Zelienople Butler County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Signs
§ 280-901 Application.
B.
The following shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter as applied to square footage maximums and shall not require a permit:
(1)
Signs of a duly constituted governmental body, including traffic or similar regulatory devices, legal notices or railroad warning signals;
(2)
Federal, state, or Borough flags;
(3)
Signs bearing the name and address of the occupant on the lot of a residential dwelling unit up to three square feet, excepting that only one such sign is exempted for a building housing multifamily units;
(4)
Memorial signs or tablets;
(5)
Signs denoting engineer, architect or contractor when placed on a construction site, not exceeding 25 square feet in area;
(6)
Small signs displayed for the direction or convenience of the public, including signs which identify landmarks, parking areas, rest rooms, or the like, surface area not exceeding three square feet on any one lot;
(7)
Construction signs specified by state or federal government funding agencies that are located at, or in proximity to, construction sites and public works projects, for the purpose of acknowledging loans and/or grant funds in support of said construction or project;
(8)
Political signs not exceeding four square feet of sign area per sign for a period of 12 weeks before an election and five days after;
(9)
Window signs and display of merchandise;
(10)
Signs advertising events held by or on behalf of nonprofit organizations based in the Borough that do not exceed four square feet for a period not to exceed 21 days prior to the commencement of the event advertised and removed within two days after the end of said event;
(11)
Any sign as authorized by separate municipal ordinance within public rights-of-way within the Borough.
§ 280-902 Permitted uses.
A.
General uses. The following signs and standards are authorized for all properties within the Borough unless otherwise stated herein.
(1)
Wall or freestanding signs advertising the sale, rental or development of property, not to exceed six square feet.
(2)
Small announcement or professional wall signs designating professional offices or home occupations provided such signs or announcement does not exceed two square feet in area.
(3)
The following shall be authorized for nonresidential establishments in all districts: One temporary sign no greater than 12 square feet in sign area may be displayed for a period not more than 30 days after the opening of an establishment nor 30 days before; one temporary sign, no greater than 30 square feet, advertising an on-site promotional event for an establishment and may be placed at a establishment two times per year, not to exceed 30 days each time except that such may not be used simultaneously with a sandwich board sign as authorized by Chapter 208, Signs; temporary window signs may have a total combined sign area of no more than four square feet; temporary signs shall not include pennants, flags as not otherwise authorized, and any suspended or attached pennant that blows in the wind or a spinner which spins in the wind.
(4)
Borough Council may authorize, by resolution, the installation of temporary signs or banners placed on Borough property and rights-of-way for nonprofit organizational events limiting the timing of display to one week and one display per year for each per nonprofit organization. The resolution, where adopted, shall define specific locations where such is authorized.
(5)
Two menu boards may be authorized for drive-through facilities for restaurants in the C-3 and C-1 Districts. Menu boards shall not exceed more than 50 cumulative square feet and eight feet in height and shall conform to the same setbacks required for the principal structure.
(6)
A residential plan or more than six principal single-family buildings or two or more multifamily buildings shall be authorized one monument sign at each entrance not exceeding 15 square feet in sign area or five feet in height, excepting an additional foot for decorative elements.
(7)
Automatic changeable copy signs shall be authorized for all nonresidential principal structures for walls or frontage bordering or facing Main Street as an accessory to and part of the sign area of a freestanding sign, where freestanding signs are otherwise authorized in this part, and shall not exceed 50% of the authorized sign area; and where not authorized, may be placed as a wall sign not to exceed 50% of the area available, as per this part, for use as wall signage. Automatic changeable copy signs shall display only amber colored lettering or numerals on a black background advertising products sold or services provided on site. Additionally, each message shall take no more than one second to complete its display such that no animation or impression of movement is created. Each message display shall begin to change more than once every five seconds.
B.
Signs within the C-1 Central Business District TND shall comply with the standards set forth in § 280-605.
C.
Mixed Use and Industrial District standards. The following standards shall apply to all lots bearing a principal nonresidential use, whether conforming or nonconforming, in the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4/C-2 Mixed Use District, and the I Large Scale Office and Industrial District. Each lot is authorized signage as follows:
(1)
Wall signs are authorized and shall not exceed 10 square feet in sign area and shall be affixed to the wall comprising the building line.
(2)
One freestanding sign is authorized in the front yard and shall not exceed eight square feet in sign area. Freestanding signs shall not exceed four feet in height and shall be set back at least five feet from adjoining rights-of-way.
(3)
No sign shall be internally illuminated.
(4)
Manual changeable copy signs shall be authorized as an accessory to and part of the signs area of a wall or freestanding sign and shall not exceed 50% of the authorized sign area.
