[Editor's Note: The sign application checklist and the zoning checklist can be found in the Appendix to Chapter 30, Land Use Procedures.]
[1973 Code § 72-1]
This chapter shall hereafter be known and may be cited as the
"Sign Regulations."
[1973 Code § 72-2]
As used in this chapter:
Shall mean the person or organization acting as such pursuant
to resolution of the Borough Council.
Shall mean to build, construct, hang, attach, place, suspend,
affix or paint.
Shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, association,
corporation, company or organization of any kind.
Shall mean a parcel of land, the location, dimensions and boundaries of which are determined by the latest official record on the Borough Assessment Map, and occupied or intended to be occupied by one (1) building or one (1) unit group of buildings and its accessory buildings and uses, and including such open spaces as are required by Chapter 34, Zoning.
Shall mean every sign, billboard, ground sign, monument sign,
wall sign, roof sign, sign painted on a building or structure, illuminated
sign, projecting sign, temporary sign, awning and canopy and, where
placed out-of-doors or in such a place as to be capable of being seen
by the general public, any announcement, declaration, demonstration,
display, illustration, insignia, trade name or trademark used to advertise
or promote the interest of any person.
Ground Sign shall mean a sign supported by uprights and not
connected to or attached to any other structure or building.
Illuminated Sign shall mean a sign which has characters, letters,
designs or any part of the outline or background thereof formed or
artificially illuminated by electric lights or luminous tubes within
the sign or contiguous to and attached to the display surface thereof
or to the device supporting same or the structure to which same is
attached.
Monument Sign shall mean a sign constructed of stone or masonry
resting upon footings extending below the frost line and not connected
to or attached to any other structure or building.
Projecting Sign shall mean a sign attached to and suspended
from or supported by a building or post, with the greatest dimension
of the sign in a plane vertical to the plane of the wall of the building
or to the post to which it is attached.
Roof Sign shall mean a sign, all or a part of which projects
above a horizontal plane perpendicular to the highest point in the
lowest vertical wall of the principal portion of the building or structure
upon which said sign is located, or which is supported in whole or
in part by or upon the roof of a building or structure.
Shall mean any building, shed, garage, shanty, fence, booth,
equipment, tank and all other constructed edifices, enclosures or
devices.
[1973 Code § 72-3]
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful for any
person to erect, alter, relocate or maintain within the Borough any
sign, as defined in this chapter, without first making application
for and obtaining a permit therefor from the Construction Official.
[1973 Code § 72-4; Ord. No. 09-01-04]
a.
Each application for a permit required under this chapter shall be accompanied by the fee required under the provisions of subsection 9-1.3a7.
1.
Name, address and telephone number of the person making the application.
2.
Location of the structure or premises upon which the sign is to be
erected, altered, relocated or maintained.
3.
A sketch of the proposed sign and its dimensions, construction, materials,
type of illumination, if any, method of support, including materials
to be used for support, and its exact location with regard to structures
on the premises.
4.
Name and address of the person who will do the work.
5.
If the applicant is not the owner or lessee of the premises where
such sign is or will be located, the consent of the owner or lessee
thereof.
6.
Such other information as the Construction Official shall require
to demonstrate compliance with this chapter and all other laws and
ordinances of the Borough.
b.
A sign permit must be applied for and issued within eighteen (18)
months from final approval by the Planning Board or Mayor and Council
of any application. If a sign permit is not so applied for and issued
within this time period, the Planning Board or Mayor and Council approval
shall be deemed null and void and a sign permit cannot then be issued.
[1973 Code § 72-5; Ord. No. 07-12]
It shall be the duty of the Construction Official to examine
the application and other data and the premises upon which it is proposed
to erect the sign, and if it shall appear that the proposed sign is
in compliance with all the requirements of this chapter and all other
laws and ordinances of the Borough, he shall than issue the erection
permit. If the work authorized under an erection permit has not been
completed within one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of issuance,
the permit shall become null and void.
[1973 Code § 72-6]
The provisions and regulations of this chapter shall not apply
to the following signs:
a.
In the A Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, of the Borough Code, one (1) sign which shall not exceed three (3) square feet in area identifying the owner or lessee or a permitted use of the structure or premises upon which the sign is erected; provided, however, that the sign is not illuminated from within or without. Illumination primarily serving some other function than the illumination of the sign shall not be deemed illumination of the sign under this chapter.
b.
During the period between the granting of a building permit and the granting of a certificate of occupancy under the Zoning Chapter, in the A Zone and B Zone, one (1) sign which shall not exceed six (6) square feet in area identifying the person or persons retained in connection with the construction authorized under the building permit, and in the C Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, one (1) sign which shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area or individual signs which shall not exceed six (6) square feet in area identifying the person or persons retained in connection with the construction authorized under this building permit.
c.
Municipal signs, traffic signs, legal notices, danger and such temporary
emergency or nonadvertising signs as may be approved by the Borough
Council.
[1973 Code § 72-7]
Upon receipt of a duly issued permit as hereinbefore set forth,
it shall be lawful to erect the following signs:
a.
In the B Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, one (1) sign which shall not exceed six (6) square feet in area.
b.
