To protect the public health, safety, and welfare by restricting signs which impair the public's ability to receive information, which violate privacy, or which increase the probability of accidents by distracting attention or obstructing vision.

To encourage signs that promote a desirable visual environment through creative yet orderly design arrangements.

To encourage signs that aid orientation, identify activities, describe local history and character, or serve other educational purposes.

To encourage the replacement of nonconforming signs through the strict enforcement of the procedures and requirements of this article.

An application must be made to the Zoning Officer for the issuance of a zoning permit by any person wishing to erect, alter, modify, or expand any sign, except for exempt signs as described in this article.

A construction permit and any other permits that may be required for the erection or modification of a sign may only be issued subsequent to the issuance of a zoning permit by the Zoning Officer.

This article regulates the size, height, width, placement, materials, and the method of illumination for all signs in the Borough. If the Zoning Officer determines that the proposed sign does not conform to the requirements contained herein, the applicant shall be informed that Planning Board approval of an application for development is required.

On properties involved in an application for site plan review, all signs shall be approved by the Board which has jurisdiction as part of the site plan application prior to the issuance of permits for signs.

Application for permits to erect, hang or place a sign shall be submitted on forms obtainable from the Construction Official. Each application shall be accompanied by plans showing the area of the sign, size and character, method of illumination, if any, the exact location proposed for such sign, and, in the case of a projecting sign, the proposed method of fastening such sign to the building structure, the vertical distance between such sign and the finished grade and the horizontal distance between such sign and the curb, and also between such sign and the right-of-way line.

Additional information. Each applicant shall, upon the request of the Zoning Officer, submit any additional information deemed necessary.

Any temporary real estate sign. Such sign shall not be illuminated nor exceed 12 square feet.

Any incidental sign advertising the sale of farm products grown or produced on the premises, provided that such sign shall not exceed 12 square feet in area and shall be at least 100 feet from the nearest intersection of a street, road or highway and at least five feet from the nearest property line. Such sign shall not be illuminated.

Any temporary construction site sign erected on the site during the period of construction to announce the name of the owner or developer, contractor, architect, landscape architect or engineer. Such signs shall not be illuminated.

Temporary signs of mechanics, painters and other artisans, provided that such signs shall be erected only on the property where such work is being performed, do not exceed 12 square feet and shall be removed promptly upon completion of the work.

Signs incident to the legal process of law and necessary to the public welfare.

Customary warning, trespassing and posted signs or signs indicating the private nature of a driveway or property, provided that the size of the sign does not exceed three square feet.

Directional or informational signs of a public or semipublic nature, not exceeding eight square feet in area. Not more than one such sign shall be placed on each property unless such property fronts on more than one street, in which case one such sign may be erected on each street frontage. Such signs shall only be used for the purpose of stating or calling attention to:

The size of any sign shall be computed by determining the total area of any signboard, sign face, or sign background at its largest horizontal and vertical dimensions, including framing, trim, or molding. Where there is no framing, the sign area shall be deemed to be the area of the smallest rectangular figure that can encompass all of the figures and their supporting logos or elements, if any.

For double-faced signs, only one display face shall be measured in computing the total sign area where the sign faces are parallel. Maximum permitted size does not include the supporting structure, as long as the supporting structure is not designed to convey a message. The supporting structure shall not in itself convey any type of message.

All lighting sources shall be completely shielded from the view of vehicular traffic.

Such illumination shall not project light above the highest elevation of the front wall of the building for wall-mounted signs or more than five feet above ground level for freestanding signs.

Backlit/internally lit signs shall not have a white or light-colored background or signboard.

Where a sign is located on a lot with residential uses or on a lot adjacent to a lot used primarily for residential purposes, such shall not be illuminated in a manner that permits any light to shine or cause a nuisance to the adjacent residential use.

No illuminated sign located on a lot adjacent to or across the street from any single-family residential district and visible from such residential district shall be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

No sign shall contain blinking, flashing, flickering, tracer, or sequential lighting. All signs shall remain stationary and constant in intensity and color at all times.

