In addition to serving the overall purposes of this chapter,
this article is intended:
A. To provide for signs as a means of effective visual communication.
B. To promote adopted comprehensive planning and zoning objectives.
C. To assure compatibility of signs with land uses and buildings in
the vicinity of the signs and in the community as a whole.
D. To improve the safety of pedestrians, vehicular traffic and property.
E. To enhance the economic value of the community.
F. To enhance the aesthetic environment.
G. To minimize adverse effects of signs on nearby property.
H. To otherwise promote the public health, safety, morals and general
welfare of the community.
I. To regulate the use of signs through a sign permitting process.
J. To enable the fair and consistent enforcement of these sign regulations.
The following definitions of "sign" and kinds of signs shall
apply to those terms whenever they appear in this article:
BILLBOARD
An off-premises sign that has a sign area greater than six
square feet.
BUILDING SIGN
A sign attached to or painted on a building or attached to
an awning that is attached to a building. This term includes wall
signs and roof signs. A window sign shall also be regulated as a building
sign, except as provided in the definition of "window sign" below.
BUSINESS SIGN
A sign that directs attention to any business, professional,
commercial or industrial activity occurring on the premises on which
the sign is located, but not including a home occupation sign. (Also
see "center sign.")
CENTER SIGN
A business sign that provides identification at the entrance
to a center, such as a shopping center, office complex or industrial
park.
CONTRACTOR SIGN
A temporary sign that carries the name and information about
a contractor who is involved in construction work occurring on the
premises on which the sign is located.
ELECTION SIGN
A type of "issue sign" that directs attention to a candidate
or candidates for public office, a political party or a ballot issue.
FREESTANDING SIGN
A sign not attached to or painted on a building, or a sign
attached to or painted on a building that has no use in addition to
supporting the sign.
GARAGE/YARD SALE SIGN
A temporary sign that directs attention to the sale of personal
goods on the premises on which the sign is located.
GOVERNMENT SIGN
An off-premises sign placed by a governmental unit, such
as a traffic, directional, informational or street name sign, or an
historical marker.
HOME OCCUPATION SIGN
A sign providing information about a business activity conducted
within a dwelling unit on the premises on which the sign is located.
IDENTIFICATION SIGN
A sign used to identify the name and display information
about the individual, organization, agency, institution, facility
or development located on the premises on which the sign is located,
but not including a business sign. (Also see "development sign" and
"public use sign.")
INCIDENTAL SIGN
An informational sign, no more than two square feet in size,
that carries a message such as "enter," "open," "telephone," "rest
rooms," "no parking," "no trespassing," "warning," a listing of hours
when open, an on-site direction, or anything similar. Incidental signs
may not include any commercial message or logo, except that one "enter"
sign per entrance may include a logo or business name, as long as
the entrance is exclusively for that business and the logo or business
name is subordinate to the word "Enter."
ISSUE SIGN
A temporary sign that directs attention to a candidate(s)
for elective office or to an opinion of a public or private nature,
such as but not limited to a community, social, religious, judicial,
political or ballot issue. A sign including commercial advertising
shall not be considered an issue sign. If such type of sign exceeds
the maximum size for an issue sign, then it shall be regulated as
a billboard.
LOT
When used in this Article
VII, the word "lot" shall mean a designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit, such as the area used by a dwelling unit in a townhouse structure or a tenant space in a multiple-tenant building.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION SIGN
An off-premises sign displaying information about a church,
service club or other organization that does not operate for the purpose
of making a profit.
OFF-PREMISES SIGN
A sign that advertises a service, product, business or activity
that is not offered or located on the lot upon which the sign is located.
A political, election or issue-oriented sign that exceeds the size
limits for an issue sign shall also be regulated as an off-premises
sign. See also "billboard," which is a type of off-premises sign.
OPEN HOUSE SIGN
A temporary sign that provides information about a real estate
open house, including the words "open house," the day and time of
the open house, and the name of the realtor.