In the C Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, two (2) signs, wall or monument, limited to identifying the owner or lessee of the premises upon which the signs are located, which cumulatively shall not exceed one hundred fifty (150) square feet in area, and neither of which shall exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area; two (2) general directory ground signs, each of which shall not exceed five (5) feet in width and eight (8) feet in height in outer dimensions, identifying on each sign two (2) or more owners, lessors and lessees of premises in the C Zone; and nonilluminated directional ground signs located not less than five (5) feet from a right-of-way, containing only one (1) panel not exceeding thirty (30) inches in length and six (6) inches in width attached to or suspended from a wooden post or posts not exceeding six (6) feet in height. No sign shall be illuminated from within nor by illumination affixed to the sign or the structure from which the sign is suspended, nor shall it be illuminated between the hours of 10:00 p.m. local time each day and 6:00 a.m. local time the following day. Signs projecting more than six (6) inches from a structure are prohibited. A monument sign shall be constructed of materials designed to harmonize with the principal structure on the premises upon which the sign is located and shall have footings below the frost line. No application for a sign in the C Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, shall be approved by the Construction Official until the same shall have been submitted to and approved by the Planning Board and the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Rockleigh.
c.
In the A Zone and B Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, one (1) real estate sign which shall not exceed three (3) square feet in area, advertising the sale or lease of the premises upon which the same is erected, which sign shall not be illuminated from within or without.
d.
In the C Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, one (1) real estate sign which shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area, advertising the sale or lease of any premises within the C Zone, which sign shall not be illuminated from within or without. No application for a sign in the C Zone under Chapter 34, Zoning, shall be approved by the Construction Official until the same shall have been submitted to and approved by the Planning Board and the Mayor and Council.
[1973 Code § 72-8]
All signs attached to the face of a building or structure shall
not project more than six (6) inches from the face of the building
or structure and shall not extend beyond the end of the face of the
building or structure. Individual lettering erected on a building
or structure in such manner as to form a sign and not originally a
part of the building or structure shall be measured on the basis of
a rectangle for each letter, and the total area of the rectangles
must not exceed the area by which signs are limited by this chapter.
Provided that each side shall be uniform in area, appearance and content,
a sign with two (2) or more sides shall be measured, for the purpose
of determining the area thereof, on one (1) side only.
[1973 Code § 72-9]
Every permanent sign lawfully in existence at the time of the
adoption of this chapter on March 8, 1965 and which advertises or
promotes an activity conducted or product sold elsewhere than upon
the premises upon which such sign may be found may be retained, provided
it shall not be altered or moved and provided it shall be kept in
repair and in reasonable appearance. Any other sign now existing and
which violates any of the provisions of this chapter, shall, within
a period of two (2) years from the effective date of this chapter
be taken down and removed by the owner or lessee thereof or the person
having the beneficial use of the premises upon which such sign may
be found, and upon failure to remove the same the Construction Official
is hereby authorized to cause the removal of such sign, and any expense
incident thereto shall be paid by the owner or lessee thereof or the
person having the beneficial use of the premises upon which such sign
may be found.
[1973 Code § 72-10]
In addition to such signs as may be heretofore prohibited by
this chapter or by any other ordinance of the Borough, the following
types of signs shall be prohibited:
a.
Signs in which the colors red and/or green are used either in direct
illumination or in high reflection by the use of special preparations
such as fluorescent paint or glass.
b.
Any sign visible from a public right-of-way which uses an arrow or
the word "Stop," excepting highway directional signs erected by public
agencies.
c.
Any sign of which all or any part thereof is in motion.
d.
Any sign displaying flashing or intermittent lights, except Christmas
tree lighting by residents or institutions on their premises.
e.
Any sign that interferes with or obscures a sign erected by a public
agency, traffic instruction or directions or other public information.
f.
Roof signs.
[Ord. No. 01-02-04 § 72-16,
adopted 3/9/2004]
Except for official traffic control devices or street name signs
or other signs erected under the authority of the Mayor and Council,
no person, persons or corporations shall be permitted to place signs,
placards or advertisements of any description along, over or across
the public highways or streets in the Borough or on the trees or telephone,
telegraph or electric light poles of the streets.
[1973 Code § 72-11]
All signs may be inspected annually by the Construction Official
for the purpose of ascertaining whether the same are secure or insecure
or in need of removal, repair or repainting.
[1973 Code § 72-12]
The Construction Official is hereby authorized and empowered
to revoked any permit issued by him upon failure of the holder thereof
to comply with any provisions of this chapter and all permits shall
contain a provision to this effect.
[1973 Code § 72-13]
If the Construction Official shall find that any sign is unsafe,
insecure or in need of repair or violates any of the provisions of
this chapter or of a permit granted for the erection thereof, he shall
give written notice to the permittee, owner or lessee thereof or the
person having the beneficial use of the premises, building or structure
upon which such sign may be found. If the person fails to remove,
alter or repair it within ten (10) days after such notice, such sign
may be removed, altered or repaired by the Construction Official at
the expense of said person.
[1973 Code § 72-14]
Any sign now or hereafter existing which no longer advertises
a bona fide business conducted or a product sold shall be taken down
and removed by the permittee, owner or lessee thereof or person having
the beneficial use of the building, premises or structure upon which
such sign may be found within ten (10) days after the written notification
from the Construction Official, and upon failure to comply with such
notice within the time specified in such order, the Construction Official
is hereby authorized to cause removal of such sign, and any expenses
incident thereto shall be paid by that person.
[1973 Code § 72-15; New]
