Edgeworth City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Signs
§ 130-68 Compliance required.
Any sign hereafter erected or maintained shall conform to the provisions of this article and any other Borough ordinances or regulations.
§ 130-69 Area.
A.
The area of a sign shall be construed to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs and symbols, together with the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed, but not including any supporting framework and bracing which are incidental to the display itself.
B.
The area of a sign painted upon or applied to a building shall be considered to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs to symbols, together with any backing associated with the sign.
C.
Where the sign consists of individual letters or symbols attached to or painted on a surface, building, wall, or window, the area shall be considered to be that of the smallest rectangle or other regular geometric shape that can enclose such letters or symbols.
D.
In computing square-foot area of a double-faced sign, only one side shall be considered, provided that both faces are identical. If the interior angle formed by the two faces of the double-faced sign is greater than 45°, then both sides of such sign shall be considered in calculating the sign area.
§ 130-70 Illumination restrictions.
A.
A "directly illuminated sign" is a sign designed to give forth artificial light directly, or through transparent or translucent material, from a source of light within such sign, including but not limited to neon and exposed-lamp signs. Directly illuminated signs that also meet the criteria set forth in § 130-73 hereof are permitted, but only in the C-1 and C-2 Districts.
[Amended 6-21-2011 by Ord. No. 523]
(1)
Festoon lighting. "Festoon lighting" is a directly illuminated sign, including a group of incandescent light bulbs either hung or strung overhead or used to outline a sign or other structure, but not including festive lighting. Festoon lighting is not permitted.
B.
An "indirectly illuminated sign" is a sign illuminated with a light so shielded that no direct rays therefrom are visible elsewhere on the lot where said illumination occurs. If such shielding device is defective, such sign shall be deemed to be a directly illuminated sign.
C.
A "flashing sing" is an illuminated sign on which the artificial light is not maintained stationary and constant in intensity and color at all times when in use. Flashing signs are not permitted.
D.
A "nonilluminated sign" is a sign which is nonilluminated, either directly or indirectly.
§ 130-71 Types of signs.
A.
An "on-premises sign" is a sign which directs attention to an activity conducted on the same lot.
B.
An "off-premises sign" is a sign which directs attention to an activity not conducted on the same lot. Off-premises signs are not permitted except as noted in § 130-72A(2).
C.
An "advertising sign" is an off-premises sign which advertises or otherwise directs attention to a commodity, business, industry, home occupation or other similar activity which is sold, offered or conducted elsewhere than on the lot upon which such sign is located. Advertising signs are not permitted.
D.
A "business sign" is an on-premises sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service, industry or other activity which is sold, offered, or conducted other than incidentally on the premises upon which such sign is located or to which it is affixed.
E.
A "window sign" is any business sign which is oriented to the public right-of-way and is attached to the outside or inside of a window. All window signs shall be limited in size to 20% of the total glass area of the window.
F.
A "political sign" is a sign which announces or advocates any candidate for political office or a ballot question, provided that any such sign does not exceed 16 square feet in area.
G.
A "freestanding sign" is a self-supporting sign resting on or supported by means of poles of standards on the ground. The height of freestanding signs shall be measured from the average grade at the sign to the top of the sign. Freestanding signs shall not overhang the sidewalk.
H.
A "parallel sign" is a sign mounted parallel to a wall or other vertical building surface. Parallel signs shall not extend beyond the edge of any wall or other surface to which they are mounted and shall not project more than six inches from its surface.
I.
A "projecting sign" is any sign mounted to a wall or other vertical building surface other than a parallel sign. Projecting signs shall not project more than two feet from the wall or surface to which they are mounted, shall not extend beyond the edge of any wall or other surface to which they are mounted, shall be at least eight feet to the bottom of the sign above the ground level immediately below and shall not in any way interfere with normal pedestrian or vehicular traffic. No signs shall overhang or project above the public sidewalks, streets or alleys.
J.
A "temporary sign" is any sign not intended to be in place, or actually in place, longer than six months.
K.
An "outdoor advertising sign" is a freestanding sign on which is portrayed information which generally directs attention to a business or a service.
