The Town of Stratham, Planning Board will
conduct a Public Hearing on
To Amend Sections 2.1 Definitions and Section 7 Signs of
Stratham Zoning Ordinance to address real-estate signs, contractor signs, snipe
signs, yard sale signs, agricultural signs, and other off-site signage
issues. The amendment would restrict the
off-site location of real-estate signage, would address other types of signage,
and would provide for the enforcement of the ordinance and removal of any
illegal signage.
2.1 DEFINITIONS:
2.1.__ Sign, Agricultural, Temporary / Seasonal: A temporary sign advertising or providing direction to a Farm Stand or farm/agricultural sales activity. The sign shall be seasonal or temporary in nature and with conditions and permissions may be located off-site and within a town right-of-way.
2.1.57
Sign, Contractor's / Development Sign: A temporary sign advertising the contractor
or development firm actively engaged in developing the site or parcel on which
the sign is located. (Rev. 3/93)
2.1.__ Sign, Snipe: An informal off premises sign which is tacked or otherwise attached to a tree, pole, stake, fence, other sign structure, or other such structure advertising an organization or activity or displaying a message which is not applicable to the present use of the site upon which the snipe sign is attached.
2.1.__ Sign, Vehicle: A sign mounted onto, or otherwise affixed to a) the body or window of a motor vehicle, or b) any other device designed for transport on any public roads.
7.1 PURPOSES:
The intent of this Section is to allow the erection of signs, for the purposes of providing information and advertising, in an orderly, effective, and safe manner. Restrictions on type, location and size of signs protect the public from hazardous and distracting displays and create an attractive environment, which is conducive to business, industry, and tourism.
7.2 GENERAL REGULATIONS:
7.2.1 Sign Table: Table 7.3 lists the types, sizes, and locations of permitted signs according to the use of property and zoning districts. Any sign not specifically listed shall not be permitted. The following exceptions are permitted:
a. Governmental Signs: Signs erected by the municipal, State, or federal government, which are required for the public safety and welfare shall be allowed.
b. Service/Civic Association Signs: Service and civic associations, defined as organizations established by local citizens and which have non‑profit tax status, may apply to the Board of Adjustment for a special exception to erect signs in the municipality providing that the following conditions are met: (1) an individual sign is no larger than four (4) square feet, (2) the organization has written permission for placement of the sign from the landowner, and (3) the sign will not cause a safety hazard or have a visual effect on the surroundings.
c. Directional Signs: In any zone signs not exceeding two (2) square feet per sign in area to point direction to residences, businesses, other allowed uses or meeting places or for directing traffic into or out of a site are permitted.
d.
Real estate signs : As defined
in Section II, and 4sq. ft. or smaller in size do not need to obtain a permit
as long as they comply with the conditions listed below and the provisions
outlined in Section 7.3. (Rev. 3/93) Any sign in excess of 4 sq. ft. shall require
a permit.
i. Real estate signs may only advertise the property on which they are situated.
ii. Real estate signs may not be illuminated.
iii. There may be no more than one sign per street frontage.
iv. The signs must be removed within 15 days of consummation of the sale or lease.
v. A portable real estate open house sign not to exceed 2 square feet may be placed off-site only on the day of the open house and no longer than 1 hour before and 30 minutes after the open house is taking place.
e. Contractor’s Sign: As defined in Section II, shall be required to obtain a permit and comply with the conditions listed below and the provisions outlined in Section 7.3.
i. The signs may not be placed on the property prior to 15 days before the expected start of construction or upon issuance of a building permit (whichever is latter) nor maintained on the property beyond 15 days after completion of work or upon issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (whichever is earlier).
ii. No more than one sign per contractor may be placed on the site and the total area of all contractors’ signage shall not exceed 32 sq. ft.
iii. Contractor signs shall not be illuminated.
iv. Signs, which advertise for a contractor who does continual maintenance or service of a site, shall not be allowed.
f. Development signs: As defined in Section II, shall require a permit and may not be placed on the property prior to 15 days before the expected start of development activity nor maintained on the property beyond 15 days after issuance of the final certificate of occupancy or 4 years from the original date of issue. The CEO may issue additional sign permits on an annual basis only beyond the original permit, if he finds that significant sales activity is taking place on the site. Significant sales activity may be determined to be a staffed sales office, regular on-site sales staff hours for lots or new units or continued new-unit construction activities.
g.
Yard
sale signs: do not need to obtain a permit as long
as they comply with the conditions listed below.
i.
Yard
sale signs may not be placed prior to 3 days before the sale and must be
removed within 1 day after the sale.
ii. They may not exceed 6 square feet and may not be illuminated.
iii. The signs may be placed off premises for noncommercial sales related to a single residential dwelling unit (or informal joint sales among neighbors) only provided they are not placed on utility poles and are not a distraction to traffic.
h. Agricultural Sign, Temporary / Seasonal:
i. Shall require a permit and may be placed off-site and within a Town right-of-way only with the permission of the Board of Selectmen and a letter granting approval for the location from the owner of the property of which the sign is located in front of.
ii. Placement shall not exceed 7 months continuously for a season with an additional 30 contiguous or non-contiguous days for the sale of agricultural products.
iii. If located within a Town right-of-way shall not exceed 6 square feet.
iv. If located on private property any sign shall be limited to 12 square feet.
7.2.2 Sign Permits:
a.
No sign shall be erected or placed without a permit issued by the
Building Inspector in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance or upon
a decision by the Board of Adjustment.
b. All new signage, related to any new development, which may require Site Plan Review and not exempted in section 7.2.1 shall receive Planning Board approval prior to the issuance of any permit. (added 03/06)
7.2.3 Prohibited Signs:
The
following signs are prohibited:
a. Signs, any part of which moves or flashes or on which the lights appear to travel or are animated and which shall include variable electronic message signage; (added 03/05)
b. Signs, which by reason of location, size, color, or design interfere with public traffic or be confused with or obstruct the view or effectiveness of any official traffic signal or traffic marking;
c. Any off premises sign or signs which are located off of the property that they are advertising;
d. Signs located on the roof of any structures;
e. Any snipe sign;
f. Strings of light bulbs whether in conjunction with a sign or not except as conventionally used as part of a holiday celebration;
g. Any sign which causes glare onto a public road or any neighboring property;
h. Any sign which emits a sound or visible matter such as smoke or vapor;
i.
Internally illuminated signs may be permitted only in
the General Commercial and Commercial/Light Industry/Office and
Industrial-zoning districts for certain permitted uses. (Rev. 3/96; Rev.
3/98)
j.
Any
banner or sign mounted to or on a vehicle or trailer, which is displayed in
public view, where the purpose is to advertise a business.
7.2.4 Temporary
7.2.5 Maintenance and Obsolescence: All signs and sign structures shall be properly maintained and kept in a neat and proper state of maintenance and appearance. All signs of any type and located within any district which are found by the Building Inspector to be in a state of disrepair or are considered dangerous, shall be repaired or removed on order of the Building Inspector and upon failure to comply with this order within the time specified within the order, the Building Inspector is hereby authorized to cause removal of this sign and any expense resultant thereto shall be borne by the owner/lessee.
7.2.6 Existing Nonconforming Signs:
Shall not be enlarged, expanded, or brought closer to the front lot line than
what is allowed under Section 7.3. Signs
which are replaced (other than the message portion of the signs) shall comply
with the standards of this section. (Rev. 3/94)
7.2.7
Computation of Area. The area of a sign (which is also the sign
area of a wall sign or other sign) shall be computed by means of the smallest
square, circle, rectangle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass
the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem, or other display
together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background
of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop, background
or structure against which it is placed.
Areas of supporting framework shall be excluded from this calculation up
to the amount of 35% of the total area as calculated above. All supporting framework, bracing, or
decoration in excess of the 35% limit shall be deemed part of computation of
the maximum aggregate area.
An
applicant for any sign may be exempted from the 35% limit by Conditional Use
permit granted by the planning board.
The planning board may require that any applicant applying for said exemption, provide detailed drawings of the proposed signage
including framework, bracing, or decoration for review by the
board. The Board shall find that the
exemption compliments the visual design of the sign and site, and size and
location of the sign do not impede the safe flow of traffic into or out of the
site. Prior to any issuance of a permit
for exemption, the Building Inspector / Code Enforcement Officer shall
determine that the area of the sign, not including the areas of supporting
framework, comply with the standards set forth in this section. The Planning Board is not required to hold a
public hearing for the issuance of any permit issued under this sub-section,
but any discussion and vote shall take place at a posted regular planning board
meeting or workshop where the application for the permit is noted on the
officially posted agenda for such meeting. (Rev. 03/06)
7.2.8 Removal of signs: Any sign or sign structure not in conformance with the requirements of this Ordinance or otherwise permitted is subject to removal by the CEO. The CEO may immediately without any notification remove any sign placed on or over any public right-of-way or public property in violation of this article. Once such a sign is removed the CEO shall make reasonable efforts to notify the owner of the sign that was removed. The owner shall be liable for any costs associated with the removal and storage of the sign. If the owner does not claim the sign within 30 days of notification, or within 30 days of removal and if the Officer is not able to contact the owner, then the sign shall be deemed to be abandoned and may be disposed of by the CEO. Neither notification nor storage are required for the removal of snipe or signs for which the owner cannot be identified.