Charleroi City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
Signs
§ 338-701 Purpose.
The intent of this article is to encourage the use of various types of signs as a means of identification in the Borough while maintaining and enhancing the aesthetic and physical environment, community character and public safety. The purpose of this article is:
§ 338-702 Applicability.
The regulations contained in this section shall apply to all signs in all zoning districts. No sign may be erected, placed, established, painted, created, altered or maintained except in conformance with the standards, procedures, regulations and requirements contained herein.
A.
Method of sign authorization and approval. For the purposes of this chapter signs shall be authorized for approval pursuant to the following:
(1)
Authorized signs are those for which a zoning approval has been issued by the Zoning Officer following a review of an application if the application indicates compliance with this chapter.
(2)
Exempt uses are signs that are authorized but that are exempt from regulation under this chapter and do not require zoning approval.
(3)
Prohibited signs are those not authorized by this chapter nor exempt from regulation.
B.
Accessory uses. Signs shall be considered accessory uses (other than billboards) on the lot or site they are located and subordinate to the principal use of the lot. Signs shall be subject to the requirements of Article III, accessory uses, of this chapter in addition to the requirements of this article.
C.
Principal uses. Billboards are considered the principal use of a lot or site on which they are located and shall comply with all the requirements of this article.
D.
Alteration of sign face. The physical alteration of a sign face or supporting structure shall be considered the same as construction of a new sign which shall require zoning approval and conformity to all the requirements of this article.
E.
Signs on public property. Any sign installed or placed on public property or within a public right-of-way, except in conformance with the requirements of this article shall be forfeited and is subject to confiscation in addition to other remedies the Zoning Officer shall have pursuant to this chapter.
§ 338-703 Types of signs.
For the purposes of this section, all signs shall be classified by the following definitions:
A name, identification, description, display, illustration or device which is affixed or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or land and which functions as an accessory use by directing attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution, or business. The following terms and definitions are associated with the sign regulations contained in this chapter.
A-FRAME — A portable sign comprised of two separate panels or faces joined at the top and spread apart at the bottom to form the base on which the sign stands. | |
ADDRESS — The number or other designation assigned to a housing unit, business establishment, or other structure for all purposes of location, mail delivery, and emergency services. | |
ANIMATED or MOVING — Any sign or part of a sign that changes physical position or light intensity by any movement or rotation or that gives the visual impression of such movement or rotation. Changeable copy signs as defined herein are not considered animated or moving signs. | |
ANIMATION — The movement, or the optical illusion of movement of any part of the sign structure, design or pictorial segment including the movement of any illumination or the flashing, scintillating or varying of light intensity. Also included in this definition are signs having chasing action which is the action of a row of lights commonly used to create the appearance of motion. | |
AWNING, CANOPY — Any sign that is a part of or attached to an awning, canopy, or other fabric, plastic or structural protective cover over a door, entrance, window or outdoor service area. A marquee is not a canopy. | |
BANNER — A sign or outside advertising display having the character, letters, illustrations, ornamentations, symbol, color or visual representation applied to cloth, paper, vinyl, fabric, plastic, or like kind of malleable material with or without frame. National, state or municipal flags, or the official flag of any institution or business, shall not be considered banners. | |
BILLBOARD — A permanently installed sign identifying/advertising and/or directing the public to a business, or merchandise, or service, or institution, or residential area, or entertainment which is located, sold, rented, leased, produced, manufactured, and/or furnished at a place other than the real property on which said sign is located. | |
BUILDING IDENTIFICATION — A small pedestrian oriented sign attached to a building, which bears only the name, number(s) and/or logo of the building but not the tenant and which is intended to be legible only from the pedestrian ways immediately adjacent to the sign. | |
CHANGEABLE COPY — A sign that is designed so that characters, letters, or illustrations can be changed or rearranged manually to change the message on the sign without altering the face or surface of the sign. | |
CHANGEABLE COPY, REMOTE — A sign that is designed so that characters, letters, or illustrations can be changed or rearranged remotely by electronic or other means to change the message or sign without altering the face or surface of the sign. | |
COMBINED DEVELOPMENT — Two or more establishments or businesses occupying a common building or adjoining or adjacent buildings or buildings on adjoining parcels which are designed and developed in a coordinated manner and which may share parking, driveways and other common facilities. | |
