[Adopted 9-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Street/Road Name, Address and Sign Ordinance of Metal Township."
This article is adopted pursuant to the provisions of the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code, Act of May 1, 1933 (P.L. 103, No 69) reenacted and amended November 9, 1995 (P.L. 350, No. 60), as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 65101 et seq.
For the purpose of this article only, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE
Any dwelling of any size, any commercial building of any size, any enclosed structure (whether used for storage, etc.) 500 square feet or more in area, and any partially enclosed structure 800 square feet or more in area.
A. 
The purpose of this article is to enhance public safety and security, and generally protect the public health, safety and welfare, by improving the ability of emergency response personnel to navigate and quickly locate dwellings and other structures in the Township and to provide for the convenience of the general public.
B. 
This article:
(1) 
Provides authority to the Board of Supervisors to assign road names to all public and private roads in the Township to eliminate duplicates and confusion.
(2) 
Requires conformance to the addressing system established by the Franklin County Planning Department (FCPD) and Metal Township.
(3) 
Establishes a uniform system for street/road names and house number signs.
A. 
All public and private streets, driveways and access roads in the Township which serve two or more principal structures shall be named and posted with an approved street name sign in accordance with this article.
(1) 
Sign dimensions. All street/road name sign blades shall be a minimum of nine inches in height and shall be constructed of extruded or rolled aluminum.
(2) 
Sign facing and color. All sign blades shall be single-faced with reflective sheeting, white reflective names on a green background, shall utilize upper- and lowercase lettering, and all uppercase letters and numbers shall be a minimum of six inches high, and all lowercase letters shall be a minimum of 4 1/2 inches high.
(3) 
Signpost. Street and road name signs shall be mounted on a signpost, with sign mountings constructed as to hold signs in a proper and permanent position and to resist displacement by wind or vandalism. If used, a concrete base shall be flush with the ground. Trees shall not be used as signposts.
(4) 
Sign placement and coverage. Street and road name signs shall be placed at all intersections. Obstructions shall be removed to permit the sign to be visible from a distance of not less than 200 feet from the intersection in all directions and not less than 150 feet from where only private roads are involved. The bottom of the sign blade shall be no less than six feet and no more than eight feet above the edge of the street. To ensure visibility, the post shall be generally offset six feet from the edge of the road.
B. 
The Board of Supervisors shall have the sole authority to assign names to all public and private streets, driveways and access roads in the Township and to change such names if deemed necessary to achieve the purposes of this article. In the case of new subdivisions and land developments, the approved road names shall be included on the plans that are required by the Township.
C. 
The installation and maintenance of assigned street/road name signs shall be the responsibility of the owner and/or whoever is responsible for maintenance of same, after the name has been assigned by the Township. If the sign and/or post mount is knocked down and/or removed and/or otherwise covered by an unforeseen occurrence, the owner of such property shall repair and/or reinstall the same within 30 days of the occurrence.
A. 
Sign required. All properties containing principal structures in Metal Township shall have a street number sign containing the street number, as assigned by Franklin County Planning and Metal Township, as set forth by the following criteria.
(1) 
Sign dimensions. All numbering sign blades shall be a minimum of nine inches high.
(2) 
Sign construction. All numbering sign blades shall be constructed of extruded or rolled aluminum.
(3) 
Sign facing and color. All sign blades shall be single-faced with reflective sheeting, white reflective numbers on a green background, and shall be a minimum of six inches high and two inches wide in plain blocked font.
(4) 
Spacing between words or a between words or a word and number in a line of copy should be approximately one to 1 1/2 times the uppercase letter height used in that line of copy.
(5) 
Obstructions. All obstructions shall be removed, making the sign visible from both directions of travel.
(6) 
Sign location. Street number signs shall be mounted facing the addressed street/road and visible from the street/road.
(7) 
Sign height. The maximum height of the signpost from the finished grade to the bottom of the sign shall not exceed eight feet. The minimum height shall be not less than seven feet.
(8) 
Sign mounting. The signposts and sign mountings shall be constructed as to hold signs in a proper and permanent position and to resist displacement by wind or vandalism. Signs may be placed on mailboxes which are visible from the roadway and are located at the property for which the number is assigned.
(9) 
Sign replacement. If the signpost or mount is knocked down and/or removed and/or otherwise covered by an unforeseen occurrence, the owner of such property shall repair and/or reinstall the number sign within 30 days of the occurrence.
(10) 
New building/development. The owners of new structures, those structures constructed after the effective date of this article, shall install the assigned number prior to being issued a certificate of occupancy by a Building Code Official.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall number or attempt to number any house, building or structure contrary to this article or who shall, after six months of release of address change notification letters and within 30 days of notification by the Metal Township Board of Supervisors, fail or neglect to number their property in accordance herewith, or who shall fail to change the number thereof or fail to remove the old number in cases of a number change, and any person or persons who shall alter, deface, remove, or destroy any number or sign required to be displayed by this article, or who otherwise violates any of the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall, at the discretion of the court, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $300 for the first offense and not more than $1,000 for the second and all other offenses, plus the costs of prosecution and reasonable attorneys' fees, and in default of payment thereof, to imprisonment of not more than 30 days. Each day's violation of any of the provisions of this article shall constitute a separate offense.