Susquehanna Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
PART 24
SIGNS
§ 27-2401 Intended Purpose.
This Part is designed to regulate and govern the use, erection, alteration, repair, and maintenance of all interior signs and outdoor display structures together with their accessories and auxiliary devices so as to protect property values, lessen congestion of land and air spaces, provide against undue concentration of sign which distract and endanger traffic safety and traffic flow.
§ 27-2402 Signs Prohibited in All Districts.
The following signs shall not be permitted, erected, constructed, or maintained in any zoning district, notwithstanding anything contained in this part or elsewhere. Such signs which are prohibited shall be removed or brought into conformity with the provision of the Part within three years after this Chapter is enacted.
1.
Signs which incorporate in any manner any flashing or moving illumination, or with illumination which varies in intensity or color, and signs which have any visible mechanical movement of any description, or other apparent visible movement achieved by electrical pulsations or by actions or normal wind currents. Hanging signs which simply swing in the wind and clock, time or temperature signs and barber poles shall not be considered as prohibited signs if it complies with the other provisions of the Part.
2.
Light sources which cast light on signs shall be shielded by opaque material so that the bulbs, floodlights, or tubes are not visible off the property on which the signs are located.
3.
Signs advertising activities that are illegal under Federal, State, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances as applied to the location of a particular sign or the location of such activities.
4.
Signs which by reason of size, location, movement, content, coloring or manner of illumination, obstruct the vision of drivers either when leaving or entering a public street from another street or driveway, obstruct or detract from the visibility or effectiveness of any traffic control device or traffic sign on a public street.
5.
Signs which make use of words such as "stop," "look," "one-way," "danger," "yield," "go slow," "caution," or similar words, phrases, lights, or characters in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead, or confuse traffic, or which imitate an official traffic sign or signal.
6.
Signs which advertise an activity, business, product or service no longer produced or conducted. In such case, such sign shall be removed within 30 days after same is no longer produced or conducted.
7.
Signs which are placed or located within the public right-of-way, except as provided elsewhere in this Chapter.
8.
Signs painted on, pasted or attached to, or supported by utility poles, trees, fences, stones, cliffs, or other natural objects.
9.
Signs which consist of pennants, spinners, banners, streamers or searchlights, except for occasions such as grand openings and then only with permission of the Zoning Officer for a use limited to a period of 30 days.
10.
Signs which obstruct free ingress to, or egress from a fire escape, door, window, or other exitway.
11.
Signs which are structurally unsafe in a state of disrepair.
§ 27-2403 General Regulations.
The following regulations shall apply to all permitted sign uses.
1.
Signs must be constructed of durable materials, maintained in good condition, and not allowed to become dilapidated.
2.
Signs shall not be placed in such a position that they will cause danger to traffic on a street by obscuring the view.
3.
Signs, other than an official traffic sign, shall not be erected within the line of any street.
4.
Signs projecting beyond the property lines shall be not less than 10 feet above the public sidewalk areas.
5.
Signs shall not project above the height limit of buildings permitted in any district in which they are located.
6.
No sign shall be permitted which rotates and/or causes interruption or flashing light.
7.
All signs erected within the right-of-way of a State Highway shall be in accordance with the regulation of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
8.
A permit shall not be required for the erection, alteration or maintenance of any signs permitted in a residential district.
9.
A permit shall be required for the erection, alternation, or reconstruction of billboards, or advertising sign boards, including poster panels, bulletins, and the like.
10.
All signs shall be removed when the circumstances leading to their erection no longer applies.
§ 27-2404 Determination of Size.
1.
The size of the sign shall refer to the area of the sign facing, including any border framing or decorative attachments.
2.
Where the sign consists of individual letters or symbols attached to a building, wall, or window, the area shall be considered to be that of the smallest rectangle or other regular geometric shape, which encompasses all of the letters and symbols.
3.
When a sign has two or more faces, the area of all faces shall be included in determining the area of the sign, with the following exceptions where the two faces are placed back to back and no point more than three inches from one another or in the case of illuminated signs, no point more than three inches from one another.
§ 27-2405 Location and Placement.
1.
The location of signs shall not interfere with proper sight distances on streets or be placed within the clear sight triangle as set forth in the Susquehanna Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
2.
No sign shall project over a public sidewalk or path.
3.
Projecting signs shall not project beyond a vertical plane 15 feet inside the lot line from the right-of-way, unless otherwise provided herein, nor be less than 10 feet high at the lower edge of the sign and shall not in any way interfere with normal pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
4.
Parallel signs shall not extend beyond the edge of any wall or other surface to which they are mounted and shall not project more than 12 inches from its surface.
§ 27-2406 Permitted Permanent Signs.
2.
The following off-premise, permanent signs shall be permitted in all districts.
A.
Signs for direction, regulation and control of traffic; street names; legal notices; railroad crossings; and official signs authorized by a duly constituted governmental body.
B.
Signs used for directing patrons, members, or an audience to service clubs, churches, or other nonprofit organizations and not exceeding four square feet in area.
3.
Business direction signs. In any zoning district signs indicating direction may be erected along streets to direct vehicles or pedestrians to multi-use business parks or complexes not located on such streets. Only one sign per complex shall be permitted and the following regulations shall apply:
A.
Directional signs shall be freestanding signs with a maximum area of 20 square feet on a single-faced, or 40 square feet on a double-faced sign.
B.
The content of the directional signs shall be limited to name of the park or complex, a listing of establishments and direction and distance information.
C.
Directional signs shall not be located more than 500 feet from an entrance or other street leading to the advertiser, and shall be located in advance of such street or entrance on the same side of the road as the advertiser's premises.
4.
Billboards. Advertising sign boards, including poster panels, bulletins, and the like, may be erected and maintained in the IG District. Such signs shall meet the following restrictions and controls.
A.
Billboards shall not exceed 300 square feet in surface area and must be spaced at intervals of not less than 1,000 feet along the same side of any street or highway.
B.
No billboard shall be located within 100 feet of any street intersection.
C.
No billboard shall be permitted to be erected upon the roof of any building and shall be required to be set back 30 feet from the front lot line or to the established building line, whichever is less.
D.
No billboard shall be permitted to be erected within 50 feet of an adjoining residential district or use.
E.
Billboards, if lighted shall be indirectly illuminated, and all such signs shall conform to the height regulations for buildings in the district in which they are located.
§ 27-2407 Permitted Temporary Signs.
§ 27-2408 Signs Visible from an Interstate Highway.
[Added 10/10/2004 by Ord. 04-14]
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein contained, no sign shall be visible from an interstate highway except as stated hereinafter in this Section. One free standing sign or wall sign not to exceed 660 square feet may be visible from an interstate highway if, as documents by an acceptable traffic study, all infrastructure for travel from the interstate or limited highway to the parcel on which the sign is located is proper and acceptable and improved, including but not limited to rights of way, traffic control devices, road size, widths, lanes of travel and configuration. Such sign shall be limited to announce the name of the development or use of the parcel and shall be no more than 20 feet in height; and shall only be allowed on parcels which contain no less than seven distinct operations such as a shopping center with at least seven stores.