COMMERCIAL MESSAGE — Any sign wording, logo, or other representation that, directly or indirectly, names, advertises, or calls attention to a business, product, service, or other commercial activity. | |
CONSTRUCTION — A temporary sign announcing the name of contractors, mechanics, or artisans engaged in performing work on the premises and only during active construction activities. | |
DEVELOPMENT — A temporary sign erected during the period of construction and/or development of a property by the contractor and developer or their agent. | |
DIRECTIONAL, INCIDENTAL — A sign generally informational, that has a purpose secondary to the use of the lot or site on which it is located, such as "No Parking," "Entrance," "Exit," "One Way," "Loading Only," "Telephone," and other similar directives, and provided that such sign does not exceed five square feet. Directional, incidental sign shall be located only in conjunction with site drive entrances and/or internal traffic drive aisles. | |
ELECTRONIC MESSAGE BOARD — A sign which displays messages, such as time and temperature, in alternating light cycles. | |
FLAG — Any fabric containing distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols, used as a symbol of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or the local municipality. A flag is not a sign. | |
FLASHING — A sign that contains an intermittent or sequential flashing light source or has a light source which is not stationary, varies in illumination intensity, or contains elements which give the appearance of any of the aforementioned. | |
FREESTANDING — Any sign supported by structures or supports that are placed on, or anchored in, the ground and that are independent from any building or other structure. | |
GOVERNMENTAL — A sign, which is owned, installed, and maintained by the Borough or other governmental agency. | |
GROUND/MONUMENT — A freestanding sign, which is completely self-supporting, has its sign face or base on the ground and has no air space, columns, or supports visible between the ground and the bottom of the sign. It shall not be attached to a pole or pylon, nor raised by mounting on a man-made berm, wall, or similar structure. Pole/pylon signs that have pole covers which extend from the base of the sign face to the ground shall not be considered ground/monument signs. | |
HOME OCCUPATION IDENTIFICATION — A sign containing only the name and address of the occupant of the premises and their occupation. No logos or other advertising shall be permitted. | |
ILLUMINATED SIGN, EXTERNAL — A sign lighted by or exposed to artificial lighting either by lights on or in the sign or directed toward the sign. | |
ILLUMINATED SIGN, INTERNAL — A sign containing a source of light contained within the sign structure or sign cabinet. | |
INFLATABLE — A three-dimensional object, filled with air or gas, and located in such a manner as to attract attention. | |
MARQUEE — An integral part of the building consisting of a roof which is supported by the building and may also be supported by columns or piers, and which includes porches, porticos and porte-cocheres, but does not include canopies or awnings. | |
MARQUEE SIGN — A wall sign attached to a marquee. | |
MENU BOARD SIGN — A sign that lists for consumers the various options of products, goods, or services provided by a business. | |
OFF-PREMISE — A sign identifying/advertising and/or directing the public to a business, or merchandise, or service, or institution, or residential area, or entertainment which is located, sold, rented, leased, produced, manufactured and/or furnished at a place other than the real property on which said sign is located. However billboard signs shall not be considered to be off-premise signs. | |
ON-PREMISE — A sign or display that identifies or communicates a message related to the activity conducted, the service offered, or the commodity sold on the premises where the sign is located. | |
PANEL — The primary surface of a sign that carries the identifying/advertising message. | |
PENNANT — Any lightweight plastic, fabric, or other material, whether or not containing a message of any kind, suspended from a rope, wire, or string, usually in series, designed to move in the wind. | |
POLE/PYLON SIGN — A freestanding sign erected on a pole, poles, pylon, or pylons, or other supporting structure where the bottom edge of a sign face is installed above the ground. Pole/pylon signs that have pole covers which extend from the base of the sign face to the ground shall not be considered ground/monument signs. | |
POLITICAL — A sign which indicates the name, cause or affiliation of a person seeking public or elected office or on which reference is made to an issue for which a public election or referendum is scheduled to be held. | |
PORTABLE — Any sign not permanently attached to the ground or other permanent structure, or a sign designed to be transported, including, but not limited to, signs designed to be transported by means of wheels; signs converted to A- or T-frames; sandwich board signs; balloons used as signs; umbrellas used for advertising; and signs attached to or painted on vehicles parked and visible from the public right-of-way, unless vehicle is used in the normal day-to-day operations of the business. | |
PROJECTION — A sign, which reproduces a remote image, by optical or any other means, on any surface. | |
