Any sign placed on land or on a building for the purpose of identification or protection of the same or for advertising a use conducted thereon or therein shall be deemed to be accessory and incidental to such land, building or use. It is the purpose to place such limitations on the display of all such signs as will assure that they will:

A further purpose of this article is to permit such signs that will not, by their reason, size, location, construction or manner of display, endanger the public safety of individuals; confuse, mislead or obstruct the vision necessary for traffic safety; or otherwise endanger public health, safety and morals; and to permit and regulate signs in such a way as to support and complement land use objectives set forth in the Comprehensive Plan and this Zoning Ordinance. Considerable attention has been placed on the physical and economic revitalization of the central business district by city government and the business community. Extensive planning efforts within the downtown area have resulted in a comprehensive program to upgrade the aesthetic environment, which in turn is expected to stimulate economic growth within the community. As signs are a prominent element of the downtown's visual environment, it has become important to control their appearance, number and location. The regulation of signs is intended to be consistent with objectives set forth in the Comprehensive Plan.

Announcing signs. One sign per street frontage of a building which is under construction or structural alteration of repair announcing the character of the building enterprise or the purpose for which the building is intended, including names of architects, engineers, contractors, developers, financiers and others, provided that the area of such sign shall not exceed 16 square feet in residential districts or 32 square feet in other districts.

Real estate signs. One sign per street frontage, not exceeding four square feet in residential districts, advertising the sale, rental or lease of the premises on which displayed.

Subdivision signs. One sign per street entrance to the subdivision and located on the property to be subdivided, provided that such sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in area. Such sign may not be erected until the subdivision has been approved by the appropriate City officials and may be displayed for a period of one year from the date of erection, which must be filed with the Planning Director within 30 days after erection. Erection date will be determined to be the same as the subdivision approval date if not filed within the thirty-day period. The display period may be extended by written approval of the Planning Director for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed one year at any one time.

Special event displays. Portable signs and window signs may be erected on the premises of an establishment having a grand opening or special event, provided that such signs shall be displayed for a period not to exceed seven calendar days within any six-month period, and such sign shall not be permitted in the public right-of-way.

Signs of mechanics, painters and other artisans, not exceeding 16 square feet in area, may be erected and maintained during the period such persons are performing work on the premises on which such signs are erected, but shall be removed promptly upon completion of work.

The dimensions of the sign and, where applicable, the dimensions of the wall surface of the building to which it is to be attached.

The dimensions of the sign's supporting members.

The maximum and minimum height of the sign.

The proposed location of the sign in relation to the face of the building in front of which or above which it is to be erected.

The proposed location of the sign in relation to the boundaries of the lot upon which it is to be situated.

Where the sign is to be attached to an existing building, a current photograph of the face of the building to which the sign is to be attached.

Temporary sandwich board signs may only be located in front of commercial properties within the Downtown District where sidewalks are a minimum of eight feet wide. These temporary signs shall be located on the sidewalk only during business hours.

The total size of the sign is not to exceed 42 inches by 24 inches (height by width). The signs must be internally weighted to withstand strong winds. The temporary sandwich board signs shall be placed on the sidewalk next to the curb edge of the sidewalk in such a manner so as not to interfere with pedestrian traffic or handicapped accessibility along with the opening of car doors, paying parking meter fees, and loading/unloading zones. Portable signs shall be placed an appropriate distance from pedestrian gathering points such as crosswalks and bus stops.

Only one sandwich board sign shall be permitted per business, and the sign shall be located in front of that specific business, not at another location. If the business is a corner property, the sign may only be placed in one location.

Sandwich board signs shall not be located so as to cause a traffic hazard by becoming an obstruction to the vision of a vehicular driver.

Sandwich board signs placed on private property or a public right-of-way without prior having obtained a zoning permit will be immediately removed by the City.

Sandwich board signs that cause any kind of traffic or pedestrian hazard will be removed immediately by the City of Greensburg.

Sandwich board signs will only be considered as an accessory sign. Sandwich board signs will only be permitted when a business has already been approved for a permanent sign as per the design guidelines.

EMCs may be located on property in the City of Greensburg that is zoned C-1 Neighborhood Shopping District in the City's Gateway District, C-2 Business District and in the M Industrial District operating a commercial enterprise, and in any zone district when on the property of a facility of a public police, fire or emergency services provider operated by a governmental or nonprofit entity.

All EMCs that are currently erected in the City of Greensburg that do not fit the criteria below are now considered nonconforming signs.

EMCs will follow this criteria: 10 mm pitch resolution or greater depending on the square footage of the sign. EMC signs are never to scroll, flash, oscillate or move in any way, and the message must remain static. EMCs are part of but not the main message of any sign. The sign presented must have the business name identified in a non-EMC format. The night-distance time illumination of an EMC shall conform to the criteria set forth in this section:

A zoning permit to erect an EMC sign must be obtained pursuant to § 265-113 of the Code of the City of Greensburg, and said EMC sign must be reviewed by the City's Planning Commission and approved by the City Council prior to the issuance of a permit. All applicable fees must be paid in accordance with Chapter 151.

The Planning Director shall cause to be removed any sign that endangers the public safety, such as an abandoned, dangerous or materially, electrically or structurally defective sign or a sign for which no zoning permit has been issued. The Planning Director shall prepare a notice which shall describe the sign and specify the violation involved and which shall state that, if the sign is not removed or the violation is not corrected within 10 days, the sign shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of this section.

