The following provisions shall apply to signs erected in all zoning districts.
[2-7-2023]
One sign identifying the name, address, and profession of a permitted home occupation, class 2 or class 3, or home occupation (expanded definition), or a lawfully existing nonconforming home occupation is allowed, provided such sign does not exceed four square feet in area, no side of the sign is greater than two feet six inches in length, and the top of the sign is a maximum of five feet above the ground grade on which it is located.
[2-7-2023]
A bulletin board or similar sign in connection with any church, museum, library, school, or similar public structure not exceeding 12 square feet is allowed, provided said bulletin board is attached to building and is not internally lighted.
[2-7-2023]
No sign, except traditional barber poles for licensed barber shops, shall have visible moving parts, blinking, moving, or glaring illumination. This regulation does not prohibit a wall name sign consisting solely of a rectangular banner made of a flexible cloth-type material, attached at all corners either perpendicular or flat, and conforming to all provisions of Article V of this chapter. This provision does not prohibit a sign which is in the form of a flag or banner provided said banner flag is attached to a pole. (A permit is required for a flag/banner).
The illumination for a sign, interior or exterior lighting, shall involve lighting that is a maximum of 3,000 degrees on the Kelvin scale. This lighting intensity shall apply to any sign, including both a new sign and a replacement sign. The owner of a sign that involves the use of exterior illumination shall ensure that none of the lighting causes glare that may interfere with traveling motorists, bicyclists, or pedestrians, or on adjacent properties.
[2-7-2023]
A string of lights shall not be used for the purpose of advertising or attracting attention, unless used as part of a holiday celebration.
[2-7-2023]
Any sign that no longer advertises an ongoing active bona fide business conducted, product sold, or activity being conducted shall be considered an obsolete sign and shall be taken down and removed by the owner, agent or person having the beneficial use of the building or premises upon which said sign may be found within 30 days after receiving written notification from the Code Enforcement Officer. Failure to comply with such notice shall constitute a violation of the terms of this chapter.
[2-7-2023]
Illuminating signs whose specific purpose is outlining any part of a building, such as a gable, roof, sidewalk or corner, are prohibited.
[2-7-2023]
In Residential Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and Residential 15, the illumination of signs (only for uses that are permitted to have an illuminated sign) shall be permitted only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., except that this time restriction shall not apply to illuminated signs for emergency facilities.
[2-7-2023]
District setback requirements shall not apply to signs, however, no sign, except as may be permitted in the Downtown Commercial, Waterfront Mixed Use 1 or Waterfront Mixed Use 2 zoning districts, shall project over the public right-of-way. No ground sign shall be permitted in the public right-of-way.
[2-7-2023]
In addition to the maximum number and size of signs permitted, directional signs solely indicating ingress and egress placed at driveway locations, containing no advertising material, having a display area not exceeding five (5) square feet, and not extending higher than seven (7) feet above ground level, are permitted. A permit shall not be required for such directional signage.
[2-7-2023]
Legally established nonconforming signs may continue, but shall not be altered or relocated on the same premises, except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Notwithstanding this provision, a legally established nonconforming sign that is nonconforming with respect to the size of the sign or the height of the sign may continue when an owner replaces a sign, provided other elements of the sign are in conformance with provisions of this chapter. Further, if there are more legally established nonconforming signs on a property than the total number of signs permitted on a property for the respective zoning district in which the property is located, said signage can continue, provided the nonconforming signage is not removed for a period of one year (365 consecutive days).
[2-7-2023]
There shall be no off-premises signs except as are regulated by the following State of Maine legislation: 23 M.R.S.A. §§ 1901 through 1925 (as amended), Maine Traveler Information Act, and 23 M.R.S.A. § 4206, Maine Transportation Act, or subsequent amendments or recodification. The placement of signs, bulletins or any other matter on City owned poles is prohibited without prior approval of the Belfast City Council. No off-premises signs shall be allowed within the areas bounded as follows: beginning at a point on the easterly shore of the Passagassawakeag River and the Route #1 Memorial bridge, thence westerly and southerly along the centerline of the Route 1 bypass to the point where the Route #1 bypass intersects Northport Avenue, thence westerly along the southerly boundary of Belfast Tax Map 52, Lot 25, to the shore of the Belfast Bay, thence northerly back to the point of beginning. The above defined area does not include the on and off ramps from Route 1.