PUBLIC UTILITY — Signs in connection with the identification, operation or protection of any public utility, on the same lot therewith, provided that the total sign area on any one street frontage does not exceed eight square feet. | |
REAL ESTATE SIGN — A temporary sign advertising the real estate upon which the sign is located as being for rent, lease, or sale. | |
RESIDENTIAL — Any sign located in a district zoned for residential uses that contains no commercial message except advertising for goods or services legally offered on the premises where the sign is located, if offering such service at such location conforms with all requirements of this chapter. | |
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IDENTIFICATION — Any sign used to identify the name of a residential development containing no commercial message and located at the principle entrances of such development. | |
ROOF SIGN — A sign erected on or attached to a roof or a sign attached to a building that projects above the highest point on a wall that supports the roofline. | |
SAFETY CONTROL — Public safety sign pursuant to federal, state, or local public safety regulations. | |
SIGN BASE — The support on which a sign face stands. | |
SIGN FACE — The area or display surface, including the advertising surface and any framing, trim, or molding, used for the message on a single plane. | |
SIGN or SIGNBOARD — Any writing, printing, painting, display, emblem, drawing, graphic, electronic display, computerized display, or other device designed to be viewed by the public, designed and intended for advertising, and the structure supporting the display. | |
SITE DEVELOPMENT SIGN — A sign indicating that the premises is in the process of being subdivided and/or developed for the future construction of dwellings or other buildings before any actual construction activity has begun. | |
STREAMER — A string or strip of miniature or full size pennants or flags which may or may not be suspended between two points. | |
SUSPENDED — A sign which is suspended from a structure above into a vehicular or pedestrian accessway, more than one foot from the surface on which it is mounted, and is mounted usually, but not always, at right angles to the building. | |
TEMPORARY SIGN, GENERAL — Any sign, banner, pennant, valance or advertising display constructed of cloth, canvas, light fabric, cardboard, wallboard or other light material, with or without frame, displayed for a period not exceeding 31 days. Temporary signs shall be permitted to advertise grand openings, distress sales, change in ownership; or temporary businesses which have been approved by the Planning Commission, Borough Council or Zoning Hearing Board. | |
TIME-AND-TEMPERATURE SIGN — A sign which indicates changing time and/or temperature. | |
TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGN — A sign regulating traffic. | |
WALL SIGN — Any sign painted, attached to, or affixed to a building or structure, attached flat against the wall surface, in such a way that only one face of a sign is visible. | |
WINDOW SIGN — Any sign, picture, symbol, or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service that is temporarily affixed inside a window or upon the windowpanes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window. |
§ 338-704 Prohibited and exempt signs.
A.
The following signs shall be exempt from these regulations:
(1)
Holiday decorations displayed for recognized state and federal holidays.
(2)
Official notices authorized by a court, public body or public safety official.
(3)
Memorial/historical plaques.
(4)
Memorial signs and tablets when cut into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other sculptured materials.
(5)
Flags of a government organization or corporate entity.
(6)
Signs authorized by the Borough such as street signs, safety control signs and traffic control signs.
(7)
Public notice/public warning signs.
(8)
Auction, garage sale or yard sale signs.
(9)
Address numbering.
(10)
Construction sign (temporary, only during active construction).
(11)
Signs of any type placed on public or parks property by authorization of the Borough.
(12)
Real estate signs which advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises upon which the said sign is located provided that the sign only relates to the rental, lease or sale of the property on which it is displayed. No more than two such signs may be placed upon any property in single and separate ownership and not more than one such sign facing one street.
(13)
A-Frame (sandwich board) signs shall be permitted on sidewalks provided that only one such sign per premises shall be permitted. Such sign shall not obstruct pedestrian travel and shall be removed each evening upon closing.
(14)
Signs announcing candidacy for public office. Such signs shall not be installed on utility poles, shall not be installed more than 60 days before the election to which they are relevant and shall be removed within five calendar days immediately following the relevant Election Day.
B.
Prohibited signs. The following signs shall not be permitted in any zoning district:
(1)
Flashing, blinking, animated or moving signs.
(2)
LED signs.
(3)
Signs mounted perpendicular to the wall surface.
(4)
Pennants, flags or streamers.
(5)
Signs advertising a property for sale or rent that lists an improper use of the property.
(6)
Signs that resemble traffic signals or any sort of traffic device.
(7)
Signs that contain obscene or pornographic material; this shall include the nonrepair of illegal acts of vandalism.
(8)
Off-premises sign (other than billboards).
(9)
Roof sign.
(10)
Signs on trees, utility poles, and traffic devices.
