Creative and distinct;

Compatible with the surroundings;

Appropriate to the type of activity to which it pertains;

Expressive of the identity of individual proprietors or of the community as a whole; and

Appropriately sized in its context, so as to be easily readable.

Billboards, streamers, pennants, ribbons, spinners or other similar devices shall not be constructed, posted or erected in any district. Exceptions include flags and buntings exhibited to commemorate national patriotic holidays and temporary banners announcing charitable or civic events.

Flashing signs, roof signs, signs containing moving parts and signs containing reflective elements which sparkle or twinkle in the sunlight are not permitted. Signs indicating the current time and/or temperature are permitted, provided that they meet all other provisions of this article.

Any sign advertising or identifying a business or organization which is either defunct or no longer located on the premises is not permitted. Exceptions are granted to landmark signs, which may be preserved and maintained even if they no longer pertain to the present use of the premises.

No sign, except for a traffic, regulatory or information sign, shall use the words "stop," "caution" or "danger" or shall incorporate red, amber or green lights resembling traffic signals or shall resemble "stop" or "yield" signs in shape and color.

No person may erect a sign which flashes, rotates or has motorized moving parts.

No person may erect a sign with exposed electrical wires.

Strings of bulbs are not permitted, except as part of a holiday celebration. In addition, strings of bulbs may be permitted to decorate trees at the discretion of the Planning Board, provided that such display does not interfere with neighboring land uses.

No sign shall be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless the premises on which it is located is open for business.

No person may erect a sign that constitutes a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic because of intensity or direction of illumination.

No person may erect a sign which is affixed to a fence, utility pole or structure or tree, shrub, rock or other natural object.

Signs shall not be mounted on roofs or extend above the roofline (unless mounted on a parapet wall which extends above the roofline, in which case the sign may not extend above the top of said parapet).

No projecting sign shall extend into a vehicular public way or be less than 10 feet above a pedestrian way.

No sign, together with any supporting framework, shall extend to a height above the maximum building height allowed in a district.

There shall be a minimum distance of 20 feet between any side property line and sign erected under the provisions of this article.

Any sign located along the right-of-way of Route 31 shall comply with any more restrictive requirements of the state government relating thereto.

Signs shall not cover architectural details, such as but not limited to arches, sills, mouldings, cornices and transom windows.

Signs erected or posted and maintained for public safety and welfare pursuant to any governmental function, law or other regulations.

A bulletin board or similar sign not exceeding 20 square feet in display area, in connection with any church, museum, library, school or similar public or semipublic structure, provided that the top of such sign shall not be more than eight feet above ground level and provided that it does not possess any of the characteristics listed in Subsection B above.

Directional signs solely indicating ingress and egress placed at driveway locations, containing no advertising material and where display area does not exceed three square feet or extend higher than four feet above ground level. Such sign will conform in all respects with the requirements of this article.

Signs relating to trespassing and hunting, not exceeding two square feet in area.

Continuance. A nonconforming sign lawfully existing at the time of adoption of this chapter may continue, although such sign does not conform to the provisions of this article.

Maintenance. Any lawfully existing sign cannot be enlarged, reworded (other than in the case of cinema or theater signs or signs with automatically changing messages), redesigned or altered in any way, including repainting in a different color, except to conform to the requirements of this article, and provided further that any such sign which has deteriorated to such an extent that the cost of restoration would exceed 35% of the replacement cost shall not be repaired or rebuilt or altered except to conform to the requirements of this article.

Replacement. Any sign replacing a nonconforming sign shall conform with the provisions of this section, and the nonconforming sign shall no longer be displayed.

No sign shall be erected, displayed, altered or enlarged until an application has been filed and until a permit for such action has been issued. Applications shall be obtained from the Zoning Officer. At a minimum, all applications shall include a scale drawing specifying dimensions, materials, illumination, letter sizes, colors, support systems and location on land or building, with all relevant measurements.

Permits shall be issued only if the Planning Board determines that the sign complies or will comply with all applicable provisions of this article and the requirements of the BOCA Building Code. Such application may be filed by the owner of the land or building or any person who has the authority to erect a sign on the premises.

The Planning Board shall act within 45 days of receipt of such application, together with the required fee.

Sign measurement shall be based upon the entire area of the sign, with a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of the actual sign surface.

For a sign painted on or applied to a building, the area shall be considered to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs or symbols, together with any background of a different color than the natural color or finished material of the building.

For a sign consisting 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 shape which encompasses all of the letters and symbols.

The area of supporting framework (for example, brackets, posts, etc.) shall not be included in the area if such framework is incidental to the display.

When a sign has two or more faces, the area of all faces shall be included in determining the total maximum area.

Such sign may include identification of an on-premises professional office or customary home occupation.

Such sign may be attached to the building or may be on a post not more than four feet high and set back at least three feet from the ultimate right-of-way.

Such sign may not exceed two square feet in area.

Such sign must be painted on or attached flat against the surface of the awning, but not extend beyond the valance or be attached to the underside.

Letters shall not exceed 10 inches in height.

A minimum of eight feet above sidewalk level must be allowed for pedestrian clearance for awning signs, and a minimum height of 16 feet must be allowed for canopy signs for vehicular clearance.

Such signs shall not exceed 12 square feet in area and shall be set back at least 10 feet from the street lot line or 1/2 the building setback distance, whichever is less.

Such a sign may be maintained on the building or property for the interim of construction and not more than 30 days following the completion of said construction.