[Added 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 531]
§ 130-72 Signs and flags in residential districts.
A.
The following types of signs and flags and no other shall be permitted in residential districts:
(1)
On-premises signs and flags:
(a)
Nonilluminated signs displayed strictly for the direction, safety or convenience of the public, including signs which identify rest rooms, telephone booths, parking area entrances or exits, freight entrances or the like, provided that the area of any one side of any such sign shall not exceed two square feet.
(b)
Flags representing governmental, educational or religious organizations.
(c)
One nonilluminated sign posted in conjunction with doorbells or mailboxes, provided that the area on any one side of any such sign shall not exceed 36 square inches.
(d)
One nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated bulletin or announcement board or identification sign for a permitted institutional use, provided that the area on any one sign shall not exceed 20 square feet.
(e)
One nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated sign in connection with a lawfully maintained nonconforming use, provided that the area on any one side of any such sign shall not exceed 12 square feet.
(f)
One temporary nonilluminated sign advertising the sale or rental of the premises upon which said sign has been erected, provided that the area of any such sign shall not exceed six square feet and such sign shall be removed upon sale or rental of the property. All signs shall be located at least 15 feet away from the property line unless the structure is located closer to the front line.
(g)
One temporary nonilluminated sign erected in connection with the development or proposed development of the premises by a builder, contractor, developer or other persons interested in such sale or development, provided that the area of any such sign shall not exceed 20 square feet and such sign shall be removed within 20 days after the last structure has been initially occupied or within six months after the final inspection by the Zoning Officer, whichever occurs first.
(h)
Temporary nonilluminated signs of mechanics or artisans may be erected and maintained during the period such persons are performing work on the premises on which such signs are erected, provided that such signs shall be removed upon completion of work by the mechanic or artisan and the total areas of all such signs shall not exceed six square feet.
(i)
Signs announcing no trespassing, signs indicating the private nature of the road, driveway or premises, and signs controlling fishing or hunting on the premises, provided that the area of any one side of any such sign shall not exceed 200 square inches.
(j)
Nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated memorial signs or historical signs or tablets.
(k)
No more than eight political signs per lot.
(2)
Off-premises signs. Off-premises signs are not permitted except as follows. Signs permitted within this section may also be on-premises.
(a)
Signs necessary for the direction, regulation and control of traffic, street name signs, legal notices, warnings at railroad crossings, and other official signs which are similarly authorized or erected by a duly constituted governmental body.
(b)
Temporary nonilluminated signs directing persons to temporary exhibits, shows or events and sponsored by a nonprofit organization may be erected subject to the following requirements:
B.
General regulations in residential districts.
(1)
Freestanding roof signs are prohibited. Freestanding ground signs may not exceed six feet to the top of the sign.
(2)
Projecting signs or portions of such signs shall not be located less than eight feet nor more than 12 feet above the ground level immediately below such sign.
(3)
Parallel signs or portions of such signs shall not be located more than 12 feet above the ground level immediately below such sign.
§ 130-73 Signs permitted in C-1 and C-2 Districts.
A.
On-premises signs. No on-premises sign shall be permitted except as follows:
(1)
All signs permitted in § 130-72, Subsection A. by the standards prescribed therein, unless otherwise provided in this section, and except for those signs described in § 130-72A(1)(h), which latter signs may encompass up to 12 square feet in the C-1 and C-2 Districts.
(2)
Parallel and projecting business signs, provided that:
(a)
There shall be only one sign per building except for buildings on corner lots.
(b)
The total area of all parallel and projecting signs for each establishment shall not exceed one square foot for each foot of length of the front building walls or length of that portion of such wall which is devoted to such establishment. Corner buildings may divide total square feet on signage permitted to two sides.
(c)
If such establishment does not occupy any floor area on the ground level of the building, other than an entryway, the maximum area per foot of length of the front building wall or portion thereof shall be only 1/2 square foot.
(3)
Freestanding business signs, provided that:
(a)
Only one such sign shall be permitted on each property.