(11)
Signs that are hazardous to public safety.
§ 338-705 Determining sign area and height.
The following shall control the computation of sign area and height.
A.
Computation of area of single-faced signs. The area of a sign face shall be computed by means of the smallest square or rectangle that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem, or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but not including any supporting framework, bracing, or decorative fence or wall when such fence or wall otherwise meets zoning ordinance regulations and is clearly incidental to the display itself.
B.
Computation of area of multi-faced signs. The sign area for a sign with more than one face shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one point. When two identical sign faces are placed back to back so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and not more than 42 inches apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one of the faces.
C.
Computation of height. The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the lower of existing grade prior to construction or the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding, or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign. In cases in which the normal grade cannot reasonably be determined, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal to the elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public street or the grade of the land at the principal entrance to the principal structure on the zone lot, whichever is lower.
§ 338-706 Signs in residential districts.
[Amended 11-8-2023 by Ord. No. 1048]
The following types of signs and no other shall be permitted in residential districts:
A.
Signs advertising the sale or rental of the premises upon which they are erected, when erected by the owner or broker or any other person interested in the sale or rental of such premises, may be erected and maintained, provided:
B.
Signs advertising the sale or development of the premises upon which they are erected, when erected in connection with the development of the premises by a builder, contractor, developer, or other person interested in such sale or development, may be erected and maintained, provided:
C.
Signs indicating the location and direction of premises available for or in process of development, but not erected upon such premises, and having inscribed thereon the name of the owner, developer, builder or agent may be erected and maintained, provided:
D.
Signs bearing the word "sold" or the word "rented" with the name of the persons effecting the sale or rental may be erected and maintained, provided the conditions in Subsection A hereof are complied with.
E.
Temporary signs of contractors, developers, architects, engineers, builders, and artisans, erected and maintained on the premises where the work is being performed, provided that the area of each such sign shall not exceed 12 square feet, and provided that such sign shall be removed upon completion of the work.
F.
Trespassing signs or signs indicating the private nature of a driveway or property, provided that the size of any sign shall not exceed two square feet.
G.
Signs of schools, colleges, churches, hospitals, sanitariums, or other institutions of a similar nature may be erected and maintained, provided:
H.
Signs advertising home occupations shall not be larger than six inches by 18 inches, bearing the name and occupation (words only and not illuminated) of the practitioner.
§ 338-707 Signs in commercial districts.
[Amended 11-8-2023 by Ord. No. 1048]
The following types of signs shall be permitted in commercial districts:
A.
Advertising signboards. Advertising signboards may be erected and maintained in Commercial Districts, only when they relate or refer directly to the use conducted on the premises or to the material or products made, sold or displayed on the premises. The general regulations shall apply to advertising signboards.
B.
Billboards. A "billboard" is hereby defined as any off-premises sign with a changeable advertising face that advertises an establishment, person, activity, product or service that is unrelated to or not available on the premises on which the sign is located.
(1)
Only one billboard shall be permitted per lot.
(2)
No sign shall be located in such a position that it will cause a hazard by obstructing visibility for traffic on a street or obscuring a traffic signal or other traffic control device, and no billboard shall hang over or be erected within the right-of-way of any street, nor be located within the clear sight triangle as generally defined.
(3)
Any illumination shall be directed upon the sign face and not toward adjoining properties or streets, and flashing or oscillating signs shall not be permitted. All lighting shall be stationary and constant in intensity and color at all times, except for an approved electronic changeable copy sign. The intensity of any source of illumination, whether indirect or internal, shall be controlled so as to not create glare and to be compatible with the intensity of ambient light and illumination on surrounding properties.
(4)
All billboards must be constructed of a durable material and maintained in good condition. Any billboard found to be in an unsafe condition upon inspection shall be declared to be a public nuisance, and the Zoning Officer or such other municipal official as authorized by Borough Council shall give notice to the owner in writing to repair or remove the billboard within 30 days. Upon failure of the owner to comply, the Borough shall remove the billboard at the owner's expense.
(5)
No billboard may be erected except upon first obtaining a permit from the Borough, wherein the application for the proposed billboard shall show on a drawing to scale the location of the proposed billboard in relationship to the road right-of-way or rights-of-way, lot setback distances, property lines, and the height, width and total square footage of the proposed billboard. The application must contain the name and address of the billboard owner and the landowner and must contain an affidavit attesting that there is a valid lease agreement between them for the land on which the billboard is to be located or that the billboard owner is also the owner of the land. The fee for said permit shall be set by resolution by Borough Council. Therein, any and all permits issued by the Borough shall be on an annual basis, wherein a new permit fee must be paid for each year.