Such signs shall not exceed six square feet.

Such signs shall advertise only the property on which the sign is located.

A maximum of two such signs may be maintained on any property being sold or rented, and they shall be removed by the owner or agent within 30 days of sale, rent or lease.

Freestanding signs over six feet in height may have no more than two sides; those less than six feet in height may have three or four sides.

A lot with frontage of 300 feet or more may have two freestanding signs not less than 175 feet apart.

Signs shall be illuminated only with steady, stationary, shielded light sources directed solely onto the sign without causing glare.

Internal illumination.

Neon window signs may be permitted in cases where they are custom designed to be compatible with the building's historic and/or architectural character and where their color has been selected to harmonize with the building's exterior colors.

Signs shall not be illuminated directly or indirectly between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless the premises are open during such hours.

Illuminated signs shall not be permitted to shine more than 0.1 footcandle onto residential properties and traveled ways.

Letters or symbols shall not project more than 12 inches from the building surface.

Such letters and symbols shall not obscure the architectural features of the building to which they are attached.

Such letters and symbols shall not extend above the lowest part of the roof, nor beyond the ends of the wall to which they are attached.

Letters or symbols shall have an aggregate area not exceeding 11/2 square feet for each foot of building face parallel to a street lot line or 10% of the wall area to which they are affixed, whichever is less. When a lot fronts on more than one street, the aggregate sign area facing each street frontage shall be calculated separately.

See also Subsection Q, wall signs.

Such signs may be painted on or attached flat against the surface of, but not extending beyond, or attached to the underside of the overhang.

Letters or symbols shall not exceed 12 inches in height.

A minimum clearance of 10 feet above the sidewalk level must be allowed for pedestrian clearance.

The display board shall be of an integrated and uniform design.

The maximum sign area permitted is 16 square feet for the sign bearing the name of the building or office park and two square feet for the name of each business or office located there.

Complexes with over 300 feet of frontage will be allowed two freestanding signs.

Informational and directional signs containing no advertising are permitted to direct traffic flow, indicate parking space, identify points of interest, locate businesses or provide other essential information to guide vehicular or pedestrian traffic flow.

Off-premises signs not specifically identified above shall be strictly prohibited.

Such signs are permitted if they are stationary, unlighted and temporary.

Such signs shall be displayed no earlier than 20 days prior to a voting day and shall be removed within five days after a voting day.

Such signs may not exceed four square feet in area.

A maximum of two signs per lot is permitted.

If flat, each face shall not exceed 10 square feet.

The total area of a three-dimensional sign shall be determined by enclosing the largest cross section of the sign in an easily recognizable geometric shape and computing its area, which shall not exceed nine square feet.

Such sign shall be hung at right angles to the building and shall not project closer than two feet to the curbline.

The supporting framework shall be in proportion to the size of such sign.

Signs which overhang a public way (including sidewalks) shall be covered by a public liability insurance policy which names the Borough as the insured party.

The top of the sign may be suspended in line with one of the following, whichever is the most successful application of scale, linear continuity and visibility as determined by the Planning Board:

Projecting signs shall have a minimum clearance of eight feet above grade when located adjacent to or projecting over a pedestrian way. If projecting over an alley or driveway, the clearance must be at least 13 feet.

No part of a wall sign, including the display surface, shall extend more than six inches from the building surface.

Such sign shall not obscure architectural features of the building, not limited to features such as arches, sills, mouldings, cornices and transoms.

Such sign shall not extend above the lowest point of the roof, nor beyond the ends of the wall to which it is attached.

Such signs shall have an aggregate area not exceeding 11/2 square feet for each linear foot of building face parallel to a street lot line or 10% of the wall area to which it is attached, whichever is less. Where a lot fronts on more than one street, the aggregate sign area facing each street frontage shall be calculated separately.

Where two or more wall signs are affixed to one wall, the gross display area shall be the sum total area of all signs.

Wall signs shall not extend higher than the eave line or top of the parapet wall of the principal building.

The size of signs attached to buildings may be increased in area (over allowable size) by 25% for every 100 feet of building setback. This shall apply to buildings set back more than 100 feet from the road right-of-way, and the increase may be prorated according to the actual setback distance.

Window signs shall not exceed more than 30% of the window area in which they are displayed.

Nontemporary signs hung inside windows shall be made of clear materials such as plexiglass with lettering painted on them.

One address sign limited to the names of residents and/or property and the address, provided that the size of any such sign does not exceed two square feet.

Temporary signs relating to the sale, improvement or development of the premises, political campaigns or charitable fundraising drives, provided that the provisions of § 104-60 have been met.

Signs for permitted noncommercial uses, provided that such signs conform to Subsection A above.

Signs for other permitted district uses, provided that:

Permanently attached signs shall not exceed 10% of the area of the building facade.

A maximum of two freestanding signs, not exceeding 50 square feet in area, shall be permitted, except that properties fronting on two or more streets may have one additional sign per street.

Awning/canopy, illuminated, multiple and window signs shall be permitted, provided that they meet the regulations set forth in § 104-60.

In the Mixed Use District, marquee and movable signs shall be permitted, provided that the specific regulations set forth in § 104-60 have been met.

A maximum of two freestanding signs, not exceeding 30 square feet each in area, shall be permitted, except that properties fronting on two or more streets may have one additional sign per street.

Awning/canopy, marquee and window signs are prohibited in the Industrial/Office Research District.

One address sign limited to the name of the park or property, provided that the size of any such sign does not exceed six square feet.