(5)
Lots within the I District shall be subject to the above standards except that maximum sign sizes allotted shall be increased to 16 square feet for a freestanding sign and 20 square feet for a wall sign.
D.
General commercial standards. The following standards shall apply to all properties within the C-3, Heavy Commercial District bearing a principal nonresidential use.
(1)
Wall signs shall be authorized per building commensurate with the sizes and standards authorized under § 280-902B, Central Business District standards, except that each wall sign may bear a sign area up to 150 square feet.
(2)
One freestanding sign shall be authorized at a rate of 1/4 square foot per foot comprising the frontage of the property to be placed within the front yard of the property. The side yard area of a corner lot fronting on a street and comprising the side lot line may bear a secondary sign if an access road or driveway from the property onto said street exists, up to 24 square feet. Freestanding signs shall be placed at least eight feet from the adjoining right-of-way and shall not exceed 12 feet in height and 50 square feet in area.
(3)
Manual changeable copy signs shall be authorized as an accessory to and part of the signs area of a wall or freestanding sign and shall not exceed 50% of the authorized sign area.
(4)
Automatic changeable copy signs shall be authorized as an accessory to and part of the signs area of a freestanding sign and shall not exceed 50% of the authorized sign area. Automatic changeable copy signs shall display only amber colored lettering or numerals on a black background advertising products sold or services provided on site. Additionally, each message shall take no more than one second to complete its display such that no animation or impression of movement is created. Each message display shall begin to change more than once every five seconds.
(5)
While one freestanding sign is authorized per lot or parcel, commercial centers that are planned as an integrated unit with shared parking and access, including outparcels that access a common drive or parking area, shall be considered as one lot for purposes of freestanding sign authorization.
(6)
Billboards. Billboards are authorized as a conditional use as follows in the C-3 Heavy Commercial District on otherwise vacant parcels of land.
(a)
The billboard shall be limited to 65 square feet.
(b)
The billboard shall be set back a minimum of 500 feet from any property line which directly abuts a parcel zoned as R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4/C-2 or VR.
[Amended 9-26-2022 by Ord. No. 883-22]
(c)
The billboard shall be set back at least 100 feet from any side or rear property line not withstanding stricter provisions regarding residentially zoned properties.
(d)
The billboard shall be set back at least 20 feet from any street.
(e)
No changeable copy signs are permitted in association with a billboard.
(f)
No flashing or colored lighting are permitted in association with any billboard.
§ 280-903 Illumination.
A.
Signs or devices with flashing, moving or similar lighting or animation are prohibited in all zoning districts.
B.
No lighting projected from or upon any sign shall produce glare and shall produce zero footcandles of light at any property line, unless adjoining parcels lie within an integrated commercial center. Lighting of signs in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4/C-2 and VR Districts shall be turned off between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
[Amended 9-26-2022 by Ord. No. 883-22]
C.
All lighting and illumination of signs shall conform to regulations regarding traffic hazards as specified in local and state regulations.
§ 280-904 Purpose of sign used.
In addition to the other requirements of this Article IX, except for billboards as authorized in this article, no signs or other advertising displays shall be permitted except those specifically pertaining to the use of the property on which they are located.
§ 280-905 General requirements for condition and maintenance.
A.
In addition to the other requirements of this Article IX every sign referred to herein must be constructed of durable materials, kept in repair, and not allowed to become dilapidated. Each sign shall be removed when the circumstances leading to its erection no longer apply. The circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
B.
Signs are subject to the limitations noted under § 280-702K. Additionally, signs greater than three feet in height shall not be placed within a clear sight triangle of 10 feet along the intersection formed by the adjoining street and driveway or access drive.
C.
Pennants, balloons, and similar signage shall not be permitted as temporary signs.
D.
Temporary signs shall not be approved for permanent installation as freestanding, wall, marquee, or any other type of permanent sign authorized by this article.
E.
Obscene signs are prohibited. No sign shall utilize sexually explicit or suggestive language or graphics nor any illustration of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" as defined in this chapter under § 280-1016 and/or which bears language deemed obscene by Chapter 15 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Public Indecency.
§ 280-906 Sign permits.
A.
A separate sign permit shall be required for the erection of signs under this chapter, except those expressly exempt from this chapter.
B.
Each application for a sign permit shall be accompanied by a drawing to scale, showing the sign proposed, the size, character and color of letters, lines and symbols, method of illumination, the exact location of the sign in relation to the building and property. A fee shall accompany each application for sign permit. Such fees for sign permits shall be established by resolution of the Council.