The purpose of this Part is to develop a comprehensive system of sign regulations to:

It is further declared that these regulations serve to reveal a great deal about the Borough's pride, aesthetic appreciation, vitality, diversity, originality, culture and sense of order, giving it a distinctive appearance and reinforcing the character of the Borough and its surrounding environs in its natural setting as adopted by and set forth in the Comprehensive Plan and as further determined by the Monroe County 2030 Task Force and the Jacob Stroud Corporation. It is further acknowledged that these regulations in and of themselves cannot achieve the end result desired unless the community upholds the terms set forth within an atmosphere of responsible freedom, utilizing the principles of fairness and mutual cooperation. Minimum standards are thus provided to safeguard the life, health, property and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design quality, materials, construction, size, illumination, location and maintenance of all signs and sign structures while at the same time attempting to provide functional flexibility, encourage variety, and to create an incentive to relate signage to the basic principles of sound planning, development and use of residential, commercial and industrial properties.

As used in this chapter, "sign" shall mean any permanent or temporary structure or part of a structure, or any device attached, represented, projected or applied by paint or otherwise, or any structure or other surface used to communicate information, a message or advertisement, or to attract the attention of the public to a subject or location. The term "sign" shall include, but not be limited to, flat or curved surfaces, all support and/or assembly apparatus, flags, banners, streamers, pennants, insignias and medals with or without words or pictures. Signs on vehicles shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter when the vehicle is owned and located or parked on or in front of a zoning lot under the control of an occupant of the lot.

The following shall not be defined as signs under this chapter:

Identification Sign. A sign which is greater than one square foot, but less than or equal to 1.5 square feet, in area situated on the zoning lot on which a permanent home occupation is located.

Business Sign. A sign which is greater than 1.5 square feet, but less than or equal to 100 square feet, in area situated on the zoning lot on which a business, profession, development or manufacturer is located.

Real Estate Sign. A sign having an area greater than 1.5 square feet, but less than or equal to 16 square feet, situated on a zoning lot on which any portion of the improvements thereon is for sale or rent. See § 27-807, Tables III and IV, for specific height and size requirements in zoning districts.

Development Sign. A sign with an area greater than 1.5 square feet, but less than or equal to 16 square feet, situated on a zoning lot which is being developed or under construction. Development signs shall be permitted for not more than 60 days or when the construction or development is complete, whichever occurs first. An extension of the time may be granted at the discretion of the Zoning Officer.

Institutional Sign. A sign having an area greater than 1.5 square feet, but less than or equal to 100 square feet, situated on a zoning lot on which a school, church, hospital or other institution of a similar public or semipublic nature is located.

Temporary Sign. Any sign having an area greater that 1.5 square feet., but less than or equal to 100 square feet, displayed for 30 days or less, no more than three times per calendar year, with the exception of signage for Borough-sanctioned special events, for which the time limit shall not exceed 120 days. See § 27-807, Tables III and IV, for specific height requirements in zoning districts.

Billboard Sign. A freestanding sign with an area greater than 100 square feet., but less than 300 square feet. Billboard signs may only be located within 50 feet of the right-of-way of an interstate highway. A billboard sign may not be located or constructed within a 1,000-foot radius of any other billboard sign.

Freestanding Sign. A sign not attached or applied to a building but supported by another structure solely designed for the sign itself.

Wall Sign. A sign attached or applied to the wall of the principal building, not projecting over any public right-of-way and not extending more than 14 inches from such wall.

Projecting Sign. A sign, any portion of which projects over the public right-of-way or extends more than 14 inches from the building or structure to which it is attached.

Banner Sign. Any device intended to be hung with or without frames, possessing characters, letters, illustrations, or ornamentations applied to paper, plastic, or fabric of any kind.

Window Sign. Any sign that is applied or affixed to a window, or placed inside a window within three feet of the glass, facing the outside of the building, and easily seen from the outside. Neon shall be permitted for use as a window sign.

Electronic Message Board Sign. Any sign that uses LED or other light-producing elements as the surface of a sign or to form a sign message or messages wherein the message or messages, sequence of messages and the rate of change of the messages may be electronically programmed and/or modified by electronic processes either at the sign or remotely.

Flashing Sign. Any sign which, by method or manner of illumination, flashes on or off, winks, or blinks with varying light intensity, shows motion, or creates the illusion of motion, or revolves in a manner to create the illusion of being on or off.

Backlit Panel Sign. An illuminated sign which is lit from behind a face panel on which the lettering or message is placed.

Backlit Channel Sign. An illuminated sign which is lit only from a channel in the shape of the lettering or message. Tube neon shall be considered a channel-lit sign. (See § 27-804, Subsection 5, Window Sign.)

Awning Sign. Any sign attached or applied to an awning.

Canopy Sign. Any sign that is a part of or attached to a canopy.

Any sign which is not included under the types of signs permitted in district regulations in § 27-807 or in this Part.

Any sign, which, by method or manner of illumination, flashes on or off, winks, or blinks with varying light intensity, shows motion, or creates the illusion of motion, or revolves in a manner to create the illusion of being on or off, or otherwise as defined in §§ 27-804, Subsections 6 and 7, of this chapter.

Any floodlights, flags, banners, twirling, and A-type, sandwich-type, sidewalk, inflatable signs, or curb signs or balloons or other air- or gas-filled device, except as permitted in § 27-809, Subsection 10.

Any sign attached or applied to trees, rocks, or other natural features shall not be permitted.

Any sign, other than projecting signs, which extends beyond any wall or other surface to which it is mounted.

Any sign erected or constructed upon or over the roof of any building or structure.

Any sign painted directly on the surface of any building, fence or similar structure, paving surfaces or other man-made or natural features.

