Vernon Township City Zoning Code

No sign shall be erected, constructed, or maintained so as to obstruct any fire escape, or any window, door, or opening used as a means of egress or for firefighting purposes, or so as to prevent free passage from one part of a roof to any other part thereof.

No sign shall be erected or placed so as to obstruct sight distance or obstruct pedestrian access.

String banners, string flags, aluminum ribbons or similar attention-getting devices, except as a temporary sign, e.g. "Grand Opening."

Illuminated signs which flash, spell, or display any portion intermittently.

Roof signs.

Signs which are menaces to public safety or which obstruct the views of any street, intersection, or crosswalk.

Signs placed on public sidewalks or rights-of-way.

Revolving, rotating, or moving signs.

Erecting a sign less or more distant from the lot line or edge of pavement than prescribed by this section.

Signs that extend above the roof line of the structure to which it is affixed.

Temporary signs which are illuminated.

Billboards.

Any flashing, moving, or animated, or sequentially lighted signs.

Any sign whose lighting or central mechanism causes radio or television interference.

Real estate directional signs.

Signs utilizing the colors red or green in their illuminations within 100 feet of a signalized intersection (also known as a traffic light, traffic signal, stop light, traffic lamps, stop-and-go lights.)

Signs which resemble, simulate, or may be mistaken for a traffic sign within 20 feet of a roadway.

Attaching a sign to, or painting or otherwise marking letters, logos, or other expressions on a utility pole, tree, rock, or natural feature of any kind.

Signs affixed or painted on water towers or similar structures.

Signs which obstruct motorists' vision (site triangle), traffic signs or signals, or business identification signs outside the lot on which the business is located.

All billboards, signboards, advertising signs, vehicular signage, or devices not expressly related to the business being conducted on the premises including advertising on trucks or motor vehicles, the apparent primary purpose of which is to provide a display to broadly attract the attention of the public rather than to directly serve and identify the business of the owner thereof in the manner which is customary for such vehicles.

Off-premises sign or other off-site commercial sign, except that one off-site sign may be erected on the previous site of a business which has relocated for not more than 30 days.

Exhibiting statements, words, pictures, or images of an obscene or pornographic nature.

Emitting a sound, odor, or visible matter such as smoke or vapor.

Customary holiday decorations displayed for a normal duration; provided, however, that white or clear lights evoking candle flames or miniature candle flames shall be permitted from mid-November through the end of March in the C-1, C-2, C-3, CR, and TC Districts.

Residential nameplates.

Traffic control signs, the face of which meets the standards of the Department of Transportation, and which contains no commercial message.

Signs for official, governmental, or quasi-governmental business, including signs or banners advertising public or quasi-public events that are posted or displayed with the permission of the Zoning Official or the governing body.

Flags of the United States, State of New Jersey, Township of Vernon, foreign nations having diplomatic relations with the United States, other flags adopted or sanctioned by any elective legislative body of competent jurisdiction, and flags flown in conjunction with the flag of the United States, provided that no such flag shall exceed 60 square feet in area, nor shall any such flag be flown from a pole in excess of 35 feet in height. The flag's area shall be in reasonable proportion to the height of the pole from which it is displayed. Not more than 3 flags may be flown from any one pole. Statutory requirements associated with flags and the generally accepted standards of flag display protocol shall be observed.

Flags honoring and remembering military and service men and women of the United States.

Public safety signs.

Signs displayed by places of worship.

Any public notice or warning or safety sign required by a valid and applicable federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance.

Any sign indicating the name of a building and/or date of construction and/or other incidental information about its construction, which sign is made an integral part of a stone or masonry surface, or made of bronze or similar permanent material, including historic tablets, cornerstones, memorial plaques, monuments and emblems which do not exceed 4 square feet in area from a single viewpoint.

Signs forbidding trespassing, hunting, fishing or trapping as authorized by state laws and regulations concerning fish, game and wildlife, but not exceeding one square foot in size; and, further provided that no such sign shall be located less than 50 feet from another.

Pump-mounted fuel price information signs subject to the following:

Regulation mailboxes of the United States Postal Service.

Banner signs. Any temporary sign printed or displayed upon cloth or other flexible material. Promotional banners include those used to announce open houses and grand openings, make special announcements, or communicate events.

Charitable organization drives. Temporary signs for campaign or money-raising drives for religious or charitable organizations.

Construction signs. Temporary signs pertaining to the construction, repair, remodeling of any building shall be located at the principal entrance to the building.

Garage sale signs. A temporary sign designating or advertising to the public the sale of used or unwanted possessions, as household articles, often held in the garage of a house.

Grand opening signs. Colored pennants are permitted on streamers/string (see Zoning Official for details).

Ground signs. Any nonmovable sign not affixed to a building, but excluding "pylon sign," which is supported by one or more upright posts or braces in or upon the ground. Ground signs may include 2 components, branding and changeable marketing.

Maintenance/service signs. (a/k/a lawn signs or yard signs - includes but is not limited to landscaping, lawn service, paving, driveway sealing and/or repair):

Small signs placed on a lawn.

New occupancy signs.

Pedestal or sandwich signs. Signs which direct attention to products sold, or services supplied.

Political event signs. Political signs announcing political events, issues or campaigns may be erected providing that they do not constitute safety hazard by blocking sight distance, pedestrian or vehicular traffic and the like.

Professional occupation. A sign listing only the name and profession of the practitioner.

Projecting sign. A sign which is affixed to any building and projecting beyond the building wall or parts thereof, structure, building line or property line more than 12 inches, but which is not constructed or erected so as to extend above the roof line of the structure to which it is affixed.

Real estate signs. A temporary sign placed upon the property for the purpose of designating or advertising to the public the sale or lease of said property. No-fee permit required.

Real estate signs may be one of the following 2 types:

Special event signs. (e.g. Special Olympics, Earthfest, Municipal events, etc.)

Wall. A sign which is affixed to or painted on an exterior wall of any building.

Window signs. Temporary window signs designed to promote the sale of any article or business activity.

All lit signs shall be turned off each day by midnight, unless the business is still open.

The only illumination permitted shall be down-lit (a light projecting from the top of the sign downward onto the sign) and/or internally lit (lit from within the sign itself).

All permitted illuminated signs shall be in accordance with the N.J.U.C.C.

Permit.

Regulations.

Enforcement.