(b)
The area of any such sign shall not exceed 40 square feet, and such sign shall not exceed 10 linear feet in length or height. Such a sign may be double-faced.
(c)
Freestanding signs mounted or otherwise affixed to the roof of a building are not permitted.
(d)
The maximum height of freestanding business signs shall be 25 feet from curb level to the top of the sign.
(e)
Gasoline service stations. Such stations shall be permitted one freestanding brand-name sign not to exceed 20 square feet in area nor to be higher than 12 feet to the bottom of the sign. No flags, pennants, pinwheels, or temporary signs shall be permitted.
B.
Off-premises signs. All signs permitted in § 130-72A(2) by the standards prescribed therein shall be permitted in C-1 and C-2 Districts.
C.
Illuminated signs. In addition to all other requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, any illuminated sign must meet the following:
[Added 6-21-2011 by Ord. No. 523]
(1)
Illuminated signs shall not be of a moving or intermittent type, and all illumination shall be constant in intensity and color at all times when in use.
(2)
There shall be no illumination of any free-standingsign between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m., except that signs may be illuminated when the business is open.
(3)
Illuminated signs located adjacent to any residential area shall be located and installed to reduce glare for residential buildings in the line of sight of the sign.
(4)
Directly illuminated signs shall be designed so that when illuminated at night, only the letter and logos are visible. This shall be done by using an opaque background with translucent letters and logos. No light shall emanate through the background, the borders, sides, or any other surface of the sign or supporting structure.
D.
Outdoor advertising sign as a special exception in the C-2 District. All outdoor advertising signs must meet the following:
[Added 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 531]
(1)
Location. Outdoor advertising signs shall only be permitted as a principal use in the C-2 Zoning District, and shall be located as follows:
(a)
Minimum side yard: 10 feet.
(b)
Minimum rear yard: 25 feet.
(c)
Minimum front yard: 16 feet from cartway.
(d)
In addition, no outdoor advertising sign shall be erected in such a manner as to block the view from the road or street of any existing business sign, or residential or nonresidential structure.
(e)
Outdoor advertising signs shall maintain a minimum spacing of 750 feet between any existing or proposed outdoor advertising sign structures on both sides of the street. Distance shall be measured between the closest points on each sign. A maximum of one two-sided outdoor advertising sign per property is permitted.
(f)
Outdoor advertising signs shall not be mounted on a roof, wall or other part of a building or any other structure.
(2)
Size and height.
(a)
An outdoor advertising sign shall have a maximum allowable gross surface area of 200 square feet per sign, counting both sides of any two-sided sign. An outdoor advertising sign shall have a maximum of two sign faces per structure.
(b)
The outdoor advertising sign structure may have sign faces placed back to back or in a V-shaped configuration on a single outdoor advertising sign structure. The intersecting angle shall not exceed 30°. Such a V-shaped sign shall be considered as a two-sided sign for purposes of these regulations, including allowable gross surface area.
(c)
There shall be a maximum height of 35 feet from ground to top of sign measured at any point along the sign.
(d)
The face of the sign will include all alphanumeric characters, graphics or symbols defined by a small number of matrix elements using different combinations of light emitting diodes (LED), fiber optics, light bulbs or other illumination devices within the display area, including computer programmable, microprocessor controlled electronic displays and projected images or messages with these characteristics.
(3)
Illumination of electronic display signs. Any outdoor advertising sign utilizing electronic display techniques in whole or in part must meet the following operational standards:
(a)
Duration. The full outdoor advertising sign image or any portion thereof must have a minimum duration of 30 seconds and must be a static display. No portion of the image may flash, scroll, twirl, move or in any way imitate movement.
(b)
Transition. In instances where the full outdoor advertising sign image or any portion thereof changes, the change sequence must be accomplished by means of instantaneous re-pixelization of less than one second.
(c)
Dimmer control. Electronic graphic display signs must have an automatic dimmer control to produce a distinct illumination change from a higher illumination level to a lower level with the result being the appearance of the outdoor advertising sign will be no greater than a conventional outdoor advertising sign externally illuminated. No off-premises advertising sign (outdoor advertising sign) shall be erected without a light detector/photocell, a scheduled dimming timer, or a manual control by which the sign's brightness can be dimmed when ambient light conditions darken.