OVERHEAD SIGN
A sign located such that pedestrian or vehicular traffic
might pass beneath any part of it.
PERMANENT SIGN
A sign intended to be displayed for an unlimited period of
time.
PUBLIC USE SIGN
An identification sign used to identify the name and display
information about a public use, such as a government building, school,
park, firehouse or church.
PUBLIC UTILITY SIGN
Signs that are necessary for a sewage service, water supply,
land-line telephone or electricity provider to post in the performance
of their responsibilities, such as warning signs and utility pole
identification numbers.
REAL ESTATE SIGN
A temporary sign that provides information about a real estate
activity on the premises on which the sign is located, such as a sign
advertising a sale, rental or property available for or in the process
of development, but not including an open house sign.
ROOF SIGN
A sign attached to or painted on a roof.
SIDEWALK SIGN
A temporary sign placed on the sidewalk adjacent to the commercial
activity it advertises, but not including a contractor sign, a garage/yard
sale sign, a home occupation sign, an open house sign, a real estate
sign or a special event sign.
SIGN
A device for visual communication that is used to bring the
subject to the attention of the public.
A.
Signs do include lettering, logos, trademarks or other symbols
that are an integral part of the architectural design of a building,
that are applied to a building or that are located elsewhere on the
premises; signs affixed to windows or glass doors or otherwise internally
mounted such that they are obviously intended to be seen and understood
by vehicular or pedestrian traffic outside the building; flags and
insignia of civic, charitable, religious, fraternal, patriotic or
similar organizations; insignia of governments or government agencies;
banners, streamers, pennants, spinners, reflectors, ribbons, tinsel
and similar materials; and inflatable objects.
B.
Signs do not include the following: architectural features that may be identified with a particular business; backlit awnings that include no lettering, logos or other symbols; signs within a building that are not readable from outside of the building; flags of governments or government agencies; decorative seasonal and holiday banners on residential properties; and displays of merchandise either behind store windows or outdoors. See also §
124-704A(36).
SPECIAL EVENT SIGN
A temporary sign that carries information about a special
event, such as an auction, flea market, festival, carnival, meal or
fund-raising event that benefits a charity, place of worship, school,
fire company or similar nonprofit organization. This term shall not
include any business sign, such as a "sale" sign at a store.
TEMPORARY SIGN
A sign that is displayed for no more than three months in
any year, including consecutively from year to year, unless stated
otherwise in this chapter.
WALL SIGN
A sign attached to or painted on the wall of a building.
WINDOW DISPLAY
An exhibit behind a window that is intended to draw attention
to a product, service, business or cause.
WINDOW SIGN
A sign of more than one square foot that is attached to a
window or visible through a window. A temporary window sign made of
paper on a commercial building is not regulated by this chapter. Any
other window sign shall be regulated as a building sign.
Sign Tables 1 and 2 provide regulations for specific kinds of
signs in each zoning district. Sign Table 1 provides regulations for permanent signs;
Sign Table 2 provides regulations for temporary signs. Types of signs
that are not provided for in Sign Table 1 or 2 or anywhere else in
this article shall not be allowed.
Permits for the placement of signs are required as indicated
in Sign Tables 1 and 2. Sign permit application requirements, such
as forms, plans and fees, shall be established by the Borough Council.
Nonconforming signs may continue to be displayed, as long as
there is compliance with the following limitations and conditions:
A. There may be no expansion or increase in the nonconformity in any
way. This provision includes, but is not limited to, billboards.
B. Maintenance and repair of the sign are permitted; if necessary, up
to 50% of the entire area of a sign and its supporting structure may
be replaced in the event of damage; any such replacement must be completed
within six months of the damage occurring.
C. The sign must be brought into conformity if, for a period of at least
three months, the message has no longer applied to an activity on
the premises (this does not apply to billboards that are actively
offered for rent). However, if a vacant business space is actively
being offered for sale or lease and the sign is intended to be reused
by the future business, then the sign may continue in place, provided
that the sign is changed to a blank sign face within 60 days.