[2-7-2023]
Reserved parking signs shall not exceed 2 square feet in size and shall contain no advertising except the name of person(s) who is reserving the space. The lettering for authorization shall not exceed 1" in height. No such sign shall be placed on or in a public right-of-way or street to reserve parking.
[2-7-2023]
A maximum of two credit card or acceptable payment method signs for each credit card or payment method honored per business shall be permitted for any business. Said signage shall not be counted as signage provided no credit card sign is greater than one square foot in size.
[2-7-2023]
A real estate sign is allowed without a permit provided said sign does not exceed 24" by 24" and is located on the property which is offered for sale. A sign that is greater than the above size may be permitted subject to issuance of a sign permit by the Code Enforcement Officer and compliance with the sign standards that apply to the respective zoning district in which the property advertised for sale is located.
[2-7-2023]
A maximum of six gasoline pump signs/logo shall not be counted as signage provided the sign/logo is part of the pump, is not attached to a post or mounted on top of the pump, and the size of any sign does not exceed two square feet.
[2-7-2023]
A vending machines shall have a maximum of one sign per machine, provided the machine sign does not exceed the size of the front face of the vending machine. Should a business have more than two vending machines, said machine sign shall be screened from public view or the signs shall be counted as signage under Article VI.
[2-7-2023]
The owner of a sign shall regularly maintain a sign in good condition. The Code Enforcement Officer has the authority to determine if a sign is being properly maintained and to issue a written notice of violation to the owner of a sign who is not properly maintaining the sign. Failure to comply with such notice shall constitute a violation of the terms of this chapter.
[2-7-2023]
The City recognizes that property owners in Belfast have used art and architectural enhancements to adorn their buildings. For example, the MacDonalds in Belfast has displayed a carved bear, and the Colonial Theatre has an elephant on the roof of the building. Such "art" shall not be considered signage, provided that the "art" does not include any type of indicator signage regarding the use of the property.
[2-7-2023]
The following standards shall apply to the use of any changeable message board sign:
(1) 
The display on each side of a changeable sign may change no more than once every 60 seconds.
(2) 
The display must change as rapidly as technologically practicable, with no phasing, rolling, scrolling, flashing or blending. No sign shall involve the flashing or continuous streaming of information or video animation.
(3) 
The display of information shall consist only of alphabetic or numeric text on a plain or colored background and may include graphic, pictorial or photographic images.
(4) 
The number of changeable signs on a property shall comply with the maximum number of ground signs allowed in a respective zoning district, and there shall be a maximum of one changeable sign with two sides allowed on any public way that provides direct vehicular access to the business, facility or point of interest.
(5) 
No changeable sign shall be located on any property that would result in the message being readable from the Route One bypass (Jug Handle to the Memorial Bridge) and the accompanying ramps, all of which are a controlled access highway in Belfast.
(6) 
The height of a changeable message board sign shall comply with the respective height standards for any sign in a respective zoning district.
(7) 
A changeable message board sign that was erected in Belfast prior to the adoption of these standards on February 7, 2023, and that does not comply with these standards, shall have a period of three years, until February 7, 2026, to bring their sign into compliance with the requirements of this section.
(8) 
An changeable message board sign that includes a time and/or temperature display shall be permitted to change no more frequently than 30 second intervals. A sign that includes only a temperature sign shall not change unless there is a change in temperature of one degree or more. The maximum size of sign that displays only the time and/or temperature, or the time and/or temperature display area that is incorporated into a larger sign, shall be 10 square feet.