All signs shall be safe, secure and shall not
pose a hazard to the public or block any sight distances.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to the following signs:
A.
Signs of or required by a duly constituted governmental
body or its agency where such signs are established in the interest
of the safety, convenience or welfare of the general public, including
traffic signs and legal notices.
B.
One bulletin board not exceeding 15 square feet in
area for a public, charitable or religious institution, when it is
located on the premises of such institution.
C.
Memorial plaques, cornerstones or historic tablets
that are cut into the masonry surface or that are of a permanent type
and made an integral part of the structure.
D.
Residential identification signs designating name
and house number, not exceeding two square feet in area.
E.
Lettering on marquees denoting the attraction, film
or exhibit being shown or to be shown by or in a theater containing
the marquee.
F.
"No trespassing," "posted" and "private drive" signs.
G.
Signs not exceeding three square feet in area, identifying
historic properties.
[Added 3-21-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
In order to maintain the character of residential
zoning districts, the following sign restrictions shall apply:
A.
No sign shall be permitted that advertises any business
or commercial activity unless it is a permitted or specially permitted
use on the premises and is carried out on the premises. No sign shall
be permitted on a lot where there is no residence.
B.
In the case of a permitted home office or occupation,
or specially permitted home business or trade, only one sign, whether
designating a business or otherwise, shall be permitted for any single
dwelling, and that sign shall not exceed two square feet in size.
Where there are two or more units in a dwelling, no sign may exceed
one square foot in area.
C.
No part of any sign shall be placed within two feet
of any property boundary. Mailbox signs identifying the house number
and occupant of the lot and signs identifying historic properties
are exempt from this regulation.
[Amended 3-21-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
D.
The source of illumination for signs shall be oriented
or shielded so that it is not visible from any residence.
E.
Subdivision identification signs shall designate the
subdivision by name or symbol only. There may be no more than one
such sign with a maximum total area of 12 square feet at each street
entrance to the subdivision.
F.
Any sign for a special permitted use in a residential
area that is in excess of two square feet in area shall not be erected
unless a variance has been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The special use permit shall terminate with the transfer of the property
to a new owner or with a change of use, and such sign shall be removed
within 30 days thereafter.
The following provisions are intended to prevent
sign clutter and to contribute to the public safety, aesthetics and
economic vitality of the CN, CC-1, CC-2 and PC districts.
A.
Maximum sign area.
[Amended 9-19-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
(1)
On
a building lot improved or to be improved with one or more commercial
buildings, there shall be allowed for each such building one square
foot of wall signage for each linear foot of building frontage, to
a maximum of 80 square feet of wall signage per building. No single
wall sign shall exceed 12 square feet in area.
(2)
On a building lot improved or to be improved with one or more commercial buildings, which lot fronts or two or more streets or vehicular rights-of-way, the total allowable wall signage referenced in Subsection A(1) above may be increased by up to 50%.
(3)
Each building lot improved or to be improved by one or more commercial buildings shall be permitted to have one two-sided freestanding sign, neither of which side shall exceed 12 square feet in area. Building lots described in Subsection A(2) above shall be permitted to have one such freestanding sign for each such street or right-of-way frontage, provided that each such frontage has an approved driveway access.
B.
In no case shall a sign in a nonresidential district
exceed 25% of the total area of the wall on the side of the structure
on which such sign is to be placed.
C.
All signs shall pertain only to goods sold, services
rendered and establishments, enterprises, activities, persons, organizations
and facilities on the lot where the sign is located. When the sale
of such goods or the rendering of such services on the lot is terminated
or when the establishment, enterprise, activity, person, organization
or facility on such lot is moved, discontinued or otherwise terminated,
all signs pertaining thereto shall be removed within 90 days after
such termination.
D.
No sign shall be located within a public right-of-way
or project horizontally into a public right-of-way.
E.
No sign shall be displayed which endangers traffic
or pedestrians, causes confusion with official street signs or signals,
obstructs the window of any door, ventilation system, fire escape
or exit, or causes any other hazard to the public health and safety.
F.
A variance granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall become invalid with a change of use.
G.
Illumination.
H.
No sign shall extend more than two feet beyond the
face of a building, beyond the extension of a straight line of any
face of the building, nor shall any freestanding sign be placed higher
than the roof of the principal building on the premises.
I.
Gasoline service stations shall be permitted two additional
signs, not exceeding a total area of 12 square feet or six square
feet per side, if located on the pump island, or set no closer than
10 feet from the edge of the pavement, so as not to impair visibility
for pedestrians or motorists.
