
B. On a wall by noncorrosive metal anchors, bolts, or
expansion screws at least 1/2 inch in diameter and sunk into the wall
at least five inches. In no case shall any wall sign be secured with
wire, strips of wood or nails.
C. On a roof the sign shall be thoroughly secured to
the building by iron or other metal anchors, bolts, supports, rods
or braces. The bearing plates of the sign shall bear directly upon
masonry walls and intermediate steel columns of the building. No roof
sign shall be supported or anchored to the wooden framework of a building.
D. As a projecting sign it shall be attached to masonry
walls with noncorrosive expansion bolts of the proper size, the bolts
to be extended through the wall with a proper size metal washer or
plate on the inside of the wall. Signs not exceeding 10 square feet
in area on the one side, or 50 pounds in weight may be attached to
the wooden framework of the building but in no circumstances is it
permitted to hang a sign by cables, wires or strings on the building.
E. As a temporary sign it shall be made of rigid material
or other light materials securely attached to the building or ground,
and the erection should be in accordance with the above requirements,
depending on the type of the temporary sign.
F. The Zoning Officer may require calculations by an
architect or engineer certifying the stability of a sign, with reference
to dead load and wind stress capabilities when a sign is over 25 square
feet in area, or in the case of a ground sign, whose height is greater
than 10 feet; or a sign which weighs in excess of 100 pounds.
G. Any sign damaged by inclement weather shall have proven itself unsafe and may not be restored in kind without engineering data as required in Subsection
F above.
It shall be unlawful to display upon any sign
or other advertising any obscene, indecent, or immoral matter. This
shall include the nonrepair of illegal acts of vandalism.
The following signs are permitted in any district
and no erection permit is required, provided that the rules of location
and material as applicable to the type of sign are obeyed:
A. Real estate signs not exceeding 12 square feet in
area, which advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises upon
which the said sign is located.
B. Professional name plates, not exceeding one square
foot in area.
C. Bulletin boards not over 12 square feet in area for
public, charitable or religious institutions on their own property.
D. Political campaign signs not exceeding 18 square feet
in area and in place not sooner than three weeks before election day
or longer than one week after election day.
E. Signs denoting the architect, engineer or contractor
in work upon the same property on which the construction is done not
exceeding 12 square feet in area and for the period of construction
daily.
F. Memorial signs and tablets when cut into any masonry
surface or when constructed of bronze or other sculptured materials.
G. Traffic and other governmental signs, legal notices,
danger, and other nonadvertising signs if they are approved by the
Borough Council.
It is the intent of this section to recognize
that the eventual elimination, as expeditiously as is reasonable,
of existing signs that are not in conformity with the provisions of
this article is as much a health, safety and welfare concern as is
the prohibition of new signs that would violate the provisions of
this article.
A. Within five years of the date of the passage into
law of this section of the chapter, all nonconforming signs shall
be removed or made to conform to the requirements of this chapter.
B. The owner of a sign, however, shall file a certificate of nonconformance with the Planning Commission stating the assessed valuation of his sign as verified by a company in the business of fabricating and erecting signs. The value of the sign may be amortized at the rate of $200 per year. When the value of the sign under the above noted schedule is zero, the owner must remove or alter the sign to conform to the requirements of this chapter. Certificates of nonconformance are to be filed within one year from the date of notification of nonconformance by the Zoning Officer. Failure to comply with the above will result in only Subsection
A being applicable.
C. The Borough may require an independent assessment
of the sign value by its own representative. Any discrepancies between
the two assessments amounting to more than one year of amortization
will be presented to the Zoning Hearing Board and a decision rendered.
When the discrepancy amounts to less than one year, the longer period
of time shall apply.
D. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer to tabulate,
within one year of the date of this chapter, all signs in the Borough
which are nonconforming under the terms of this chapter. He shall
then notify the concerned property owner, by the mailing of a certified
letter to his last known address, of the provisions of this section
of the chapter and the nature of the nonconformance of his sign.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to vary the provisions of Article
XI of this chapter. A variance may be granted when the Board has determined to its satisfaction that:
A. A/the sign could not be constructed elsewhere on the property or structure in a manner complying with the requirements of Article
XI;
B. A hardship exists, and the hardship is unique to the
instant property and not found to be commonly applied to other properties
in the general area;
C. The variance will not adversely affect adjacent properties
in their right to adequate light and air;
D. The variance would not affect the health, safety and
general welfare of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic;
E. The variance considered is the minimum deviation from
the chapter required to grant relief to the applicant.