Borough of Chambersburg, PA Article XV Signs [1]

[Amended 5-22-1991 by Ord. No. 91-5; 4-14-1993 by Ord. No. 93-8; 9-8-1999 by Ord. No. 99-15; 5-14-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-8]

[1] Note: Signs may be erected and maintained only when in compliance with the provisions of this Art. XV and any and all other ordinances and regulations relating to erection, alteration or maintenance of signs and similar devices.

§ 300-87 Signs in residential districts.

The following type of signs, and no other, shall be permitted in residential districts:

A. Each property in a residential district may have erected thereon, either on the building or outside the public right-of-way area, one sign only, to be no larger than six square feet in area. No sign may be artificially illuminated except as otherwise provided in this section.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, regarding signs for commercial purposes, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02. This ordinance also redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections B and C, respectively.

B. Signs indicating the private nature of a driveway or no trespassing signs are permitted, provided that the size of any such sign shall not exceed two square feet.

C. Signs of schools, colleges, churches, hospitals, sanitariums or other public or semi-public institutions of a similar nature, provided:

(1) The size of any such sign is not in excess of 20 square feet per side; and

(2) Not more than two signs are placed on a property in single or separate ownership, unless such property fronts upon more than one street, in which event one such sign may be erected on each frontage.

§ 300-88 Business identification signs.

[Amended 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-4; 4-23-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-05; 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02]

Signs may be erected and maintained on the premises in commercial and manufacturing districts subject to the following regulations:

A. The sign (surface area) on lots where less than 10% of the lot area is covered by buildings shall not exceed one square foot in area for every two lineal feet of street frontage.

B. The sign (surface area) on lots where 10% percent or more of the lot area is covered by buildings shall be determined as follows:

(1) Lower level (story) signs; determining the size of signs on facades. The total permitted sign surface area of all business identification signs located on the facade of a building within the lower two stories or 26 feet, which ever is lower, and/or freestanding on the lot shall not exceed an area equal to 10% of said lower two-story area of the building facade. (The facade is the building side facing the street mailing address.)

(2) Freestanding signs on the lot are permitted as long as total of sign plus facade sign does not exceed 10% of the total facade.

(3) Lower level (story) signs; determining the size of signs on rear and sides of buildings. The total permitted sign surface area of all business identification signs located on the rear and sides of buildings shall not exceed 65 square feet.

(4) 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 5% of the area of the building facade above the second story to which the sign is attached.

(5) Lower and upper level signs may be continuous; however, if not, there shall be at least 13 feet, or one story, whichever is less, between upper level and lower level signs as long as the total sign surface are does not exceed 10%.

(6) Existing business identification signs on existing nonconforming uses shall be continued and maintained, provided that such signs shall conform to the general regulations below. If existing signs are removed, the new regulations shall apply.

(7) Shopping center signs. The total permitted sign surface area of all business identification signs located on the facade of a building that is located in a shopping center shall not exceed 10% of the cumulative area of all facades visible from any street. In addition, there shall be permitted one freestanding sign on each street frontage. The freestanding sign surface shall not exceed 350 square feet in size and the height shall not exceed the zoning district height regulations. No individual tenant shall be permitted to erect an individual freestanding sign on the shopping center site.

C. Signs lighted by flashing lights as defined in this Code of Ordinances shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(1) The electronic message portion of a sign illuminated by flashing lights shall not exceed 32 square feet in size.

(2) A sign illuminated by flashing lights shall not project beyond the property line.

(3) A sign illuminated by flashing lights shall not be erected within 200 feet of a public street intersection.

(4) A sign illuminated by flashing lights shall not be erected in or within 100 feet of a residential zoning district.

§ 300-89 Billboards.

[Amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02]

Billboards, advertising signboards or other like signs shall be permitted only in the Commercial Highway, Medium Manufacturing and Heavy Manufacturing Zoning Districts subject to the following criteria:

A. All such signs must be in complete conformance with Act No. 160, the Outdoor Advertising Control Act of 1971, as amended[1], and as further controlled by this article.

[1] Editor's Note: See 36 P.S. § 2718.10 et seq.

B. No such sign shall be permitted upon the roof of any building.

C. All signs shall be required to be set back 30 feet from the front lot line and shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from all other property lines.

D. No sign shall exceed 35 feet in vertical measurement, and no total sign face shall be more than 312.5 square feet.

E. Signs shall not be erected or maintained within a five-hundred-foot radius of any other off-premises advertising signs or within a five-hundred-foot radius of any residential zone or existing residential use.

F. All lighting shall conform to the height regulations for building in the district in which the sign is located, and any lighting used to illuminate advertising signs shall be arranged so that the direct rays from the lights will not fall on any adjoining property.

G. Signs shall not be erected in or encroach over public easements or public rights-of-way.

H. Signs or lighting for signs shall not be placed in such a position that it will cause danger to traffic or create a traffic hazard by obscuring the view or in any way interfering with vision.

I. Any new advertising sign constructed must be a unipole construction.

J. There shall be no stacking of such signs.

K. A permit must be obtained every year, and a fee established by resolution of Council shall be paid in order to ensure compliance.

L. Any such sign that does not have advertising for more than a year must be removed.

§ 300-90 General regulations.

The following regulations shall apply to all permitted sign uses:

A. Signs must be constructed of durable materials, maintained in good condition, and not allowed to become dilapidated. This provision will be enforced under the current edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 221, Property Maintenance.

B. Signs or lighting for signs shall not be placed in such a position that they will cause danger to traffic by obscuring the view or any way interfering with vision.

C. Except as may be permitted under Chapter 226, Article III, relating to temporary signs and banners, signs other than ordained traffic signs shall not be erected within the lines of any street or alley.

[Amended 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-06]

D. Signs projecting beyond the property lines shall be not less than 10 feet above the public sidewalk area. Overhanging signs shall not project over the cartway of a street or alley.

E. Signs shall not project above the height limit permitted in any district where they are located.

F. A permit shall not be required for erection, alteration or maintenance of any sign permitted in a residential district.

G. A building permit shall be required for the erection, alteration or reconstruction of advertising signboards, including poster panels, bulletins and the like.

H. All signs shall be removed when the circumstances leading to their erection no longer apply.

I. No sign shall project above the fascia, roofline or parapet wall.

J. Sign size determination. The size of the sign shall be the sign face, not including any supporting structure or framework, provided that such support structure or framework does not include any letters or symbols.

§ 300-90.1 Temporary signs.

[Added 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-06]

A. Each property in commercial and manufacturing districts may have erected thereon, either on the building or outside the public right-of-way area, signs, banners or flags constructed of cloth, canvas, cardboard, plastic or other material.

B. There is no limit to the number of signs that may be erected; however, no sign shall exceed 32 square feet, and in no instance shall there be more than 96 square feet of temporary signage on a property.

C. Signs indicating the date of an event must be removed within 10 days after the event.

[Amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02]

D. Temporary signs shall be prohibited in residentially zoned districts.