General regulations and standards for all signs in all districts.
In this section, standards that apply to all signs in all districts are described.
A. Measuring sign dimensions.
(1) Sign height. The height of a sign shall be the difference between the 1) elevation of the highest point of the sign, including the bracket, supports, and sign face surrounds, and 2) the elevation of the finished grade at the base of the sign or the elevation of the crown of the adjacent public street, whichever is highest.
(2) Measuring sign area.
(a) For signs that include a sign frame or background around or behind the sign letters, designs or symbols, the sign area shall mean the area of the frame or background and contents therein, such as six square feet in the case of a two-foot-by-three-foot vinyl temporary yard sign.
(b) For sign elements mounted directly on a principal or accessory structure’s architectural surface, such as in the case of letters mounted without a frame or background into a building’s brick facade, the sign area shall mean the area of the smallest rectangle that encompasses all of the letters, designs, and symbols of a sign.
(c) The sign area shall not include any supporting framework or bracing that is incidental to the display, provided that it does not contain any lettering, wording, or symbols.
(d) When two identical sign faces are placed back-to-back so that both faces 1) cannot be viewed from any one point at the same time, 2) are part of the same sign structure, and 3) are not more than 24 inches apart, the sign area shall be computed as the sign area of one of the faces.
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B. Sign location and safe movement.
(1) Sight triangle for vision clearance. No sign may obstruct the sight triangle of an intersection along a public right-of-way. The sight triangle for vision clearance is defined in this chapter’s glossary.
(2) Traffic signs and signals.
(a) No sign may, by its color, shape, positioning, or nature, obstruct the view of a traffic sign or traffic signal.
(b) A sign may not use a color, shape, positioning, or message that could reasonably cause confusion with pedestrian or vehicular traffic directives.
(c) No red, green, or yellow illuminated sign may be located within 300 feet of any traffic signal.
(3) A sign shall not be located in a manner that interferes with the movement or visibility of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, or other such users of the right-of-way.
(4) A sign and its supporting structures shall not interfere with public utility equipment or communications lines or equipment that are either above or below grade.
C. Consent. No sign may be permitted without the consent of the property owner or their authorized agent. If it is determined that a sign is or was erected without proper consent of the property owner or their authorized agent, the permit for such a sign shall be revoked.
D. Public property.
(1) A sign on public property may not project over a roadway or into a utility easement airspace.
(2) A new permit for a sign located on public property will only be granted for a sign of the projecting sign type or of the sandwich board sign type.
(3) A projecting sign must be affixed to a legal structure and affixed to a structure’s elevation that is set back less than five feet from a lot line abutting public property.
(4) No sign is permitted on public property in the P-1 District.
E. Conditional uses. For conditional uses in any district: sign types, sizes, location, and manner may be allowed or prohibited in association with such conditional use as determined by this chapter or by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
F. Lots with multiple street frontages. For a lot with multiple street frontages, any sign allowance that allows sign counts or area based on street frontage shall apply to each street frontage. In this case, a frontage with a public alleyway does not constitute a street frontage.
G. Changeable copy and electronic digital message sign features.
(1) Changeable copy and electronic digital message signs are permitted only where indicated in the Sign Table.
(2) No video, animation, scrolling, noise, or flashing features are permitted.
H. Sign maintenance. All signs shall be maintained in safe and good structural condition, in compliance with all applicable building and electrical codes, and in conformance with this chapter at all times. Such maintenance includes replacement of all defective bulbs, parts, materials, painting, repainting, cleaning, and other acts required for maintenance of erected signs. If any sign does not comply with the above maintenance and repair standards, the Borough shall require its removal.
I. Removal of unsafe, unlawful, or abandoned signs.
(1) Upon written notice by the Borough, the owner, person, or firm maintaining a sign shall remove the sign when it becomes unsafe, is in danger of falling, becomes so deteriorated that it no longer serves a useful purpose of communication, is determined by the Borough to be a nuisance, or is unlawfully erected in violation of any of the provisions of this article.
(2) The Borough may remove or cause to be removed the sign at the expense of the owner and/or lessee in the event the owner or the person or firm maintaining the sign has not complied with the terms of the notice within 30 days of the date of the notice. In the event of immediate danger, the Borough may remove the sign immediately upon the issuance of notice to the owner, person, or firm maintaining the sign.
J. Building Code compliance. To the extent that it is not inconsistent with this chapter, the present edition of the Standard Building Code, National Electric Code and other building and construction codes as adopted and modified by the Borough and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are incorporated as a part of this chapter as if fully restated herein for the same purposes stated in the purpose and intent subsection hereof and for the same purposes for which the International Building Code was promulgated and enacted, which purposes are expressly incorporated therein.
K. Permits.
(1) Every person desiring to erect a sign shall first obtain a sign permit and all other permits required for the desired structure.
(2) Any sign of the following type(s) does not require a permit:
(a) Temporary sign.
(b) Entranceway sign.
Exempt sign types.
The following signs shall be exempt from the regulations in this article:
A. Memorial/historical plaques, as defined herein.
B. Signs authorized by the Borough Council or erected by a governmental agency, including street signs, official traffic signs and public art when approved by the Borough Council.
