This Part 8 is intended to promote and maintain overall community aesthetic quality, establish time, place and manner of regulations for the exercise of free speech, without regulating content, promote traffic safety by avoiding distractions and sight distance obstructions, and protect property values and ensure compatibility with the character of neighboring uses.
Signs must be constructed of durable material and maintained
in good condition.
A.
No sign shall be maintained within the Township in such a state of
disrepair as to have the appearance of complete neglect, which is
rotting or falling down, which is illegible, or has loose parts separated
from original fastenings.
B.
Whenever a sign becomes structurally unsafe or endangers the safety
of the building or premises, or endangers the public safety, the Zoning
Officer shall give written notice to the owner of the premises on
which the sign is located that such sign must be made safe or removed
within five days.
C.
Advertising painted upon or displayed upon a barn or other building
or structure shall be regarded as a flat wall sign, and the regulations
pertaining thereto shall apply.
D.
Each sign shall be removed when the circumstances leading to its
erection no longer apply.
E.
Signs may be interior-lighted with nonglaring lights, or may be illuminated by floodlights or spotlights shielded to prevent direct light transmission to other properties or public rights-of-way and in accordance with Article XXVI, Lighting, of this chapter. Any lighted sign that becomes damaged so as to cause an electrical hazard shall be turned off and electrically isolated until timely repairs are made.
[Amended 8-16-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
F.
Directly illuminated signs, designed to give forth artificial light directly or through transparent or translucent material from a source of light within such sign, including, but not limited to, neon or LED, will be permitted within the BC and C/I Zoning Districts, provided that all such lighting is in accordance with the standards in Article XXVI, Lighting, of this chapter.
[Amended 8-16-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
G.
Internally lighted signs with the capability of changeable messages
or displays shall not be permitted to change messages more than once
per every 45 seconds. The intensity and glare from such signs shall
be minimized in order not to present a visibility obstruction to drivers.
[Amended 8-16-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
(1)
The display shall change from one complete message to the next
complete message within one second.
(2)
Messages shall not visually dissolve or fade, in which any part
of one electronic message/display appears simultaneously with any
part of a second electronic message/display.
(3)
Flashes, bursts of light, streaming, zooming or animated effects
are prohibited on electronic signs.
(4)
All electronic signs shall have ambient light monitors which
automatically adjust the brightness level of the electronic sign based
on ambient light conditions. Dusk-to-dawn illumination is not to exceed
750 nits.
(5)
Electronic signs shall not be located within 300 feet of a residential
use.
H.
No sign located within 300 feet of any traffic signal or similar
traffic device shall be illuminated with red, green, yellow or amber
lights, light bulbs, LEDs, neon tubing or are highly reflective surfaces
such as fluorescent paint or glass.
[Amended 8-16-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
I.
All electrically illuminated signs shall be constructed to the standards
of the National Board of Fire Underwriters.
J.
Signs must be positioned so that they do not interfere with any clear
sight triangle.
K.
No loud, vulgar, indecent, or obscene advertising matter shall be
displayed in any manner, including, but not limited to:
(1)
Any graphic illustration pertaining to specified sexual activities
and/or specified anatomical areas.
(2)
Scenes wherein artificial devices are employed to depict or
drawings are employed to portray any of the prohibited signs, photographs
or graphic representations described above.
(3)
Any sign which sends a message of hate or discrimination, or
which violates any other law.
L.
No sign shall be erected or located as to prevent free ingress or
egress from any window, door or fire escape.
M.
No sign shall be placed in such a position that it will obscure light
or air from a building or which would create a traffic danger.
N.
No sign shall be permitted which is permanently attached to public
utility poles, trees or living matter, traffic sign post, traffic
signal control devices, street sign or historical monument which are
within the right-of-way of any street.
O.
No sign located within the Floodplain Protection Overlay shall exceed
six square feet of area per side.
P.
In the event that a symbol, trademark or other such figure is used
as a sign post or standard which could be construed to indicate or
identify a particular use or business, that symbol, trademark or figure
is to be computed as part of the total allowable sign area.
Q.
Except in the case of billboards and directional signs, only those
signs referring directly to services, materials or products made,
sold, or displayed on the premises shall be permitted.
R.
No point of any sign, including trim, border and supports, shall
be located within 10 feet of any property or street right-of-way line.
S.
Any sign attached to a building shall not be placed on the roof or
be higher than the wall to which it is attached;
T.
No point of a wall-projecting sign shall be located less than 8 1/2
feet above the grade directly below the sign.
U.
Nothing in these regulations shall be construed as prohibiting signs
intended for viewing principally from within a building or signs temporarily
attached to the inside face of a display window, announcing a sale
or similar feature, provided that the latter shall not occupy more
than 33 1/3% of the total display window area for a period not
to exceed 10 days.
V.