All wiring for permanent illuminated signs shall be installed and maintained so that it is not within public view. The running of wiring or conduit along the exterior wall of a building to access a sign is specifically prohibited unless, in the judgment of the Construction Official, there is no practical way to run the conduit so that it is not within public view.

No illuminated sign shall be of such a color or located in such a manner as to be confused with, or to diminish or detract in any way from, the effectiveness of any traffic signal or similar official safety warning or device.

This section may be enforced by the Zoning Officer, Building Inspector or Property Maintenance Code Official. Upon such official having probable cause to believe that a business or commercial use has ceased in accordance with the provisions of this section, such officer shall issue a written notice to the property owner as identified in the records in the Tax Assessor's office. Such notice shall advise the property owner that the official believes the business or commercial use to have been terminated for a period of time in excess of 60 consecutive days and shall further advise of the requirements of the removal of signs in accordance with this section. The notice shall provide that the property owner shall have 15 days from the date of the notice to remove all signs or to present such evidence to the official as the property owner deems appropriate to establish that the use has not been terminated or abandoned for the period of time as set forth in this section. In the event the official is not satisfied with the evidence of the property owner and continues in his determination, the property owner shall have the right to make application to the Planning Board to appeal such determination. Such application to the Planning Board must be made within 30 days of the determination of the official. During the time of such appeal to the Planning Board, no action shall be required by the property owner as to removal of signs. In the event that the Planning Board affirms the decision of the official, the property owner shall remove all signs within 15 days of being advised of the decision of the Planning Board.

If the property owner fails to comply with the notice to remove all signs and fails to appeal such determination, the official is hereby authorized to cause the removal of all such signs, and any expenses incidental to such removal shall be charged to the property owner and shall constitute a lien upon the property.

For the purpose of this section, the word "remove" shall mean:

Any other outdoor lighting, such as building and sidewalk illumination, driveways with no adjacent parking, the lighting of signs and ornamental lighting, shall be shown on a lighting plan in sufficient detail to allow a determination of the effects upon adjacent properties, traffic safety, and overhead sky glow. The objective of these items is to minimize undesirable off-premises effects.

No light shall shine into building windows nor onto streets and driveways so as to interfere with or distract driver vision. To achieve these requirements, the intensity of such light sources, the light shielding and similar characteristics shall be subject to approval by the Zoning Officer or appropriate board of jurisdiction when applicable. Wall-mounted figures are only permitted if directed into a site and not positioned towards neighboring properties or public streets.

Any sign, billboard, signboard or advertising device existing at the time of the passage of this chapter that does not conform, in use, location, height or size, to the regulations of the district in which such sign is located shall be considered a nonconforming use and may continue in such use in its present location until replacement or rebuilding becomes necessary, at which time a permit will be required and the sign brought into conformity with this article.

If and when any sign is altered, except for purposes of minor and nonstructural maintenance and/or repairs, the sign shall thereafter conform to all requirements of this article.

Whenever any change of use, occupancy, or vacancy occurs, all existing signs no longer relating to the current use and occupancy of the premises shall be immediately removed. In addition, any sign not conforming to any requirement of this article and removed in accordance to this requirement shall not be replaced unless it conforms to all signage requirements of this article.

Any lawfully preexisting nonconforming sign may be repaired or relettered containing the same specific message or letters. However, any change in the message or letters on the sign occasioned by a change of business, change of use, change of tenant, change of product or service offered or for any other reason must comply with the applicable provisions of this article.

Signs utilizing inert ionized-gas sign lighting, commonly called "neon," when the neon tube is visible, including window surrounds and similar inert gas illumination, with or without a distinct message.

Signs in the public right-of-way unrelated to the public health, safety and welfare.

Any sign for advertising purposes that mimics or is substantially similar to a public purpose sign.

Signs with lights or illumination which flash, move, rotate, scintillate, blink, flicker, vary in intensity, vary in color, or use intermittent electrical pulsation.

Signs within designated sight triangles and signs which directly obstruct drivers' lines of sight.

