The provisions contained within this Article
shall apply to all signs and all use districts, regardless of designation,
within the Town of Schodack.
A.
Any sign or use of signs not specifically allowed
by provision of these regulations may be permitted upon approval of
Zoning Board of Appeals.
B.
No sign shall be located in such a way as to interfere
with driver vision or other traffic.
C.
Any illuminated sign or lighting device shall employ
only lights emitting a light of constant intensity, and no sign shall
be illuminated by or contain flashing, intermittent, rotating or moving
light or lights. In no event shall an illuminated sign or lighting
device be so placed or directed so as to permit the beams and illumination
therefrom to be directed or beamed upon a public street, highway,
sidewalk or adjacent premises so as to cause glare or reflection that
may constitute a traffic hazard or nuisance.
D.
No part of a sign shall be erected or maintained from
the front or face of a building a distance of more than 18 inches.
E.
No portable or temporary sign shall be placed on the
front or face of a building or on any premises, except as otherwise
provided herein.
F.
No sign or part thereof shall contain or consist of
banners, posters, pennants, ribbons, streamers, spinners or other
similar moving, fluttering or revolving devices. Included in this
prohibition are signs which are mechanically animated, such as moving,
rotating or revolving signs. Said devices, as well as strings of lights,
shall not be used for the purposes of advertising or attracting attention
when not part of a sign.
G.
All signs shall be constructed of wood, metal or other
durable material approved by the building inspector.
H.
All signs shall be of simple forms, such as rectangles,
squares, ovals or circles. Other forms are subject to review and approval
by the Planning Board.
I.
Lettering, colors and decorative elements are subject
to review and approval by the Planning Board.
A.
For the purpose of determining the number of signs,
a sign shall be considered to be a display surface or device containing
elements organized, related and composed to form a unit. Where advertising
material is displayed in a random manner without an organized relationship
of elements, each element shall be considered to be a single sign.
B.
The surface area of a sign shall be computed as including
the entire area within a regular geometric form, or contiguous combination
of forms, comprising all of the display area of the sign and including
all of the elements of the material displayed. Frames, structural
members and other surfaces which do not bear material included within
the definition of the word "sign" shall not be included in the calculation
of sign surface area. Areas permitted are maximums for each face of
the sign. Total area of all faces of any sign shall not exceed twice
the permitted area for one face. Signs consisting of letters painted
on or attached to a building surface or to a freestanding masonry
wall shall be computed by multiplying the average height of the letters
by the linear distance from the first letter to the last letter of
the sign.
C.
For the purposes of this chapter the term "sign" shall
not include signs erected and maintained pursuant to and in the discharge
of any governmental function or required by law, ordinance or governmental
regulation.
A.
The following signs are permitted in any use district
without issuance of a permit or payment of a fee:
(1)
A sign denoting the name, address, profession or home
occupation of the occupants of the premises on which the sign is located,
such sign not exceeding two square feet in area per side.
(2)
Signs or bulletin boards customarily incident to places
of worship, libraries, museums, social clubs or societies, which signs
or bulletin boards shall not exceed 32 square feet in area and shall
be located on the premises of such institutions.
(3)
A sign denoting the name and address of the occupant
of the premises, such sign not to exceed two square feet in area.
B.
The following signs are permitted in any use district as a special permit use subject to the procedures and requirements of Article X of this chapter: any sign advertising a commercial enterprise located within a district zoned residential. Such sign shall not exceed a maximum of 20 square feet in area and shall advertise only the name of the owner, trade names, products sold and/or the business or activity conducted on the premises where such sign is located.
A.
The primary purpose of each sign shall be for identification and may state the owner's name, trade names, trademarks, products sold and/or commercial activity conducted on the premises on which the sign is located. All signs must be located on the premise of the business activity, except as noted in § 219-46 herein relating to directional signs.
B.
The number and size of signs permitted on a lot shall
be as follows:
(1)
All businesses located outside a planned shopping
center and having a minimum of 150 feet of highway frontage shall
be granted a permit for one freestanding sign not to exceed 42 square
feet in area and one wall sign not to exceed 32 square feet.
(2)
All businesses located outside a planned shopping
center having less than 150 feet of frontage will be permitted one
sign, to be either a freestanding or a wall sign, not to exceed 32
square feet.
C.
The Planning Board may review and grant permits for
the erection of on-site directional signs, provided that the individual
signs do not exceed two square feet in area, and are limited to text
such as "Office," "Entrance" or "Exit." Permits will only be granted
if the applicant can clearly demonstrate that such directional sign
or signs are necessary because of unusual access conditions to the
business establishment and if the sign or signs are set back not less
than five feet from the highway right-of-way.
D.
The top of any sign, advertising structure or device
shall not exceed 25 feet above the ground level on which the sign
is located.
Where two or more businesses are located together
in a planned shopping center or other planned development, one common
freestanding identification sign not exceeding 100 square feet shall
be permitted for the complex. In addition, each building, use or business
within the complex shall be permitted one wall sign not to exceed
32 square feet in area.
A.
All signs of a temporary nature, such as political
posters, banners and signs of a similar nature, including church,
school and civic functions, shall be permitted for a period of 60
days, without a permit or fee. Such signs shall not be attached to
fences, trees, utility poles or the like not placed in a position
that will obstruct or impair vision or traffic or in any manner create
a hazard or disturbance to the health and welfare of the general public.
Such signs may not represent a commercial product, activity or enterprise
and shall not exceed 32 square feet per side.
B.
The following specific temporary sign types are explicitly
addressed by this chapter as provided below:
(1)
Temporary window signs and posters shall be permitted
without a permit or fee provided that they do not exceed 40% of the
window surface.
(2)
Temporary "for sale" real estate signs and signs of
a similar nature not exceeding six square feet per side in area shall
be permitted without a permit or fee.
(3)
Roadside stands selling agricultural produce in season
shall be permitted a temporary sign area of 32 square feet without
a permit or fee.
(4)
A temporary double-sided real estate development or
construction sign not exceeding 32 square feet shall be permitted
on property being sold, leased or developed and is to be erected perpendicular
to the fronting highway, set back not less than 15 feet, or attached
to the building face. The sign shall be limited to a duration of two
years, unless otherwise authorized by the Planning Board.
[Amended 10-12-1990 by L.L. No. 4-1990]
Businesses and public destinations relating to, but isolated from, Routes 9 and 20 shall be permitted one directional sign in a district zoned for commercial purposes as a special permit use subject to the provisions of Article X of this chapter and the following additional requirements:
A.
In locations with more than one directional sign,
all such signs shall be affixed to a common standard and be graphically
coordinated and arranged so as to present a neat and orderly appearance.
Any such standard shall be designed to accommodate the later addition
of further directional signs.
B.
No directional sign shall be more than eight square
feet in area. In areas with more than one directional sign, the aggregate
area of all such signs shall not exceed 42 square feet.
