[Added 4-3-2012 by Ord. No. 4-235]
The purpose of these regulations is to provide an area for the
placement of off-premises advertising signs or billboards in the Township.
The goals of these regulations are to:
A.
Provide clear guidelines and regulations for the placement of off-premises
advertising signs or billboards.
B.
Provide standards for construction of off-premises advertising signs
or billboards.
C.
Provide for the location of off-premises advertising signs or billboards
so that such signs are not adverse to the health, safety and welfare
of the public.
A.
Signs permitted. Off-premises advertising signs may be permitted
by conditional use in the Off-Premises Sign Overlay District subject
to the requirements contained in this section.
B.
Size of sign face. An off-premises advertising sign face may not
exceed 360 square feet per side in area.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
C.
Height.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
Off-premises advertising signs shall not exceed 35 feet in height.
(2)
The height shall be measured from the grade of the immediately adjoining
street, road, highway or alley to which the sign is oriented to the
highest part of the sign.
(3)
As part of a conditional use approval, the Board of Supervisors may
permit a sign height in excess of 35 feet where good cause is shown
related to safe visibility from the roadway.
D.
Location of sign.
[Amended 5-1-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-249; 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
Off-premises advertising signs shall be located no closer than 20
feet from any property line.
(2)
Off-premises advertising signs shall not be located closer than 25
feet from any street or road measured from the ultimate right-of-way
of such street or road.
(3)
Off-premises advertising signs may not be closer than 1,000 feet
from another off-premises advertising sign measured linearly.
(4)
No off-premises advertising sign shall be located within 500 feet
of any right-of-way of any interchange, measured along the interstate
or limited-access arterial or collector street from the beginning
or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the
main traveled way.
(5)
No off-premises advertising sign or portion thereof shall be permitted
within the clear sight triangle at any intersection of a driveway
with a street.
(6)
No off-premises advertising sign shall be erected within a 300-foot
circumference of the nearest property line of any historic site, school,
religious institution, retirement or nursing home, cemetery, government
building, community center or public park, playground or recreational
area or within 1,000 feet of any existing residential dwelling except
where separated from such property by a highway in the Interstate
Highway or United States Numbered Highway (U.S. Route) Systems or
a utility-owned right-of-way or property on which overhead transmission
lines are located.
E.
Number of signs per lot. There shall be no more than one off-premises
advertising sign per lot.
F.
Content.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
No off-premises advertising sign shall advertise any adult or sexually
oriented businesses or materials, contain any obscene or profane language,
emit any verbal announcement or noises of any kind, or otherwise display
any content prohibited by 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5903.
(2)
Off-premises advertising signs shall not display any moving, flashing,
scrolling, fading, brightening or animated text or video.
G.
Lighting.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
Illumination of off-premises advertising signs shall follow the standards
and requirements of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North
America (IESNA) and shall be subject to review and approval of the
Township. To the extent that there is a conflict between a standard
and/or requirements of the IESNA and the provisions of this section,
the provisions of this section shall control.
(2)
Illumination of all off-premises outdoor advertising signs shall
be by external illumination or light-emitting diode (LED) only.
(3)
Animated, flashing, revolving, scrolling, rotating and oscillating
style signs shall be prohibited.
(4)
The copy or image on an LED sign shall not change more than once
per minute.
(5)
All copy or image changes shall be instantaneous and shall not fade
in or out of the digital active area.
(6)
Any external illumination shall be shielded as necessary to direct
light onto the sign without spillover on any side of the sign.
(7)
Any resulting glare generated by an off-premises advertising sign
shall not exceed 1/8 footcandle, as measures on the ground at the
curbline or shoulder, so as not to impair the vision of any motor
vehicle driver or otherwise interfere with a driver's operation of
his or her motor vehicle.
(8)
An off-premises outdoor advertising sign or its structure shall only
be illuminated from dusk until 10:00 p.m. LED signs shall not be operated
between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following morning.
H.
Luminance. At no point shall the luminance of any off-premises advertising
sign exceed the following:
I.
Lot size. The minimum lot size for a property on which an off-premises
advertising sign may be located is 10,000 square feet.
J.
Maintenance of sign.
[Amended 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260; 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
All off-premises advertising signs shall be structurally sound and
maintained in good condition.
(2)
If the signs are not structurally sound or maintained in good condition,
the signs shall be immediately repaired or removed at the sole cost
and expense of the owner of the sign.