(6)
Any permit issued by the Borough shall automatically expire upon the anniversary date of the issuance and shall not be extended unless application for renewal is made prior to the expiration date. Otherwise, a new application shall be made with the issuance of a new permit based on the fee therein in effect.
(7)
Billboards shall only be permitted in the Commercial Zoning District, and no billboard shall be erected within 100 feet of any other billboard, regardless of lot size and/or lot ownership, except if the location is along a limited-access highway, as defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, not within 500 feet of any other billboard, regardless of lot size and/or lot ownership.
(8)
No billboard shall exceed Pennsylvania Department of Transportation limitations.
(9)
Any person, corporation or legal entity that violates this section shall be subject to the penalties, civil and criminal, as provided in this chapter, with enforcement and/or prosecution being conducted in accordance therewith.
C.
Business identification signs. Signs bearing the name of the occupant and products manufactured, processed, sold or displayed may be erected and maintained on the premises in Commercial and Industrial Districts. The size of business identification signs shall not be restricted; however, all general regulations shall apply to such signs.
§ 338-707.1 Signs in any district.
[Added 11-8-2023 by Ord. No. 1048]
The following regulations shall apply to all permitted sign uses:
A.
Signs must be constructed of durable material, maintained in good condition and not allowed to become dilapidated.
B.
No sign shall be placed in such a position that it will cause danger to traffic on a street by obscuring the view.
C.
No sign, other than an official traffic sign, shall be erected within the lines of any street, unless authorized by the Borough Council for a special purpose.
D.
No sign shall project over a public sidewalk area more than 18 inches.
E.
No permit shall be required for the erection, alteration, or maintenance of any signs in residence districts.
F.
A permit shall be required for the erection or alteration of billboards or advertising signboards.
G.
All signs shall be removed when the circumstances leading to their erection no longer apply.
§ 338-708 General regulations.
A.
All applications for permits for construction, installation, maintenance, repair and/or modification of signs of any type or nature shall be submitted for review and approval or denial by the Borough Zoning Officer, prior to commencement of any activity or work by the applicant or the applicant's representative or delegate concerning installation, construction or modification of such sign. The provisions of this section and all of its subsections shall apply to, but are not limited to all replacement signs, new signs, changes or alterations to existing signs or signs which must be relocated for any reason.
B.
A site plan or sketch, drawn to scale, shall be submitted to the Zoning Officer and shall depict the lot and building upon which the proposed sign will be located, and shall show all other buildings and structures located on said lot and their relationship to said sign. Information submitted to the Zoning Officer shall also include an application for sign permit, a written description of the materials and manner of construction and mounting of the sign, a description of the information and visual material to be included on all surfaces of the sign, a description of the illumination, if any, of the sign and one or more photographs of the proposed sign location from each approach from which the sign will be visible.
C.
Permit required. A permit shall be obtained from the Borough Zoning Officer, subject to filing the permit application and supporting information described above in this section and subject to payment of the required established fee, prior to the construction, alteration, modification or moving of any exterior sign. No exterior sign established before the effective date of this chapter, shall be (except when ordered by an authorized public officer as a safety measure) altered in any respect, or moved, unless it be made to conform with the provisions of this chapter.
D.
Signs not to constitute traffic hazard. No sign or other advertising structure as regulated by this chapter shall be erected in such a manner as to obstruct free and clear vision; or at any location where, by reason of the position, shape or color, it may interfere with, obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device; or which makes use of the words "Stop," "Look," "Drive-In," "Danger," or any other word, phrase, symbol or character in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.
E.
Material and construction. All signs shall be securely built, constructed and erected in compliance with all regulations and requirements of the relevant building codes, and in addition:
(1)
The Zoning Officer may require calculations by an architect or engineer certifying the stability of a sign, with reference to dead load and wind stress capabilities when a sign is over 25 square feet in area or in the case of a ground sign whose height is greater than 10 feet or a sign which weighs in excess of 100 pounds.
(2)
Any sign damaged by inclement weather shall have proven itself unsafe and may not be restored in kind without engineering data as required above.
F.
Illumination and animation.
(1)
All illuminated signs shall be inspected by the authorized electrical inspection agency of the Borough during construction to verify compliance with the adopted electrical code of the Borough.
