Town of Secaucus, NJ Signs

[Amended 5-14-13 by Ord. No. 2013-14; 3-25-14 by Ord. No. 2014-4; 10-14-14 by Ord. No. 2014-30]

General provisions.

No signs shall be erected, placed on or attached to a structure or erected independently for any purpose unless specifically permitted herein.

(2)

Infrastructure, traffic control devices or any sign approved by the properly constituted governmental body may be erected within the public street right-of-way. No sign shall be placed upon any private property without the consent of the property owner.

(3)

No sign of any type shall be permitted to obstruct driving vision, traffic control devices, pedestrians, adjacent property, access to fire escapes, windows, doors, exits or constitute a safety hazard to persons or vehicles.

(4)

No sign shall be attached to trees, fence posts, stumps, utility poles, water towers, storage tanks, smoke stacks, radio towers or similar to structures, but shall be either free-standing or attached to a building in an approved manner.

(5)

No sign shall be erected so as to project over the property line or emit any sound, odor or other nuisance beyond the property line.

(6)

No sign shall be attached in any manner to a public sidewalk or public right-of-way.

(7)

No sign shall be attached to any vehicle, truck or trailer in such a way as to utilize it as a portable sign which must be removed prior to the movement or operation of said vehicle, truck or trailer. This does not prohibit fixed or permanent signage on vehicles, trucks or trailers, such as vehicle wraps, decals, magnetic door signs, etc., which allow for the operation of said vehicle while the sign is in place.

Every person or entity seeking to place a sign on property shall apply to the Zoning Officer for a permit and shall pay an application fee of $50. Any such permit issued pursuant to this section shall entitle the applicant to place up to three signs on the property for a maximum of two consecutive days. Permission of the property owner, if different from the applicant, to place the sign at that location shall be included with the application. The Zoning Officer shall prepare an application for these signs which shall include information concerning location of the sign, size and content of the sign and any other information required by the Zoning Officer.

[Amended 3-23-10 by Ord. No. 2010-11]

(1)

Should a sign be made of durable materials that is intended to be erected for more than 10 days, the application shall be accompanied by a fee of $1,000. Any permit for such a sign shall entitle the applicant to maintain the sign for a 365 consecutive days and the applicant will, thereafter, be required to reapply for a permit and pay the necessary fee.

Exemptions. The following signs are exempt from the provisions of this section:

(1)

Flags, emblems or signs of a government or of a political, civic, philanthropic, education or religious organization, displayed on private property, provided no sign exceeds 40 square feet;

(2)

Signs of a duly constituted governmental body including traffic or similar regulatory devices, legal notices, warnings at railroad crossings and other instructional or regulatory signs having to do with health, hazards, parking, swimming, dumping and so forth;

(3)

Memorial signs and tablets displayed on private property;

(4)

Address numerals and other signs required to be maintained by law or governmental order, rule or regulation, provided that the content and size of the sign do not exceed the requirements of such law, order, rule or regulations;

(5)

Signs not exceeding five square feet in area displayed on private property for the convenience of the public, including signs to identify entrance and exit drives, parking areas, one-way drives, rest rooms, freight entrances, recycling areas, and the like.

(6)

Real estate signs or rental signs, only on the premises to which they relate and are located, 10 feet from any side property line, one per lot, and not exceeding 10 square feet per side. On property which exceeds 1,000 feet of frontage, an additional sign of 40 square feet is permitted per each additional 1,000 feet of frontage.

The Zoning Officer, Property Maintenance Inspector and other enforcement officers are authorized to remove any sign that has been constructed or erected or is being maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter or any other law or Town ordinance. Written notice of the removal shall be given to the permittee or property owner. If the permittee or owner fails to pick up the removed sign(s) within five days from the date of notice, the sign(s) may be disposed of by the Town. The permittee or the owner of the premises may be liable for the cost of removal and disposal of the sign(s). This provision does not preclude the issuance of any summons or penalties under other applicable provision of this chapter.