[Ord. No. 1572, § 3, 8-13-2012]
A.
The purpose of these regulations
is to provide an area for the placement of off-site outdoor advertising
signs or billboards in the Township. The goals of these regulations
are to:
(1)
Provide clear guidelines and regulations for the placement of
off-site outdoor advertising signs or billboards.
(2)
Provide standards for construction of off-site outdoor advertising
signs or billboards.
(3)
Provide for the location of off-site outdoor advertising signs
or billboards so that such signs are not adverse to the health, safety
and welfare of the public.
[Ord. No. 1572, § 3, 8-13-2012]
A. Signs permitted. Off-site outdoor advertising signs may be permitted
by conditional use in the Off-Site Outdoor Sign Overlay District subject
to the requirements contained in this section.
B. Size of sign face. An off-site outdoor advertising sign's face may
not exceed 300 square feet per side in area, with a maximum length
of 20 feet and a maximum width of 15 feet.
C. Height. Off-site outdoor advertising signs shall not exceed thirty-five
(35) feet in height. The height shall be measured from the grade of
the immediately adjoining street, road, highway or alley to which
the sign is oriented to the highest part of the sign.
D. Location of sign. Off-site outdoor advertising signs shall be located
no closer than 20 feet from any property line, and shall not be located
closer than 25 feet from any street or road measured from the ultimate
right-of-way of such street or road. Off-site outdoor advertising
signs may not be closer than 1,000 feet from another off-site outdoor
advertising sign measured linearly. No off-site outdoor advertising
sign shall be located within 500 feet of any right-of-way of any interchange,
measured along the interstate or limited access primary highway from
the beginning or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance
to the main-traveled way. No off-site outdoor advertising sign or
portion thereof shall be permitted within the clear sight triangle
at any intersection of a driveway with a street. No off-site outdoor
advertising sign shall be erected within a three-hundred-foot circumference
of the nearest property line of any of the following: historic site,
school, church or other religious institution, retirement or nursing
home, cemetery, government building, community center or public park,
playground or recreational area. No off-site outdoor advertising sign
shall be located within 500 feet of any existing single-family detached
dwelling, duplex dwelling, twin dwelling, townhouse dwelling, triplex
dwelling or quadraplex dwelling.
E. Number of signs per lot. There shall be no more than one (1) off-site
outdoor advertising sign per lot.
F. Content. No off-site outdoor advertising sign shall advertise any
adult or sexually oriented businesses or materials, contain any obscene
or profane language, emit any verbal announcement or noises of any
kind, or otherwise display any content prohibited by 18 Pa. C.S.A.
§ 5903. In addition, such signs shall not display any moving,
flashing, scrolling, fading, brightening or animated text or video.
G. Lighting. Illumination of off-site outdoor advertising signs shall
follow the standards and requirements of the Illuminating Engineering
Society of North America (IESNA) and shall be subject to review and
approval of the Township. To the extent that there is a conflict between
a standard and/or requirements of the IESNA and the provisions of
this section, the provisions of this section shall control. Illumination
of all off-site outdoor advertising signs shall be by external illumination
or light-emitting diode (LED) only. Animated, flashing, revolving,
scrolling, rotating and oscillating style signs shall be prohibited.
The copy or image on an LED sign shall not change more than once per
minute. All copy or image changes shall be instantaneous and shall
not fade in or out of the digital active area. Any external illumination
shall be shielded as necessary to direct light onto the sign without
spillover on any side of the sign. Any resulting glare generated by
an off-site outdoor advertising sign shall not exceed 1/8 footcandle,
as measured on the ground at the curbline or shoulder, so as not to
impair the vision of any motor vehicle driver or otherwise interfere
with a driver's operation of his or her motor vehicle. An off-site
outdoor advertising sign or its structure shall only be illuminated
from dusk until 10:00 p.m. LED signs shall not be operated between
10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following morning.
H. Luminance. At no point shall the luminance of any off-site outdoor
advertising sign exceed the following:
(1)
Off-site outdoor advertising signs using external illumination
shall not exceed 1.75 watts per square foot of board face.
(2)
LED signs shall not exceed 0.3 footcandle over surrounding ambient
light levels.
I. Lot size. The minimum lot size for a property on which an off-site
outdoor advertising sign may be located is 10,000 square feet.