Nonpublic banners which stretch across a public right-of-way between telephone poles, trees or other structures.

Roof signs.

Reader board signs.

Any sign that, in the opinion of the Planning Board officer, presents an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare.

Signs with visible moving, revolving or rotating parts or visible mechanical movement of any description or other apparent visible movement.

Signs that advertise or identify a use which has ceased operation.

The continuous parking or storage of a motor vehicle or other mobile unit displaying an advertising message.

Any flag not specifically identifying a local, state or federal government agency.

Any sign containing obscene, pornographic or lewd messages.

Signs that obstruct a fire escape, door, window or other required accessway.

Signs that are not accessory to a principal use on a property.

Signs for a commercial purpose painted on a wall.

Signs within 100 feet of the property line of any historical site or monument.

No sign shall be placed by any person within any public right-of-way within the Borough of Raritan. No signs shall be placed on any property owned by the Borough of Raritan unless authorization is received by the appropriate officials of the Borough of Raritan. No sign shall be placed on property owned by the County of Somerset or State of New Jersey unless authorization is received from officials of the Borough of Raritan and the appropriate officials of the County of Somerset or State of New Jersey. This prohibition shall not apply to signs placed on behalf of or by any political subdivision of the State of New Jersey. Nor shall this prohibition apply to temporary signs placed in connection with construction on a right-of-way or made necessary because of said construction.

Signs specified in § 207-96D, which do not require a permit.

Signs identifying a homeowner or address, provided that:

Signs advertising the sale or development of the premises when erected in connection with the development of the premises by a builder, developer, contractor or other person interested in such sale or development, provided that:

Signs identifying a home occupation or office, provided that:

Signs specified in § 207-96D, signs not requiring a permit.

Wall signs. One wall sign is permitted for each ground-floor business use maintaining street frontage, regulated as follows:

Secondary wall-mounted signs.

Freestanding signs. One freestanding sign is permitted only if the depth of the yard in which the sign is located is at least 20 feet. Such freestanding sign shall be regulated as follows:

Awning signs. Ground-floor business uses may display signs on awnings, provided that the following standards are met:

Window signs. Only retail or personal service business uses located below the third story of a building shall be permitted to display a permanent window sign. Such sign may be painted on the inside of a window or may be visible from a public street or an approved parking area, provided that the following standards are complied with:

Temporary window advertising signs. Temporary window advertising signs for ground-level retail and personal service business uses are exempt from zoning permit requirements, subject to the following conditions:

Wall-mounted directory signs. For buildings containing more than one nonresidential tenant, one wall-mounted directory sign at each ground-floor entrance to a building shall be permitted, whether such entrance fronts on a street or parking lot.

Projecting signs. A projecting sign may be substituted for the permitted wall sign for each ground-floor business use maintaining street frontage. Such sign shall be regulated as follows:

Portable sidewalk signs. Only retail and personal service business uses and eating and drinking establishments shall be permitted to display sandwich board signs and other types of portable signs, subject to the following conditions:

Signs advertising the sale or development of the premises when erected in connection with the development of premises by a building developer, contractor or other person interested in such sale or development, provided that:

Automobile and gasoline service stations, where permitted, shall only display the following signs, which are deemed customary and necessary to their respective business:

Shopping centers, where permitted, shall only display the following signs:

Signs permitted in § 207-96D.

Wall signs. One wall sign is permitted for each ground-floor business use maintaining street frontage, regulated as follows:

Secondary wall-mounted signs.

A freestanding sign advertising a permitted use within the district, subject to the following regulations:

Signs permitted in § 207-96D.

Wall signs. One wall sign is permitted for each ground-floor business use maintaining street frontage, regulated as follows:

Secondary wall-mounted signs.

A freestanding sign advertising a permitted use within the district, subject to the following regulations:

Signs permitted in § 207-96D.

Wall signs. One wall sign is permitted for each building face providing public access to that building, regulated as follows:

Ground signs. One ground sign is permitted for each separate business entity occupying a tract, subject to the following regulations:

A freestanding sign advertising a permitted use within the district, subject to the following regulations: