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East Bradford Township
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE XVII

Signs

[Amended 3-21-1988 by Ord. No. 97-1988; 10-10-1995 by Ord. No. 165-1995]

§ 115-90 Conformance required.

[Amended 9-9-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004]
Any sign erected or maintained after the effective date of this article shall conform to the following regulations. In addition, only those signs specifically authorized by this article or elsewhere in the Zoning Chapter shall be permitted.

§ 115-91 Definitions

[Amended 8-10-2004 by Ord. No. 4-2004; 9-9-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004; 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005; 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 8-2006]
Refer to § 115-6 for definitions.

§ 115-92 General regulations.

The following regulations shall be observed in all districts:
A. 
No sign shall be erected within the lines of a street right-of-way, with the following exceptions: traffic signs; similar regulatory or informational notices of a duly constituted governmental body; and political signs where in accordance with § 115-93H(2).
[Amended 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
B. 
No moving, animated, or flashing signs shall be permitted.
[Amended 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 3-2011]
C. 
No sign which emits smoke, visible vapors or particles, sound or odor shall be permitted.
D. 
No artificial light or reflecting device shall be used as a part of a sign where such light or device interferes with, competes for attention with or may be mistaken for a traffic signal.
E. 
Floodlighting shall be arranged so that the source of light is not visible from any point off the lot and that only the sign is directly illuminated thereby.
F. 
No sign shall be erected containing information on it which states or implies that a property may be used for any purpose not permitted under the provisions of this chapter in the zoning district in which the property to which the sign relates is located.
G. 
Freestanding signs, except as noted in § 115-95H, shall not exceed 32 square feet in area and 10 feet in height. Height shall be measured from the average grade adjacent to the true vertical supports of the sign to the uppermost part of the sign structure.
[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005[1]; 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections G through L as Subsections H through M, respectively.
H. 
No sign shall be erected on a commercial premises except one advertising a business or articles or merchandise for sale on the same premises.
I. 
Every sign permitted shall be constructed of durable material and kept in good condition and repair. Any sign which is allowed to become dilapidated shall be removed by the Township at the expense of the owner or lessee of the property on which it is located after 30 days' prior notice to remove the sign, as provided by the Zoning Ordinance in the same manner as set forth in § 115-92K herein.
J. 
All distances provided for in this article shall be measured along straight lines between signs and from the near edge to the near edge of the signs or sign structures. This subsection shall apply in all cases, including locating new signs in relationship to currently existing nonconforming signs.
K. 
No sign, other than official street signs, shall be erected or maintained nearer to a street line than a distance equaling the height of the sign, unless attached to the building. In no case shall the height of a sign exceed 10 feet.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
L. 
Removal of signs not in compliance:
[Amended 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
(1) 
If the Zoning Officer finds that any sign or the advertising structure regulated under the provisions of this article is unsafe, unsecured, a safety hazard or has been constructed or erected or is being maintained in violation of this article, the Zoning Officer shall give written notice to the permittee or owner of the property thereof. If such person(s) fails to remove or bring into compliance such sign within 30 days after such notice, such sign or structure may be removed or altered by the Zoning Officer and at the expense of the permittee or owner of the property.
(2) 
The Zoning Officer may cause any sign or related structure deemed to be an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare to be removed without notice.
(3) 
Signs placed within the street right-of-way, except as permitted pursuant to §§ 115-92A and 115-93H(2), shall be removed by the Township without notice. Any removed sign may be retrieved at the Township dumpster, located by the Township office, within five business days after the date of removal. Should the owner or permittee fail to retrieve the sign during the five-day time period, the Township may dispose of the sign.
(4) 
All enforcement remedies available under Article XIX, Administration, shall apply.
M. 
A permit shall be obtained before erecting any sign under these regulations, except as hereinafter provided.

§ 115-93 Exempt signs.