J. Maintenance of sign. All off-site outdoor advertising signs shall
be structurally sound and maintained in good condition. If the signs
are not structurally sound or maintained in good condition, the signs
shall be immediately repaired or removed at the sole cost and expense
of the owner of the sign. If an off-site outdoor advertising sign
is not structurally sound or remains in poor condition, the Township
shall notify the owner of the property on which the sign is located
and provide the owner sixty (60) days' written notice certified mail,
sent to the owner's last known address, to repair or remove the sign.
If the sign is not repaired or removed within sixty (60) days of the
date of the notice, the Township may remove the sign, and the cost
thereof shall be paid by the owner of the property on which the sign
is erected. The Township may file a lien against the property or take
any action permitted by law to collect the cost of removal if it is
not paid by the owner of the property.
K. Sign arrangement. When two sign faces are used in a back-to-back
arrangement on an off-site outdoor advertising sign, they shall be
parallel, directly aligned with each other and not more than five
feet apart. When a V-type sign arrangement is used for two sign faces
of any off-site outdoor advertising sign, the sign faces shall not
be located more than fifteen (15) feet apart at the furthest point
nor shall the interior angle be greater than forty-five (45) degrees.
The rear side of any single-face, off-site outdoor advertising sign
shall be of one neutral color which shall be specified in the order
of the Plymouth Township Council.
L. Agreement of property owner. No part or foundation or support of
any off-site outdoor advertising sign be placed on, in or over any
private property without the written agreement of the property owner.
The agreement shall be presented as part of the application for said
sign permit but the consideration or price figures bargained between
the private parties may be redacted.
M. Landscaping. Trees greater than four (4) inches in diameter removed
for the construction of an off-site outdoor advertising sign shall
be replaced on site at a ratio of one replacement tree for each removed
tree using native species no less than three (3) inches in diameter.
A decorative landscaped strip shall be located immediately adjoining
every side of the supporting structure of the off-site outdoor advertising
sign and extending a minimum of five (5) feet from the supporting
structure in all directions. All landscaping shall be maintained in
a good and safe condition. If any approved landscaping is found by
the Township to be in poor condition, the Township shall notify the
owner of the property on which the sign and landscaping are located
and provide the owner sixty (60) days' written notice certified mail,
sent to the owner's last known address, to correct the condition of
the landscaping to the satisfaction of the Township. If the condition
of the landscaping is not corrected within sixty (60) days of the
date of the notice, the Township may perform such work as is necessary
to bring the landscaping into a good and safe condition in accordance
with the conditional use approval, and the cost thereof shall be paid
by the owner of the property on which the sign and landscaping are
located. The Township may file a lien against the property or take
any action permitted by law to collect the cost of any corrective
action taken by the Township if it is not paid by the owner of the
property.
N. Owner identification. All off-site outdoor advertising signs shall
be identified on the structure with the name and address of the owner
of each sign. The signs within an area regulated by Chapter 445 of
the Pennsylvania Code shall further be identified with a permit number
or tag issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
O. Discontinued sign. An off-site outdoor advertising sign shall be
considered a discontinued sign where it has carried no message for
a period of 180 consecutive days, or where such sign no longer identifies
a bona fide business, commodity, service, entertainment or facility,
or where the majority of the message on such sign has deteriorated
to the condition that it is not clearly discernable. An off-site outdoor
advertising sign which has been discontinued shall be presumed to
be abandoned and shall constitute an illegal off-site outdoor advertising
sign. Any period of time for which the discontinued use of an off-site
outdoor advertising sign is proved to be caused by government actions,
labor strikes, material shortages or acts of God, and without any
contributing fault of the owner of the sign or user of the sign, shall
not be calculated toward the number of days of discontinued use. Any
discontinued off-site outdoor advertising sign shall be removed at
the expense of the owner of the sign. In the event that the owner
of the sign cannot be ascertained after the Township's reasonable
inquiry, the discontinued sign and structure shall be removed at the
expense of the owner of the property on which the sign is erected.
P. Additional regulations. In addition to the requirements contained
in this section, all off-site outdoor advertising signs shall comply
with any and all applicable zoning regulations not specifically established
herein and any and all Township, state and/or federal regulations,
including, but not limited to, the Plymouth Township Building Code
and all applicable Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regulations.