(2)
Illuminated signs shall be non-flashing and nonglaring and shall be illuminated in a manner to prevent glare and reflection to a public street or adjacent properties.
(3)
All signs shall be nonanimated with no exterior moving parts.
G.
Maintenance.
(1)
Any sign regulated by this chapter shall be maintained in the proper structural and aesthetic condition by the owner or tenant.
(2)
If a sign no longer advertises a bona fide business or other activity conducted on the premises, it shall be taken down and removed by the owner, tenant or by the entity having the beneficial use of the sign and the building within 30 days of the termination of such business or other activity.
H.
Permit fees.
(1)
A permit shall be obtained for the installation of all signs not exempted by this chapter.
(2)
The applicant shall pay a permit fee as specified by the Borough by resolution.
(3)
A fee for an annual permit for one sign on a premises and for each additional sign for the same business established on that premises shall be as set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council.
§ 338-709 Billboards.
Billboards may be authorized by the Council as a conditional use only in the IND (Industrial) Zoning District upon a finding that compliance with the requirements of this chapter, as well as the following specific criteria, have been met by the applicant:
A.
The submission by the applicant of a conditional use application, which shall contain the information, maps, plans and narrative and graphic materials set forth in the Article IV, Express Standards and Criteria for Special Exceptions and Conditional Uses.
B.
The portion of any lot upon which the billboard is to be located shall contain a minimum of 5,000 square feet in area.
C.
All Billboards shall contain only one face for the display of lettered, written, printed, pictorial, or sculpted matter on only one side of its structure, and such face shall be oriented to be viewed from only one direction of travel from the nearest adjacent roadway (cross roadway viewing shall not be permitted).
D.
The display area upon the face of a Billboard shall be a maximum of 300 square feet (12 feet by 25 feet), and all portions of any display shall fit within such area with no extensions beyond the edge of the billboard sign's framework.
E.
All utility lines serving the billboard, or those extended to provide such service, must be installed completely underground. Such requirement may be waived if the billboard is powered by nontraditional alternative energy sources (for example solar power).
F.
All Billboards shall be set back from the below-described items as follows:
(1)
From a roadway intersection: 300 feet.
(2)
From any other Billboard (whether such is located in the Borough or otherwise) on the same side of the roadway: 1,200 feet.
(3)
From any other billboard (whether such is located in the Borough of Charleroi or otherwise) on the opposite side of the roadway: 600 feet.
G.
The maximum height of billboards shall not exceed 20 feet, as measured from the grade of the roadway from which the advertising message is principally visible, and the bottom edge of the billboard shall be no more than eight feet above the elevation of the adjacent roadway, which height shall be sufficient to prevent unauthorized access upon the billboard.
H.
A buffer yard shall be required between billboards and any adjacent lot(s). For the purpose of establishing the required buffer yard billboards shall be considered a commercial use.
I.
Billboards are considered as the principal use of a lot or site and as such the land area utilized for a billboard shall not be otherwise required to support another use upon such lot, including, but not limited to, buffer yard, parking area or setback necessary to any preexisting use upon such lot.
J.
All displays on the face of billboards shall be stationary, and no animated, sequential, flashing, moving, or oscillating signs or displays shall be permitted.
K.
Illumination of the display shall be designed so that it shall be focused on the face of the display itself so as to prevent glare upon the surrounding area. All sources of illumination shall be external and equipped with shields to prevent spillage of light off the display.
L.
Except as otherwise may be specified herein, all development of Billboards shall comply with the provisions of the subdivision and land development ordinance and this chapter.
M.
All billboards (including any and all supporting structures thereof) shall be dismantled and removed from the premises upon which they are located within 180 days of the cessation of use.
N.
All billboards shall be constructed to all applicable structural standards for such devices, and all applications for the conditional use approval shall verify compliance with such standards as documented and sealed by a registered engineer.
O.
All billboards shall be maintained by their owner in a state of repair so that they are as safe and as functional as when originally installed.
P.
No billboard shall be constructed or erected until an applicant thereof has made an application for same (which shall include a copy of a written lease for use of the land if the applicant is not the owner thereof) and paid the applicable fee thereof (as set by separate Resolution of the Council) and received a permit thereof from the Borough.
Q.
Prior to erection all proposed applicants for Billboards shall be required to obtain any necessary permit from and to conform, in all respects, to any regulation thereof promulgated by an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not limited to its Department of Transportation.