No permit shall be required for erecting any of the following signs. These signs, however, shall conform to all other regulations set forth in § 115-92.
A. 
Directional, information or public service signs, such as those advertising the availability of rest rooms, telephones or similar public conveniences, and signs advertising meeting times and places of nonprofit services or charitable clubs and organizations may be erected or maintained, provided that such signs do not advertise any commercial establishment, activity, organization, product, goods or services except those of public utilities. Such signs shall not exceed two square feet in area.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
B. 
Directional and informational signs, provided for the guidance and convenience of the public within commercial establishments may also be erected. Such signs shall not exceed six square feet in area.
[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections B through F as Subsections C through G, respectively.
C. 
Security alarm signs, trespassing signs or signs indicating the private nature of a road, driveway or premises; signs prohibiting or otherwise controlling hunting or fishing upon particular premises; and signs indicating the ownership of a property or the nature of a home occupation may be erected and maintained, provided that the sign area does not exceed two square feet in area.
D. 
Real estate signs, provided that:
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005; 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
(1) 
Real estate signs offering individual properties for sale or rent or indicating that a property has been sold shall be located entirely within the lot lines of the particular property to which they refer and shall not exceed six square feet in area.
(2) 
Real estate signs for tenant spaces within nonresidential structures shall be incorporated into the freestanding sign or wall sign for the property.
(3) 
Not more than one real estate sign shall be placed on any property or premises unless a property abuts more than one street, in which case one such sign may be fronted on each street.
(4) 
Real estate signs shall be removed as of the date of settlement.
E. 
Artisan signs, provided that:
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005; 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
(1) 
Such signs shall be erected only on the premises where and while such work is being performed.
(2) 
The size of any such sign shall not exceed six square feet in area.
(3) 
Not more than one such sign per artisan shall be placed on the premises unless a property abuts more than one street, in which case one such sign may be fronted on each street.
(4) 
Signs shall remain erected for no longer than six weeks.
F. 
Yard or garage sale signs, provided that the sign is removed within 24 hours after the event is ended. Yard or garage sale signs shall not be placed in any right-of-way or upon any utility pole or official traffic sign.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
G. 
Kiosk signs offering and dispensing information on properties that permit public access for recreational purposes and are managed by nonprofit conservation organizations or any unit of government, provided that no fee is charged for this public access, the property upon which such signs are to be located permits public access and each panel of the kiosk sign shall not exceed 15 square feet in area. Not more than one kiosk sign shall be placed upon the premises in a location visible from any public road unless a property abuts more than one street, in which case one such sign may be fronted on each street. There shall be no limit on the number of kiosk signs that are not visible from any public road.
[Added 8-10-2004 by Ord. No. 4-2004]
H. 
Political signs, provided that they comply with the following provisions:
[Added 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3-2008]
(1) 
Political signs shall be permitted on private property, but outside any road right-of-way, provided that the area of any such sign shall not exceed six square feet.
(2) 
Political signs shall be permitted within the road right-of-way, provided that:
(a) 
Such signs shall not be less than eight feet from either the outer edge of the cartway or the curb, if there is a curb, except during the political season when there shall be no restriction on the location of political signs.
(b) 
The location of such signs shall not create a hazard.
(c) 
The area of any political sign shall not exceed six square feet.

§ 115-94 Temporary signs.

The following shall be observed in all districts. Temporary signs, including signs larger than six square feet in area advertising land or premises available for purchase, development or occupancy, or other signs announcing special events or the temporary sale of products and goods, such as Christmas trees, shall be permitted, provided that:
A. 
Permits, except for banners, shall run for a period of up to three months, as the applicant chooses. Permits for other than ongoing construction to dedication or release of escrow of subdivisions and land developments may not be renewed.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
B. 
Signs shall not exceed 32 square feet in area or any more restrictive square footage limitation imposed elsewhere by this chapter.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
C. 
Shingles shall not exceed two square feet in area.
[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections C through G as Subsections D through H. respectively.
D. 
Any freestanding sign shall be located at least 10 feet from any lot line.
E. 
Signs shall be removed immediately upon expiration of the permit.
F. 
The site or building on which the sign was erected shall be restored to its original condition upon removal of the sign.
G. 
A permit must be obtained before erecting any temporary sign.
H. 
The maximum permitted display period for a banner shall not exceed 30 days and shall not be renewed consecutively.
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]

§ 115-95 Business signs.