Temporary signs, which call attention to a single
activity or event for a limited period of time, may be displayed as
follows, provided that all requirements listed below are met.
A.
Political signs, which are designed to influence the
action of voters for the passage or defeat of a measure or the election
of a candidate or candidates to public office, shall be permitted
as follows:
(1)
Such signs shall be placed on private property with
consent of the owner thereof.
(2)
Such signs shall be installed no sooner than 45 days
before the voting begins and shall be removed no later than five days
after the voting is concluded.
[Amended 2-3-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]
(3)
Signs shall not exceed 16 square feet in area.
[Amended 2-3-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]
(4)
Political signs shall not be illuminated in any residential
zoning district.
(5)
A violation of § 165-53A shall be punishable by a fine of $100 per day for each day that a sign remains in place in violation of this section. Such violation and fine shall be imposed and levied upon the committee to elect the candidate whose name is placed upon the sign and the person who installed the sign.
[Added 2-3-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]
B.
Signs advertising flea markets and garage sales. Any
sign advertising a flea market, garage sale, barn sale, tag sale,
or the like shall not be posted more than 10 days before the event
it advertises and shall be removed within two days following the event.
C.
Construction signs denoting the architect, engineer
or contractor.
(1)
Construction signs shall be limited to one, relating
to the project, and shall not exceed four square feet in area.
(2)
Construction signs shall not be placed within a distance
of 10 feet from a property line and shall not exceed six feet in height
above ground level.
(3)
Construction signs shall be removed within 30 days
of completion of the services.
D.
Real estate signs advertising the sale, rental or
lease of a property.
E.
Temporary window signs hung or affixed inside or outside
windows.
(1)
Temporary signs painted on a window pane or hung or
otherwise affixed directly inside a window for the purpose of identifying
the premises or advertising "specials" shall not exceed in area 25%
of the area of the window in which they are displayed.
(2)
Such signs displayed longer than 30 days shall be
considered permanent and shall be required to conform to all requirements
for permanent signs.
F.
Portable signs.
(1)
A new business, or a business in a new location, awaiting
installation of a permanent sign, may utilize a portable sign for
a period of not more than 60 days or until installation of a permanent
sign, whichever comes first.
(2)
A portable sign used on a regular basis to advertise
sales, specials or items of interest shall be safe, secure and shall
not pose a hazard to, or interfere with, the safe passage of the public.
Such signs shall not exceed four feet in width nor five feet in height
and shall be kept indoors during nonbusiness hours.
Directional signs are those limited to providing
information for the convenience of the public, including indications
as to the locations of exits, entrances and parking lots.
A.
For a single residence or business.
(1)
Directional signs for a single residence or business
establishment shall not exceed six inches in height, 36 inches in
length or one inch in thickness.
(2)
No signs shall be displayed which endangers traffic
or pedestrians, causes confusion with official street signs, causes
any other hazard to public health and safety or contributes unnecessarily
to visual sign clutter.
(3)
The number and location of directional signs for individual
establishments shall be under the jurisdiction of the Superintendent
of Highways.
(4)
No off-premises directional sign shall be placed on
any premises without the permission of the owner.
B.
For multiple residences and businesses.
(1)
Off-premises directional signs for two or more businesses
in the same area may be permitted by the Zoning Board of Appeals if
such signs will promote public safety without a negative visual impact,
provided that the owner of the premises where the directional signs
are to appear has given permission.
(2)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall approve the placement,
size and design of such off-premises directional signs.
Directories for residential or commercial structures
with multiple occupants shall conform to the following:
A.
A directory outside a building to identify multiple
occupants shall have site plan or development plan approval from the
Planning Board.
B.
A freestanding directory may be permitted in addition
to a directory on the facade of the structure.
C.
The Planning Board shall adhere to the intent of this
chapter with respect to design, location and size in issuing an approval;
however, strict adherence to total area limitations of signs need
not be observed for directories with multiple listings.
D.
All directories placed outside of a building to identify
multiple occupants shall prominently display the number of the street
address of the building.
Any nonconforming permanent sign that was conforming
prior to the adoption of this chapter may remain in its current size,
until or unless there is a change in use of the premises.
If any sign is found by the Code Enforcement
Officer to be unused, abandoned, unsafe, insecure or hazardous, it
shall be removed within 14 days of a notice of violation by the Code
Enforcement Officer and shall not be replaced unless a variance shall
have been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