(3)
If an off-premises advertising sign is not structurally sound or
remains in poor condition, the Township shall notify the owner of
the property on which the sign is located and provide the owner 60
days' written notice by certified mail, sent to the owner's last known
address, to repair or remove the sign.
(4)
If the sign is not repaired or removed within 60 days of the date
of the notice, the Township may remove the sign, and the cost thereof
shall be paid by the owner of the property on which the sign is erected.
(5)
The Township may file a lien against the property or take any action
permitted by law to collect the cost of removal if it is not paid
by the owner of the property.
K.
Sign arrangement.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
When two sign faces are used in a back-to-back arrangement on an
off-premises sign, they shall be parallel, directly aligned with each
other and not more than five feet apart.
(2)
When a V-type sign arrangement is used for two sign faces of any
off-premises advertising sign, the sign faces shall not be located
more than 15 feet apart at the furthest point, nor shall the interior
angle be greater than 45°.
(3)
The rear side of any single-face, off-premises advertising sign shall
be of one neutral color, which shall be specified in the order of
the Board of Supervisors.
(4)
Off-premises signs shall be designed and positioned in a manner so
that the sign face is not visible (in so far as practicable) from
any residential property or any roadway that is not classified as
an interstate limited access highway.
L.
Agreement of property owner.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
No part or foundation or support of any off-premises advertising
sign shall be placed on, in or over any private property without the
written agreement of the property owner.
(2)
The agreement shall be presented as part of the application for said
sign permit but the consideration or price figures bargained between
the private parties may be redacted.
M.
Landscaping.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
Trees greater than four inches in diameter removed for the construction
of an off-premises advertising sign shall be replaced on-site at a
ratio of one replacement tree for each removed tree using native species
no less than three inches in diameter. As part of a conditional use
approval, the Board of Supervisors may permit replacement tree to
be provided at an alternative off-site location should it be impracticable
or infeasible to locate required trees on-site, although preference
will be given to using replacement trees as screening material.
(2)
A decorative landscaped strip shall be located immediately adjoining
every side of the supporting structure of the off-premises advertising
sign and extending a minimum of five feet from the supporting structure
in all directions.
(3)
All landscaping shall be maintained in a good and safe condition.
If any approved landscaping is found by the Township to be in poor
condition, the Township shall notify the owner of the property on
which the sign and landscaping are located and provide the owner 60
days' written notice certified mail, sent to the owner's last known
address, to correct the condition of the landscaping to the satisfaction
of the Township.
(4)
If the condition of the landscaping is not corrected within 60 days
of the date of the notice, the Township may perform such work as is
necessary to bring the landscaping into a good and safe condition
in accordance with the conditional use approval, and the cost thereof
shall be paid by the owner of the property on which the sign and landscaping
are located.
(5)
The Township may file a lien against the property or take any action
permitted by law to collect the cost of any corrective action taken
by the Township if it is not paid by the owner of the property.
N.
Owner identification.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
All off-premises advertising signs shall be identified on the structure
with the name and address of the owner of each sign.
(2)
The signs within an area regulated by Chapter 445 of the Pennsylvania
Code shall further be identified with a permit number or tag issued
by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
O.
Discontinued sign.
[Amended 9-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4-262]
(1)
An off-premises advertising sign shall be considered a discontinued
sign where it has carried no message for a period of 180 consecutive
days or where such sign no longer identifies a bona fide business,
commodity, service, entertainment or facility or where the majority
of the message on such sign has deteriorated to the condition that
it is not clearly discernible.
(2)
An off-premises advertising sign which has been discontinued shall
be presumed to be abandoned and shall constitute an illegal off-premises
advertising sign.
(3)
Any period of time for which the discontinued use of an off-premises
advertising sign is proved to be caused by government actions, labor
strikes, material shortages or acts of god, and without any contributing
fault of the owner of the sign or user of the sign, shall not be calculated
toward the number of days of discontinued use.
(4)
Any discontinued off-premises advertising sign shall be removed at
the expense of the owner of the sign.
(5)
In the event that the owner of the sign cannot be ascertained after
the Township's reasonable inquiry, the discontinued sign and structure
shall be removed at the expense of the owner of the property on which
the sign is erected.
P.
Additional regulations. In addition to the requirements contained
in this section, all off-premises advertising signs shall comply with
any and all applicable zoning regulations not specifically established
herein and any and all Township, state and/or federal regulations,
including, but not limited to, the Whitpain Township Building Code[1] and all applicable Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
regulations.