[Amended 9-9-2004 by Ord. No. 5-2004; 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005; 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 8-2006]
Business signs accessory to permitted commercial uses shall be permitted, provided that:
A. 
The total square footage of all signs mounted on the front of a building shall not exceed 32 square feet.
B. 
The total square footage of all signs mounted on the side wall exposed to unobstructed public view from either a street or a parking area shall not exceed 10 square feet in area for each 10 linear feet of such side building wall, and in no case shall the total square footage of the signs exceed 32 square feet.
C. 
Wall signs shall be installed parallel to the supporting wall and project not more than 10 inches from the face of such wall.
D. 
Interior directional freestanding signs shall not be spaced closer to each other than a distance equal to 10 times the largest dimension (height or width) of the sign having the largest dimension.
E. 
Interior directional signs shall not exceed eight square feet and there shall be a maximum of one per commercial or industrial court entrance.
F. 
Double-faced signs shall be computed for area only on one side.
G. 
Shingle signs shall be permitted under canopies notwithstanding other signs.
H. 
Signs in planned commercial developments in the C-1, C-2 and C-3 Zoning Districts, and development in the I Zoning District where due to building design the applicant requests relief from the criteria of Subsections A through G above, the applicant shall present with the land development plans the specific design for all signs, which shall include proposed building elevations with corresponding proposed sign elevations, proposed sign materials and lighting arrangements (if any), which shall be subject to final approval by the Board of Supervisors after receipt of the recommendation of the Planning Commission. In all cases, including signage otherwise eligible for relief in § 115-95H herein, all individual wall signs in planned commercial developments shall be separated in accordance with the following criteria:
(1) 
For store/unit fronts not exceeding 25 feet in width, the overall length of the wall sign for that store/unit shall not exceed the store frontage minus four feet, that is two feet on either side of the sign measured to the demising walls.
(2) 
For store/unit fronts exceeding 25 feet in width, but not exceeding 50 feet in width, the overall length of the wall sign for that store/unit shall not exceed the store frontage minus six feet, that is three feet on either side of the sign measured to the demising walls.
(3) 
For store/unit fronts exceeding 50 feet in width, the overall length of the wall sign for that store/unit shall not exceed the store frontage minus eight feet, that is four feet on either side of the sign measured to the demising walls.
(4) 
In no case shall any wall sign exceed 32 square feet.

§ 115-95.1 Sign permits.

Applications for sign permits shall be filed in duplicate with the Zoning Officer on forms furnished by the Township and shall be accompanied by detailed plans and specifications and such other information deemed necessary by the Zoning Officer to determine the location and details of the construction of such sign.

§ 115-95.2 Fee schedule.

Fees for each sign permit shall be those established by resolution duly adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Bradford.

§ 115-95.3 Residential subdivision signs.

[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 9-2005]
A. 
The body of the sign shall not exceed 32 square feet.
[Amended 12-13-2005 by Ord. No. 11-2005]
B. 
Lighting shall comply with § 115-57 of this chapter.
C. 
The structure supporting the signage shall be set back from the street line a distance equaling the greatest height of the structure.
D. 
The proposed signage shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission whose comments shall be presented to the Board of Supervisors for action at a regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting.

§ 115-95.4 Digital signs.

[Added 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 3-2011]
Digital signs accessory only to nonresidential uses shall be permitted, provided that:
A. 
The sign shall comply with the standards in § 115-95, Business signs, and § 115-92, General regulations.
B. 
The sign shall be in a permanent, fixed location.
C. 
The sign shall not operate past 11:00 p.m. when the sign is visible from a residential district or use.
D. 
The sign shall have a static message or image lasting no fewer than eight seconds.
E. 
The sign shall have a maximum transition time of one second between successive static messages and shall not blend static messages.
F. 
The sign shall contain a default design that freezes the message in one position if a malfunction occurs.
G. 
The sign shall have automatic reduction of display brightness during hours of darkness to a level not to exceed 100 nits when set to an all-white display.
H. 
Existing outdoor advertising billboards shall not be altered or changed to digital format.
[Amended 5-12-2015 by Ord. No. 8-2015]

§ 115-95.5 Outdoor advertising billboards.

[Added 5-12-2015 by Ord. No. 8-2015]
Outdoor advertising billboards shall be permitted, provided that:
A. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall be limited to a highway corridor overlay consisting of Tax Parcel Nos. 51-5-46, 51-5-47, 51-5-50, 51-4-4E, 51-4-5 and 51-4-30U.
B. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall be limited in size to a maximum 10 feet in height and 24 feet in length notwithstanding the supporting structure.
C. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall be set back from a street line a distance no less than the height above grade at its highest dimension.
D. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall be separated a minimum 1,000 feet.
E. 
Only one outdoor advertising billboard shall be located on a parcel.
F. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall not exceed an overall height of 15 feet above the adjacent roadway surface elevation.
G. 
Outdoor advertising billboards shall not be a digital format.