Electronic message boards as defined in § 27-804, Subsection 6, unless located in the I-1 District (see Table I).

Illuminated signs located in the C-1, C-1A, C-2 and I-1 Zoning Districts which abut and are visible to a residential zoning district.

Any sign attached to light poles, streetlights, utility poles, flag poles, benches, fences or utility boxes.

Any sign attached to an accessory building or structure.

Any sign placed within street lines unless specifically authorized by other ordinances and regulations of the Borough, except those owned or constructed by a governmental or legislative authority.

Signs prohibited by state or federal laws or regulations shall also be prohibited hereunder.

Lewd, obscene, vulgar, threatening, offensive or hate speech signs containing statements, words, pictures or graphic representations.

All permitted sign types and construction types indicated with "P" shall be permitted, provided all other terms of this chapter have been met.

All sign types and construction types indicated with "SE" shall be permitted by special exception as set forth in Part 10 of this chapter.

All sign types and construction types indicated with "CU" shall be permitted by conditional use as set forth in Part 12 of this chapter.

All sign types and construction types without a designation in the column are not permitted.

In addition to the size requirements listed in § 27-807, Tables I, II, III, and IV, the maximum allowance of square footage for signs per zoning lot shall be calculated as follows:

The area of a sign shall be construed to include all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs and symbols, together with the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed, but not including any supporting framework and bracing which are incidental to the display itself.

Where the sign consists of individual letters or symbols attached to, or visible inside or outside, and/or painted on a surface, the area shall be considered to be that of the smallest rectangle which encompasses all of the letters and symbols, including lighted borders, such as neon surrounding a window.

In computing square-foot area of a double-faced sign, only one side shall be considered, provided both faces are identical, with the exception of billboard signs and electronic message boards. If the interior angle formed by the two faces of the double-faced sign is greater than 45°, then both sides of such sign shall be considered in calculating the sign area.

Signs may be illuminated by direct lighting but shall have such lighting shielded so no direct light will shine on abutting properties or in the normal line of vision of the public using the streets or sidewalks. No floodlights or spotlights shall be mounted higher than five feet above the sign which they are illuminating. In addition to the Borough regulations in this Part, all signage must comply with the provisions of the NEC 600 Code, UL Standard 48 and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). All illuminated signs shall be turned off between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily, except for those located on the property of the business establishment being advertised.

No sign shall be so located or arranged that it interferes with traffic, through glare, through blocking of reasonable sight lines or streets, sidewalks, or driveways, through confusion with a traffic control device (by reason of color, location, shape or other characteristic), or through any other means.

All signs, except temporary signs, shall be constructed of durable material and kept in good condition and repair. Electrical signs shall be subject to the performance criteria of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and to periodic inspection by the Borough Code Inspection Officer.

Signs existing at the time of passage of this chapter which do not conform to the requirements of the chapter shall be considered nonconforming signs. Nonconforming signs, once removed for a period of 30 days, may be replaced only with signs which conform to provisions of this chapter.

When a zoning lot utilized by businesses or occupants has been vacated, all signs shall be removed from the premises within 30 days. A temporary sign will be permitted for no more than 30 days after the business or occupancy has been vacated. Such temporary sign shall be no larger than 12 square feet.

Any vehicle to which a sign is affixed in such a manner that the carrying of such sign or signs no longer is incidental to the vehicle's primary purpose, but becomes a primary purpose in itself, shall be considered a free-standing sign and, as such, shall be subject to the provisions regarding free-standing signs in the district in which such vehicle is located.

All free-standing signs shall conform to the setbacks required for other buildings and structures. No free-standing signs in other than a residential or O-1 Zone shall extend within 25 feet of any residential or O-1 District boundary line. The location of signs at service stations shall not be within any dedicated street right-of-way.

Signs located on zoning lots with nonconforming uses or institutional and business uses in R and O-1 Zones may be continued in use but shall not be enlarged. Where the nonconforming use is lawfully changed to another nonconforming use, there shall be permitted a new sign, the same size as the old sign, or a sign having an area not greater than 30 square feet, whichever area is smaller. Such sign shall be placed flat against the building.

Any floodlights, flags, banners, twirling, A-type, sandwich-type, sidewalk, inflatable signs, or curb signs or balloons or other air- or gas-filled devices and special devices shall only be permitted on a zoning lot for a period of not more than 15 days before or 30 days after the opening of a new business on such zoning lot. At no other time shall such devices be permitted.

Signs prohibited by state or federal laws or regulations shall also be prohibited hereunder.

Electronic message board signs shall not have an illumination level between sunset and sunrise of more than 250 nits, nor exceed 0.25 footcandle at full brightness. In addition, the increase in brightness from said signage after installation shall not be perceptible from any residence within 600 feet of the sign at any time of the year. Such sign shall have a light-sensing device to automatically adjust the brightness of the display to ambient light conditions to comply with this lighting level. Prior to receiving a final permit for the sign, the applicant shall provide written evidence from a qualified independent professional that these maximum lighting levels are being met. The qualifications of such professional shall be submitted in writing. These standards shall continue to regulate the sign over time. The sign permit may be revoked by the Codes Officer if the sign does not remain in compliance.

The "hold time" for electronic message board signs, before which one static message changes to another, may not be any shorter than 15 seconds. An off-premises sign shall not be an electronically changeable message sign.

No electronic message board sign shall be located within a 1/2-mile radius of any other electronic message board sign.

Temporary signs shall not be located upon Borough, county, or state-owned property or within any public right-of-way.

(Reserved)

Temporary signs in the R-1, R-2, R-3, and O-1 Zones shall be a maximum area of six square feet.