Ensure that all signs are compatible with the unique character and environment of the Town of Randolph, and that they support the desired ambience and development patterns of the various districts, overlay districts, and historic areas within the Town;

Balance public and private objectives by allowing adequate avenues for both commercial and non-commercial messages;

Improve pedestrian and traffic safety by promoting the free flow of traffic and the protection of pedestrians and motorists from injury and property damage caused by, or which may be fully or partially attributable to, cluttered, distracting, and/or illegible signage; and

Provide consistent sign design standards that enable the fair and consistent enforcement of these sign regulations.

Standards for signs located in any historic district are regulated pursuant to Randolph General Ordinance § 10-5 Construction or Alteration in an Historic District.

Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit a person from holding a sign while picketing or protesting on public property that has been determined to be a traditional or designated public forum, so long as the person holding the sign does not block ingress and egress from buildings, create a safety hazard by impeding travel on sidewalks, in bike or vehicle lanes, or on trails, or violate any other reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions adopted by the Town of Randolph.

Any sign, posting, notice or similar signs placed, installed, or required by law by a municipality, county, or a federal or state governmental agency in carrying out its responsibility to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

Non-illuminated non-commercial wall signs not to exceed 4 sf on single-family and two-family residences in residential zoning districts.

Non-illuminated signs which provide incidental information including, but not limited to credit card acceptance, business hours, open/closed, no soliciting, directions to services and facilities, or menus, provided these signs do not exceed an aggregate of six (6) square feet in sign area.

Building identification signs not exceeding two (2) square feet in area for residential buildings and four (4) square feet in area for nonresidential and mixed-use buildings.

Construction signs in non-residential districts identifying the parties involved and the nature of the construction project. Such sign must be removed within 14 days after any portion of any structure is occupied or after any portion of the last structure in a multiple-building construction project is occupied.

Historical plaques and commemorative signs erected and maintained by non-profit organizations, building cornerstones, and date-constructed stones not exceeding four (4) square feet in area.

Signs that could be confused with any authorized traffic signal or device or that interfere with, obstruct, confuse or mislead traffic;

Animated features which rotate, move, or give the appearance of moving by mechanical, wind, or other means except for barber poles no more than three (3) feet in height and ten (10) inches in diameter, flags, and clocks are excepted from this restriction;

Sound, odor, or any particulate matter including, bubbles, smoke, fog, confetti, or ashes;

Lighting devices with intermittent, flashing, rotating, blinking or strobe light illumination, animation, motion picture, or laser or motion picture projection, or any lighting effect creating the illusion of motion, as well as laser or hologram lights;

Surfaces that reflect light by means of a glossy, polished, or mirrored surface;

Inflatable balloons, spinners, strings of flags and pennants, feather banners, fixed aerial displays, streamers, tubes, or other devices affected by the movement of the air or other atmospheric or mechanical means either attached to a sign or to vehicles, structures, poles, trees and other vegetation, or similar support structures;

Any temporary sign, other than those signs allowed pursuant to Section 8.12;

Signs placed in or obstructing any sidewalk or right-of-way; and

Any other signs not specifically allowed by the provisions of this Section.

Permit required. A sign permit is required to erect, install, construct, move, alter, replace, suspend, display, or maintain (i.e., removal of the sign so that structural elements supporting the sign may be maintained) any permanent sign, unless otherwise specified in this Section. Each sign and change of copy (i.e., changing of the face or letters on a sign) requires a separate Sign Permit except as allowed in.

Review and approval.

Permit required. A sign permit is required to display a temporary wall banner sign. All temporary signs must comply with applicable requirements and standards established in this Section.

Duration of temporary sign permit. A sign permit is valid for up to thirty (30) days beginning with the date of issuance. One (1) extension of an additional thirty (30) days may be granted by the Building Commissioner upon written request.

Review and approval.

Authority. A non-accessory sign shall require a Special Permit granted by the Town Council, a sign permit issued by the Building Commissioner, or designee, and all other applicable permits and licenses required by local, state or federal laws unless such sign is permitted under a permit lawfully issued, and remaining in full force and effect, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or by any board or official succeeding to its authority in the administration of MGL c. 93, §§ 29 through 33.

Permitted locations. Non-accessory signs are permitted in the Sanitary Facility District and Industrial Districts only.

Application. A request for a non-accessory sign shall be made on forms provided by the Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA) and, after approval, on applications made available through the Building Commissioner.

Standards.

Prohibited.

Within, on, or projecting over public property, Town rights-of-way, or waterways, except signs specifically authorized by this Section;

Any location that obstructs the view of any authorized traffic sign, signal, or other traffic control device;

On property at any corner formed by intersecting streets, as shown in the diagram below.