Determination of size of sign area:
(1)
The area of a sign shall be construed to include all lettering,
wording and accompanying designs and symbols, together with the background,
whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed, including any
border framing or decorative attachments, but not including any supporting
framework or bracing incidental to the display itself. Where the sign
consists of individual letters or symbols attached to a building,
wall or window, the area of the sign shall be considered to be that
of the smallest rectangle or other regular geometric shape which encompasses
all of the letters and symbols.
(2)
Where a sign has two or more faces, the area of all faces shall
be included in determining the area of the sign; provided, however,
for a double-face sign, if the interior angle formed by the two faces
of the double-face sign is less than 45° and the two faces are
at no point more than three feet from one another, the area of only
the larger face shall be included.
W.
Determination of sign height. The height of a sign shall be computed
as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top
of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall
be construed to be the lower of existing grade prior to construction
or the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any
filling, berming, mounding or excavating solely for the purpose of
locating the sign. In cases in which the normal grade cannot reasonably
be determined, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that
the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal
to the elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public street
or the grade of the land at the principal entrance to the principal
structure on the lot, whichever is lower.
X.
Regulation of legally nonconforming signs:
(1)
Signs on the premises of legally nonconforming uses may remain
until the existing use of the premises is discontinued.
(a)
Nothing in this article shall relieve the owners or users of
legally nonconforming signs, or the owners of the property on which
legally nonconforming signs are located, from any provisions of this
article regarding the safety, maintenance, and repair of signs.
(b)
Any business that has closed shall remove any signs associated
with the business within 60 days after it closes. The owner of the
premises shall have the responsibility to ensure such signs are removed
within the sixty-day period.
(c)
The existence of a legally nonconforming sign on a single- or
multiple-occupancy premises shall not prevent the erection or placement
of another sign or the premises, if the new sign meets the requirements
of this article. However, the total number of signs and the size and
area of the signs shall not exceed the requirements of this article.
(2)
Nonconforming signs may be maintained until such time as they
are damaged, destroyed, removed, or in need of repair to a degree
of 50% or more of value of the sign. At such time, the sign may only
be repaired or replaced in strict conformance with this chapter. A
nonconforming sign, shall not be expanded, enlarged, or structurally
changed. Changes to the facing of the sign only, with no change to
the physical structure of the sign, are permissible.
The tables included as attachments to this chapter tabulate requirements imposed upon permanent, temporary, and shopping center signs as permitted by the Township.
The following types of signs shall not be permitted in the Township:
A.
Signs of such a design and location that they interfere with, compete
for attention with, or may be mistaken for a traffic signal. This
shall include any sign visible from the public right-of-way that uses
an arrow device or the word "stop." It shall also include signs in
which the colors red, yellow and green are used either in direct illumination
or in high reflection by the use of special preparation, such as fluorescent
paint or glass.
B.
Any sign located in or extending into a public right-of-way, except
those owned or operated by a duly constituted government.
C.
Any freestanding or projecting sign within an area bounded by the
intersection of two rights-of-way and 20 feet from such intersection
along the rights-of-way, except permanent on-site directional signs
less than three feet in height.
D.
Any freestanding signs utilizing motor vehicles or trailers of any
kind, except those trailers manufactured with a sign face permanently
attached to it specifically for the purpose of being used as a portable
sign.
E.
Signs of the flashing or rotating type, including moving illumination
which varies in color or intensity.
[Amended 8-16-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016]
F.
Freestanding signs on or over a public sidewalk area.
G.
Freestanding signs for individual uses within an approved shopping
center complex.
H.
Signs with reflective backgrounds.
I.
Beacon lights.
For signs requiring permits, the following requirements shall
apply prior to the erection of said signs:
A.
Permit applications.
(1)
An application for a permit shall be made at the Township Office.
(2)
Application shall be made on a form to be provided by the Township
and shall contain the following information and documentation:
(a)
The name(s) and address(es) of the applicant and the landowner.
(b)
A statement from the landowner granting permission for the placement
of the sign on the subject property.
(c)
A drawing to scale, showing the location of the sign with reference
to the abutting property lines and streets.
(d)
A drawing to scale, showing all dimensions of the sign. For
a directional sign or an on-premises sign advertising activities being
conducted on the property, the drawing shall also contain an accurate
representation of the advertising or informative contents of the sign.
(e)
A description of the construction materials of the sign and
its manner of installation.
(f)
Any other relevant information requested from the Zoning Officer.
(3)
Each application shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee,
as established by the Board of Supervisors.
(4)
All applications shall be reviewed, and permits issued, by the
Zoning Officer. No sign permit shall be issued, except in conformity
with the regulations of this chapter, except upon order of the Zoning
Hearing Board, granted pursuant to the procedures established for
the issuance of a variance.
The Permanent Sign Requirements Table is included as an attachment to this chapter.
