Cranberry Township City Zoning Code

Changing of a message or background of a sign in a manner or method of display characterized by motion or pictorial imagery, which may or may not include text and depicts action or special effect to imitate movement, the presentation of pictorials or graphics displayed in a progression of frames which give the illusion of motion, including, but not limited to, the illusion of moving objects, moving patterns or bands of light, or expanding or contracting shapes. Video display signs include projected drawings or messages with these characteristics onto buildings or other objects.

A cloth or other nonstructural covering that either is permanently attached to a building or can be raised or retracted to a position against the building when not in use.

Any sign made of cloth, bunting, plastic, paper, or similar nonrigid material, attached to any structure, staff, pole, rope, wire, or framing which is anchored on two or more edges or at all four corners. Signs of political, professional, religious, education, or corporate organizations that contain emblems or insignias do not constitute banners. Banners are temporary in nature and do not include flags.

Any light with one or more beams directed into the atmosphere or directed at one or more points not on the same lot or site as the light source; also, any light with one or more beams that rotate or move.

An off-premises sign which advertises an establishment, an activity, a person, a product, or a service which is unrelated to or unavailable on the premises on which the sign is located.

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.

Any fabric, containing distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols, used to represent any government, political subdivision, religious, education, or corporate organization. Flags are temporary in nature and do not include banners.

Any permanent roof-like structure projecting beyond a building or extending along and projecting beyond the wall of the building, generally designed and constructed to provide protection from the weather.

A unit of measure used for lighting expressed as candelas per meter squared.

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 a series, designed to move in the wind.

Retail/mercantile occupancies exceeding a gross floor area of 50,000 square feet.

Any device, fixture, placard, or structure that uses any color, form graphic, illumination, symbol, or writing to identify and communicate, announce the purpose of, or identify the purpose of a person or entity, or to communicate information of any kind to the public.

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.

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.

A blade sign is a type of projecting sign mounted on a building facade or storefront pole or attached to a surface perpendicular to the normal flow of traffic. A blade sign shall be no larger than five square feet.

Any sign attached to any part of a building, as contrasted to a freestanding sign.

A pole-mounted vertical wayfinding banner that is permanently suspended in a fixed location by a structure of pole(s), uprights or braces from the ground and not supported by a building or base structure. A CCD pole sign shall not contain a commercial message.

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," 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.

Any sign or portion thereof that displays electronic drawings, graphics, or pictures, with or without textual information, using LEDs, fiber optics, light bulbs, or other illumination devices or combination thereof within the display area and where a static message change sequence is accomplished immediately or by means of fade, repixilation, dissolve or other such modes, devices, processes, products, applications or technologies from a proximate or remote location. Such signs include computer-programmable and microprocessor-controlled electronic displays.

Any portion of a sign that changes light intensity, switches on and off in a pattern, or contains moving parts or the optical illusion of motion caused by use of electrical energy or illumination, with a display that appears for less than 15 consecutive seconds; a sign or any portion thereof where there is a pattern of changing light illumination, where the sign illumination alternates suddenly between fully illuminated and fully nonilluminated or alternates between various levels of illumination for the purpose of drawing attention; illumination that is intermittently on and off so as to flash or blink or the intensity varies so as to appear to flash or blink or where there is a pattern of changing light illumination.

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.

The gasoline pricing portion of a sign shall mean the static numeric display of gasoline prices only, with no solid background color other than black and no other picture, word, symbol or display of any type. A sign on which the only copy that changes is the electronic or mechanical indication of gasoline prices associated with an automotive fueling station shall be considered a gasoline pricing sign and not an electronic message center sign or a manual or mechanical changeable-copy sign.

Any sign in which the entire bottom is in contact with or is close to the ground and is independent from any building or other structure. A ground sign is also a freestanding sign.

A sign or portion thereof with characters, letters, or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged without altering the face or the surface of the sign.

A sign in which a stone or brick structure is used to mount the sign area on, in or as an integral part of such structure. The permissible sign area of such sign shall begin at a height not greater than four feet above normal grade.

A sign with two identical sign faces placed back-to-back so that both faces cannot be viewed from any one point at the same time and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than 36 inches apart.

Any sign that does not conform to the requirements of this chapter.

A permanently installed sign that is building-mounted or monument-style that identifies the name of the nonresidential development site that the sign is placed upon.

A sign used to identify the name of a nonresidential development of three or more lots for nonretail use, containing no commercial message, and located at the principal entrances of such subdivision, such as an office park, industrial park, medical center, or business park.

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 the vehicle is used in the normal day-to-day operations of the business.

A temporary sign used to identify the coming of a new business or an intent to hire for a new business.

Any sign affixed to a building or wall in such a manner that any edge of such sign extends more than 12 inches beyond the surface of such building or wall, but does not project above the wall, roofline, or surface to which it is mounted nor in any way interfere with normal pedestrian or vehicular traffic or obstruct upper-story windows or openings.

Any sign used to identify the name of a residential development, containing no commercial message and located at the principal entrances of such development.

Any sign erected and constructed wholly on and over the roof of a building, supported by the roof structure and extending vertically above the top walk or edge of a flat roof, the eave line of a building with a gambrel, gable, or hip roof or the deck line of a building with a mansard roof.

Any sign erected or constructed as an integral part of a normal roof structure of any design such that no part of the sign extends vertically above the highest portion of the roof and such that no part of the sign is separate from the rest of the roof by a space of more than six inches. A sign constructed between the eaves and deck line of a mansard roof shall be considered a roof-integral sign for the purposes of this chapter. A roof-integral sign is a type of building sign.

Refers to any sign that is not a principal identification sign. These signs typically advertise an accessory use to the business such as "pharmacy," "tire center," "bakery," "garden center," and other similar uses located within or on the premises of the retail/big box use. These signs do not include additional principal uses of subleased space within the primary occupancy.

A sign with one sign face.

Any sign that is suspended from the underside of a horizontal plane surface and is supported by such surface.

Any sign that is used only temporarily and is not permanently mounted.

Any sign used to offer for sale, lease or rent any premises.

The time-and-temperature portion of a sign shall mean the static display of the time and temperature only, with no solid background color other than black, and no other picture, word, symbol or display of any type shall be permitted. A sign on which the only copy that changes is an electronic or mechanical indication of time or temperature shall be considered a time-and-temperature portion of a sign and not an electronic message center sign or manual or mechanical changeable-copy sign.

Any sign displayed on a parked vehicle, where the primary purpose of the vehicle is to advertise a product or business or to direct people to a business or activity during all or part of the day. For the purposes of this chapter, vehicular signs shall not include business logos, identification, or advertising on vehicles primarily used for other business purposes.

Any sign attached parallel to, but within 12 inches of, a wall, painted on the wall surface of, or erected and confined within the limits of an outside wall of any building or structure, which is supported by such wall or building, and which displays only one sign surface. A wall sign is a type of building sign.

Any sign, picture, symbol or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale or service, that is placed inside a window or upon the window panes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window.