Areas allowing for ingress to or egress from any door, window, vent, exit way or fire lane required by the Building Code or Fire Department regulations currently in effect;

Off the premises of the business to which the commercial advertising sign refers, except as provided in Section 8.12;

On fuel tanks, storage containers and/or solid waste receptacles or their enclosures, except for a manufacturer's or installer's identification, appropriate warning signs and placards, and information required by law;

Tacked, painted, burned, cut, pasted, or otherwise affixed to trees, rocks, light and utility poles, posts, fences, ladders, benches, or similar supports that are visible from a public way; and

On the roof of a building or structure.

Residential districts. All permanent signs for single-family, two-family, and multifamily residences and all temporary signs must be non-illuminated.

All other districts. All allowed permanent signs may be non-illuminated, illuminated by internal light fixtures, halo illuminated, or illuminated by external indirect illumination, unless otherwise specified.

No sign shall be illuminated between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM, except signs identifying emergency services on premises open for business during that time.

Externally Illuminated Signs must be illuminated only with steady, stationary, fully-shielded light sources directed solely onto the sign without causing glare. The light source for externally illuminated signs must be arranged and shielded to substantially confine all direct light rays to the sign face and away from streets and adjacent properties.

Any angle iron, bracing, guy wires, or similar features used to support a sign must not be visible to the extent technically feasible.

Where electrical service is provided to freestanding signs or building mounted signs, the service must be placed underground and concealed. Electrical service to building mounted signs, including conduct, housings, and wire, must be concealed or, when necessary, painted to match the surface of the structure upon which they are mounted. A building permit shall be issued prior to installation of any new signs requiring electrical service.

All permanent signs allowed by this Section must be constructed of durable materials capable of withstanding continuous exposure to the elements and must be permanently attached to the ground, a building or another structure by direct attachment to a rigid wall, frame, or structure.

Raceway cabinets shall only be used in building mounted signs when access to the wall behind the sign is not feasible, shall not extend in width and height beyond the area of the sign, and shall match the color of the building to which it is attached. A raceway cabinet is not a cabinet sign.

Signs on background panel. Sign copy mounted, affixed, or painted on a background panel or surface distinctively painted, textured, or constructed as a background for the sign copy, is measured as that area contained within the smallest rectangle that will enclose both the sign copy and the background.

Signs with individual letters. Sign copy mounted as individual letters or graphics against a wall, fascia, mansard, or parapet of a building or surface of another structure, that has not been painted, textured or otherwise altered to provide a distinctive background for the sign copy, is measured as a sum of the smallest rectangle(s) that will enclose all words and graphics in the total sign.

Signs on illuminated surfaces. Sign copy mounted, affixed, or painted on an illuminated surface or illuminated element of a building or structure, is measured as the entire illuminated surface or illuminated element, which contains sign copy. Such elements may include lit canopy fascia signs, and/or interior lit awnings.

Irregular shaped signs. Sign area for irregular shaped signs is measured as the smallest rectangle that will enclose all words and graphics in the total sign.

Building mounted sign height. The height of signs mounted on the wall, fascia, mansard, or parapet is the vertical distance measured from the base of the wall on which the sign is located to the top of the sign or sign structure.

Freestanding sign height. Sign height is measured as the vertical distance from the average elevation of the finished grade at the base of the sign to the top of the signor sign structure.

All signs together with their supports and appurtenances must be maintained in good structural condition, in compliance with applicable Building and Electrical Codes, and in conformance with this Section. Maintenance of a sign includes periodic cleaning, replacement of flickering, burned out or broken light bulbs or fixtures, repair or replacement of any faded, peeled, cracked, or otherwise damaged or broken parts of a sign, and any other activity necessary to restore the sign so that it continues to comply with the requirements and contents of the sign permit issued for its installation and provisions of this Section.

Required landscaped areas contained by a fixed border, curbed area, wall, or other perimeter structure must receive regular repair and maintenance. Plant materials that do not survive after installation in required landscape areas are required to be replaced within three months.

The Building Commissioner has the authority to order the repair, maintenance, or removal of any sign or sign structure that has not been maintained and is dangerous or in disrepair, or which is erected or maintained contrary to the requirements of this Section.

Failure to maintain a sign constitutes a violation of this Section and shall be subject to enforcement action, in which case the Building Commissioner may order the removal of any sign that is determined to be in disrepair or dangerous.

A temporary sign permit is required for the display of temporary banner signs.

No permit is required for yard signs.

All temporary signs must be placed in a manner allowing traffic visibility for street corners and driveways.

Temporary signs are not counted toward the total allowable sign area or number of permanent signs.