(d)
Audio or pyrotechnics. Audio speakers or any form of pyrotechnics are prohibited in association with outdoor advertising signs.
(e)
Fluctuating or flashing illumination. No portion of any outdoor advertising sign may fluctuate in light intensity or use intermittent, strobe or moving light or light that changes in intensity in sudden transitory bursts, steams, zooms, twinkles, sparkles, or in any manner creates the illusion of movement.
(f)
Video display. No portion of any outdoor advertising sign may change its message or background in a manner or by a method of display characterized by motion or pictorial imagery, or depicts action or a special effect to imitate movement, or the presentation of pictorials or graphics displayed in a progression of frames that give the illusion of motion or the illusion of moving objects, moving pattern or bands of light or expanding or contracting shapes.
(g)
Functionality. All illumination must be in proper working order, or must be shut down promptly, and no less than 24 hours after the defect arises.
(4)
Illumination of conventional outdoor advertising signs. Illumination shall be effectively shielded so as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of the traveled rights-of-way or which is of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or impair the vision of the driver of the vehicle, or which interferes with any driver's operation of a vehicle, and illumination shall not be permitted that interferes with the effectiveness or obscures an official traffic signal, device or signal. Advertising signs shall not be permitted that are illuminated by any flashing, intermittent or moving lights except those giving public service information such as time, date, and temperature, weather or similar information.
(5)
Permit requirements. A sign permit application must be submitted to the Zoning Officer in accordance with § 130-75, in addition to the following requirements:
(a)
Engineered structure.
[1]
An outdoor advertising sign structure shall be entirely painted every three years.
[2]
A condition of the permit is that every 10 years, the owner of the outdoor advertising sign shall have a structural inspection made of the outdoor advertising sign by a qualified Pennsylvania-registered engineer and shall provide to the Borough a certificate from the engineer certifying that the outdoor advertising sign is structurally sound.
[3]
A condition of the permit is that annual inspections of the outdoor advertising sign shall be conducted by the Borough to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(b)
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (Penn DOT). If a permit from PennDOT is required, such permit must accompany the sign permit application.
(c)
The sign permit application will be on a form developed by the Zoning Officer, and will be accompanied by such plans and such information as the Zoning Officer deems relevant. The application must be accompanied by the appropriate fee, which will be set by resolution of the Borough Council.
§ 130-74 General regulations.
A.
Flashing signs shall not be permitted in any district.
B.
In addition to the provisions of § 130-32, no sign shall be so located or arranged that it interferes with traffic through glare; through blocking of reasonable sign lines for streets, sidewalks or driveways, through confusion with a traffic control device (by reason of color, location, shape, or other characteristics), or through any other means.
C.
All signs, except temporary signs, shall be constructed of durable material and kept in good condition and repair or must be removed by the property owner.
D.
Signs existing at the time of passage of this chapter which do not conform to the requirements of this chapter shall be considered nonconforming signs and, once removed, shall be replaced only with conforming signs; however, nonconforming signs may be repainted or repaired, provided that such repainted or repaired sign does not exceed the dimensions of the existing sign.
E.
If an establishment has walls fronting on two or more streets, the sign area for each street may not be computed separately.
F.
No signs, except those of a duly constituted governmental body, including traffic signs and similar regulatory notice, shall be allowed within street right-of-way lines.
G.
No portion of any freestanding or projecting sign shall be located over the public right-of-way. If this requirement cannot be met, then freestanding or projecting signs shall be prohibited on such properties.
H.
Any vehicle to which a sign is affixed or painted in such a manner that the carrying of such sign or signs no longer is incidental to the vehicle's primary purpose, but become a primary purpose in itself due to the location of the vehicle being parked or stored on the property shall be considered a freestanding sign and, as such, be subject to the provisions regarding freestanding signs in the district in which such vehicle is located.
§ 130-75 Permit requirements.
All signs, as defined in Article II, over six square feet in total overall area shall require the issuance of a zoning permit before erection or replacement.