Lower Makefield Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIIIB
SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District
§ 200-50.2 Use regulations; design standards.
A.
Purpose and findings.
(1)
The Board of Supervisors of Lower Makefield Township is responsible for and empowered to protect the health, safety and welfare of Lower Makefield Township and its citizens.
(2)
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Lower Makefield Township, County of Bucks, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is empowered to enact and establish zoning districts, classifications and regulations pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. §§ 10101 to 11202, as amended.
(3)
The Board of Supervisors is empowered by the Pennsylvania Second Class Code, 53 P.S. § 65101, et seq., as amended, to make and adopt ordinances, bylaws, rules and regulations that are necessary to provide for, among other things, the maintenance of peace, safety, health and welfare of the Township and its citizens.
(4)
The Board of Supervisors finds that the aesthetic integrity and character of the Township have a substantial and direct impact on the quality of life in Lower Makefield Township such that preservation of these vital aspects of the Township is important to the health, safety and welfare of the Township.
(5)
The Board of Supervisors finds that certain billboards and temporary signs have a deleterious effect on vehicle traffic safety, pedestrian traffic safety and the quality of life in Lower Makefield Township by virtue of their respective mediums of expression.
(6)
The Board of Supervisors finds that the costs associated with removal of various temporary signs on Township property is substantial and it is in the economic interests of the citizens of the Township to minimize, if not eliminate, this cost.
(7)
The Board of Supervisors finds that by restricting the tangible media of billboards and temporary signs in the Township to certain designated areas within the Township, the Board of Supervisors shall advance the substantial government interest of lessening hazards to pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
(8)
The Board of Supervisors finds that by restricting the tangible media of billboards and temporary signs in the Township in the manners set forth herein, the Board of Supervisors shall advance the substantial government interest of preserving real property values in the Township.
(9)
The Board of Supervisors finds that by restricting the tangible media of Billboards and temporary signs in the Township in the manners set forth herein, the Board of Supervisors shall advance the substantial government interest of preventing unsightly and detrimental development in the Township.
(10)
The Board of Supervisors finds that while certain restrictions are placed upon the tangible medium of temporary signs, several alternative channels of communication are available to individuals in the community, such as distributing handbills where permissible, posting signs and handbills on automobiles where permissible, posting signs on private property and other properties within the Township, with the permission of the owners thereof, and other means by which to exercise one's right of speech.
(11)
The Board of Supervisors finds the reasonable restriction and control of the locations, numbers, spacing, sizes, heights, shapes, lighting, general character and maintenance of billboards and temporary signs are essential to the avoidance of hazardous traffic conditions on public thoroughfares within the Township, including, but not limited to, hazards associated with the distraction of drivers from control of their vehicles and constant observation of surrounding vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
(12)
The Board of Supervisors finds that the restrictions imposed by this article are narrowly tailored in scope to balance the interests of the Township against the rights of all persons in the Township.
(13)
The Board of Supervisors has determined that it is in the best interest of all residents and property owners in Lower Makefield Township to recognize the business of off-premises advertising signs as a permitted use and to create an overlay zoning district along the Interstate No. 95 and Pennsylvania Route 1 corridors for such use.
B.
SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District. The SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District is an overlay zoning district located on both sides of Interstate No. 95 (I-95) and Pennsylvania Route 1 (Rt. 1) that are located in an O-R — Office/Research or C-3 — Commercial — General Business and Industrial Township Zoning District. The purpose of the SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District is to limit the area where such signs are permitted to certain lands zoned commercial or office/research and/or lands having frontage on I-95 or Rt.1; to provide an area for the placement of special off-premises advertising signs, as described below, in the Township; to provide regulations for such signs; to provide standards for construction of such signs; and to locate such signs so that they are not adverse to the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Township of Lower Makefield. The overlay district is limited to that portion of Lower Makefield Township set forth on the Zoning Map attached hereto as Exhibit A.[1] The width of the overlay district shall be 75 feet measured from the edge of the right-of-way of I-95 and Rt.1. In addition to the requirement that signs in the SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District adhere to the standards and requirements set forth in Article XIX, the following standards and requirements shall apply to placement of special off-premises advertising signs.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the Township offices.
C.
Establishment and location of district.
(1)
Establishment of district. The Lower Makefield Township Zoning Ordinance and Map are hereby amended by the creation an overlay zoning district known as the "SOPAS — Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District."
(2)
Location of district. The SOPAS Off-Premises Advertising Sign District is identified and comprised of all properties or portions thereof within 75 feet on both sides of I-95 and Rt.1 rights-of-way that are located in an O-R — Office/Research or C-3 — Commercial — General Business and Industrial District.
D.
Permitted use. A special off-premises advertising sign, also known as a "billboard," shall be permitted in the SOPAS Special Off-Premises Advertising Sign Overlay District subject to the following requirements:
(1)
Size of sign. The size of the sign may not exceed 302 square feet per side with a maximum width of 24 feet, six inches, and a maximum height of 12 feet, three inches. The area shall be measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle, circle or combination thereof which will encompass the entire sign. A sign structure may contain one or two signs per facing and may be placed double-faced, back-to-back or V-type. Signs which exceed 151 square feet in area may not be double-faced (abutting and facing the same direction).
(2)
Height and location of sign. The maximum height of the off-premises advertising signs above the established grade, as defined in § 200-7 of the Lower Makefield Township Zoning Ordinance, nearest the sign shall be the minimum necessary in order for the sign to be reasonably viewed by the intended motorists and in no event higher than 20 feet measured to the top of the sign. Off-premises advertising signs shall be located no closer than 20 feet from any property line excluding I-95 and Rt. 1. Off-premises advertising signs shall be located as close to the ultimate right-of-way of I-95 and Rt. 1 as possible.
(3)
Spacing. Special off-premises advertising signs shall not be located closer than 500 feet from any street or road measured from the ultimate right-of-way of such street, excepting I-95 or Rt. 1. Special off-premises advertising signs shall not be located closer than 500 feet from another off-premises advertising sign measured linearly along each side of the SOPAS Zoning District. All off-premises advertising signs shall be directed towards traffic on I-95 or Rt. 1. The distance between sign structures shall be measured along the nearest edge of the pavement between points directly opposite the signs along the same side of the traveled way.
(4)
Lighting. The sign may be nonilluminated or indirectly illuminated, but shall not be directly illuminated.
(5)
Lot size. The minimum lot size for a property on which a special off-premises advertising sign may be located is 20,000 square feet.
(6)
Maintenance of sign. All signs shall be structurally sound and maintained in good condition. If the signs are not structurally sound or are in poor condition, the signs shall be immediately removed.
(7)
Landscaping. Landscaping shall be provided at the base of all special off-premises advertising signs in order to shield from view the base, structural elements, and foundation of the sign. Plants, trees, shrubs and other vegetation shall be used in accordance with the Lower Makefield Township Native Plant Ordinance.[2] All plans for landscaping shall be approved in accordance with such approval methods as provided in this chapter and the Lower Makefield Township Native Plant Ordinance.
E.
Additional regulations. All special off-premises advertising signs shall comply with any and all applicable zoning regulations not specifically established herein and any and all Township, state and/or federal regulations, including, but not limited to, the Lower Makefield Township Zoning Code, the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regulations. In the event that any additional law or regulation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States Federal Government conflicts with any provision of this article, the parties shall abide by the terms and interpretation of the law or regulation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States Federal Government, whichever shall be deemed to control. All other nonconflicting provisions shall remain in full force and effect.