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:
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.
Signs permitted. Off-premises advertising signs may be permitted
by conditional use in the Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District
subject to the requirements contained in this section.
Size of sign face. An off-premises advertising sign face may not
exceed 300 square feet per side in area, with a maximum length of
20 feet and a maximum width of 15 feet.
Height. Off-premises advertising signs shall not exceed 35 feet in
height. 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.
Location of sign. Off-premises advertising signs shall be located
no closer than 20 feet from any property line and 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. Off-premises advertising signs
may not be closer than 1,500 feet from another off-premises advertising
sign measured linearly. 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 primary highway from the beginning
or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the
main-traveled way. 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. No off-premises advertising sign shall
be erected within a three-hundred-foot circumference of the nearest
property line of any of the following: historic site, school, church
or other religious institution, retirement or nursing home, cemetery,
government building, community center or public park, playground or
recreational area. No off-premises advertising sign shall be located
within 500 feet of any existing residential dwelling.
Content. 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. In addition, such signs shall not display any moving,
flashing, scrolling, fading, brightening or animated text or video.
Lighting. 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. Illumination
of all off-premises outdoor advertising signs shall be by external
illumination or light-emitting diode (LED) only. Animated, flashing,
revolving, scrolling, rotating and oscillating style signs shall be
prohibited. The copy or image on an LED sign shall not change more
than once per minute. All copy or image changes shall be instantaneous
and shall not fade in or out of the digital active area. Any external
illumination shall be shielded as necessary to direct light onto the
sign without spillover on any side of the sign. Any resulting glare
generated by an off-premises advertising sign shall not exceed 1/8
footcandle, as measured 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. 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.
Maintenance of sign. All off-premises advertising signs shall be
structurally sound and maintained in good condition. 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. 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 certified mail, sent to
the owner's last known address, to repair or remove the sign. 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.
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.
Sign arrangement. When 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. When a V-type sign
arrangement is used for 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°. 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.
Agreement of property owner. 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.
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.
Landscaping. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Owner identification. All off-premises advertising signs shall be
identified on the structure with the name and address of the owner
of each sign. 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.
Discontinued sign. 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. An off-premises advertising sign
which has been discontinued shall be presumed to be abandoned and
shall constitute an illegal off-premises advertising sign. 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. Any discontinued off-premises
advertising sign shall be removed at the expense of the owner of the
sign. 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.
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 Lower Salford Township Building
Code and all applicable Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
regulations.