All notices of removal mailed by the Planning Director or their designee shall be sent by certified mail. Any time periods provided in this section shall be deemed to commence on the date of the receipt of the certified mail.

For all other signs, the notice shall be mailed to the owner of the property on which the sign is located as shown on the last equalized assessment roll. If known or with reasonable care should be known, the notice shall be mailed to or delivered to the owner of the sign and the occupant of the property.

Any person having an interest in the sign or the property may appeal the determination of the Planning Director or their designee ordering removal or compliance by filing a written notice of appeal with the City of Greensburg Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days after the date of mailing the notice or 30 days after receipt of the notice if the notice was not mailed.

Notwithstanding the above, in cases of emergency, the Planning Director or their designee may cause the immediate removal of a dangerous or defective sign without notice.

Application. Application for a permit shall be made in accord with § 265-138.

Permit fee. A yearly renewal fee of $150 per message shall be charged to the stakeholder for the expense of inspection and maintenance as required under Subsection D. Said payment shall be due on or before January 15 of the next calendar year, and each year thereafter, as long as the directional sign message remains. A new zoning permit must be issued for any change made to an existing directional sign. The stakeholder making the change request will incur costs for changes. Any stakeholder added to the system after July 1, 1999, will be responsible for all consulting fees/engineering fees and any additional fees that may be required in order to add either messages or signs to the City of Greensburg Directional Sign System.

Location. Setback shall be 75 feet from a public street intersection except by special permission where conditions make it necessary and feasible to do it in less for direction-giving comprehension. Driveway entrances and ramps are exempted from the setback requirements.

Height and area limitations. Directional signs shall not exceed a height greater than 10 feet with a minimum of eight feet from the ground. For the installation of directional signs over lanes or traffic, the base shall be at 16.5 feet above ground level and the maximum height between 21.5 feet and 23 feet.

Limitation on pole placement. Unless by special permission by Planning and Development, directional signs shall not exceed two per pole.

Location of signs. Route 30 (Pittsburgh and Otterman Streets), Route 119, Route 66, Route 130, Route 136 and Route 819 within the city limits are designated as "wayfinding routes." This is also a Downtown Wayfinding Circuit around the Courthouse from Main Street to Otterman Street to Bell Way to Pittsburgh Street and back to Main Street and a Downtown Side Circuit on Pennsylvania Avenue south of Pittsburgh Street and up West Third Street to Main Street. Messaging directs traffic to "downtown" along every incoming wayfinding route and along the Downtown Circuit and Downtown Side Circuit.

Eligible destinations. Eligible destinations may have one message in each direction on the wayfinding route segment between downtown and a turn-off to a drive-in entrance to the destination and then for each turn required to reach the entrance from the wayfinding route turn-off. Destinations within downtown may have up to one message in each direction on the Downtown Circuit. Destinations south of West Third Street from Main Street will be eligible for messaging off of the Downtown Side Circuit as well.

Destinations outside of downtown. Planning and Development will designate a group of destinations outside of downtown that will be eligible for messaging on the Downtown Circuit as well. All these destinations will be able to be found with one driving instruction: "follow the signs for downtown until you see the sign for us."

Westmoreland Regional Hospital. The city designates the hospital as eligible for messaging along every incoming wayfinder route as well as on the Downtown Circuit. The hospital shall also be eligible to maintain its own system according to the graphic and messaging standards of the overall system within its campus area from Otterman Street to West Newton Street and between Madison Avenue, Jefferson Street and Division Street. In that area, the hospital will be responsible for navigational infrastructure signs, for fabrication and installation costs and for maintenance costs. However, all signs must still be certified by a traffic engineer and approved by Planning and Development before being erected as per the same permitting process herein defined.

Availability of signage space. All messaging is subject to availability of space for signage along a given block. No more than two installations with no more than two signs each are permitted on one side of the street before a given intersection. A single sign may have up to three messages, and the desired maximum messages at an installation are four messages, through rare exceptions may be made for five messages. (Six messages at an installation may occur only in very exceptional circumstances.) Note that traffic conditions and other physical circumstances may prevent the maximum amount of messaging being erected on a given block.

Additional messaging locations. These may be allowed on an exceptional basis where the setting of an intersection could cause confusion as to which way is which to reach a destination.

Limitations on message placement. Messages shall be eligible for placement as per the system set up by the consultant, Informing Designs.

Street limitation. Directional signs shall be limited to arterial and collector streets only.

Downtown restrictions. Directional signs posted in the downtown area shall be limited and require special permission and be placed so not to create a safety hazard or obstruct free and clear vision.

Construction.

Erection and traffic engineering. Directional signs shall be safely and securely attached to poles or channels. In no case shall any signs be secured with wire, strips of wood or nails. Such signs may rest in or be bolted to strong, heavy metal brackets or saddles. The applicant is responsible for providing a sealed approval certified by a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania traffic engineer for each sign location. In addition, on any State of Pennsylvania right-of-way, PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) approval is required as part of the city application for a directional sign.

The following regulations shall apply to all persons existing or residing within the City of Greensburg. No zoning permits for directional signs shall be issued to persons whose purpose is to direct traffic to existing or operating facilities outside the City of Greensburg, unless authorized by the City of Greensburg Parking Authority, as necessary for continuity of the area-wide system. Eligible signs shall be issued to entities falling under a certain category as follows:

In all categories, a destination is eligible for signs only if it is a destination for automotive traffic and only when it serves to define a routing for automotive traffic for a given area of the landscape.