A.Illumination. Except for signs in historic zone districts regulated by municipality's regulations, signs may be floodlighted, spotlighted or internally illuminated from the rear with a diffused light source, unless such illumination is specifically prohibited elsewhere in this Ordinance. All illumination shall be subject to the following:
1. All lighting sources shall be completely shielded from the view of vehicular traffic.
2. Such illumination shall not project light above the highest elevation of the front wall of the building for wall-mounted signs or more than five feet above ground level for freestanding signs.
3. Where a sign is located on a lot adjacent to a lot used primarily for residential purposes, such shall not be illuminated in a manner that permits any light to shine or cause a nuisance to the adjacent residential use.
4. No illuminated sign located on a lot adjacent to or across the street from any residential district and visible from such residential district shall be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless the use to which the sign pertains is open for business during those hours.
5. No sign shall contain exposed neon, blinking, flashing, flickering, tracer or sequential lighting. All signs shall remain stationary and constant in intensity and color at all times.
6. All wiring for permanent illuminated signs shall be installed and maintained so that it is not within public view. The running of wiring or conduit along the exterior wall of a building to access a sign is specifically prohibited unless in the judgment of the Construction Official there is no practical way to run the conduit so that it is not within public view.
7. No illuminated sign shall be of such a color or located in su ch a manner as to be confused with, or to diminish or detract in any way from, the effectiveness of any traffic signal or similar official safety or warning device.
8. Light Emitting Diode (L.E.D) signs may be permitted when authorized as a conditional use by the Planning Board in the B-1, C1, C-4, C-5, C-6, and C-7 Zoning Districts, in accordance with the following conditions:
(i) The digital message portion of the sign may not exceed 75% of the total sign area.
(ii) The LED portion of a sign shall change messages at intervals of no less than three changes per minute.
(iii) The LED portion of the sign shall only be in operation during the hours of operation of the business, organization or facility which operates the sign.
(iv) The LED sign may advertise only the products and services offered by the business, organization or facility operating the sign and may not advertise specials or sales offered by any business, organization or facility.
(v)Permitted messages may be displayed no more than twenty (20) minutes in any one (1) hour. The balance of the LED messages shall include community messages supplied by the Township of Neptune and informational messages about public safety.
(i)No more than one (1) sign of this type shall be permitted.
(ii) The digital message portion of the sign shall not exceed one-third (1/3) of the total sign area or twenty-four (24) square feet, whichever is less.
(iii) The message of such signs shall be limited to three (3) lines indicating entertainment or special and limited commercial or professional events.
B. Landscaping. The base of a freestanding sign shall be liberally landscaped with a combination of shrubs, ground cover, flowers or other plant material.
The following signs are permitted and are exempt from zoning permit requirements:
A. Real estate signs. Non-illuminated real-estate signs for residential uses, provided they do not exceed ten (10) square feet in area and four (4) feet in height; No more than one such sign shall be erected on a property. Real estate signs for residential uses must pertain to the property on which it is located, and may not be placed within any sight triangle or public right-of-way. Such sign shall be removed immediately upon execution of a contract and/or closing for the lease or sale of the property.
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D. Traffic, parking, informational and street identification signs. Traffic, parking, informational and street identification signs that conform to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as approved by any Township agency or any county, state or federal agency shall be permitted in any district or public right-of-way. Any other signs required by any provision of law shall be permitted in any district or public right-of-way.
E. Political signs. Any political sign that is protected under the free speech provisions of the United States and New Jersey Constitutions shall be permitted in any Zoning District, provided that such is not located in a public right-of-way.
F. Window advertising signs. Temporary window advertising signs shall be prohibited in all districts, with the exception of permitted ground level retail and personal service business uses and eating and drinking establishments located in the B-1 and HD-B-1 Zone Districts, subject to the following conditions:
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2. Such signs shall be contained solely within the ground level window of the subject business.
3. Maximum total area of such signs shall not exceed twenty-five (25) (30) percent of the total area of ground level windows, excluding window portions of doors, fronting on a public street.
G.Residential uses. Signs for residential uses, based on the type of residential structure pursuant to the following provisions.
1.Single-family dwellings and shall be permitted one residential nameplate sign indicating the name and/or address of the occupants. The maximum size of such sign shall not exceed one (1) square foot in area and shall not contain advertising of any kind. In addition, one informational sign indicating the private nature of a driveway, no trespassing or other such similar private property usage shall be permitted, provided the maximum size of such sign shall not exceed one (1) square foot in area.
2.Apartments, townhouses, and other multifamily residential uses shall be permitted the following:
(a) One wall-mounted residential directory nameplate sign indicating the name and/or address of the occupants, provided it does not exceed five (5) square feet in area. Such sign must be located at the building's main entrance and may consist of either changeable lettering or individual nameplates. If the multifamily residential use cannot be accommodated by such directory sign, then individual exterior wall-mounted nameplate signs indicating the name and/or address of each dwelling unit shall be permitted. Said individual nameplate signs shall not exceed forty-eight (48) square inches in area and must be located at the main entrance of the respective dwelling unit. Nameplate signs may not be illuminated and shall not contain advertising of any kind.
(b) Two wall signs per building identifying the name or number of the multifamily structure, provided the maximum size of such sign shall not exceed two (2) square feet in area per sign. Such sign may be indirectly illuminated and shall not be backlighted. Or internally illuminated.
(c)One non-illuminated wall sign indicating the location of the management office, provided the maximum size of such sign shall not exceed one (1) square foot in area.
H. Sandwich Board signs in all zoning districts. Sandwich Board signs shall be permitted provided they not exceed twenty inches (20") in width, forty-two inches (36") in height and six (6) square feet in area. Such signs shall be maintained in front of the business of the property, and removed at the end of business every day.
I. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association signs.
1. Public safety and informational signs.
2. Bronze memorial signs.
3.Street signs
(a) Standard street signs.
(b) Monument street sign not to exceed twenty-four inches (24") in height.
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L. Special Events Signs. No more than three non-illuminated signs placed in at any business during the special event or sale which sign shall not be erected and maintained for more than 45 days prior to the special event or more than 3 days after the special event.
All temporary signs shall require a zoning permit. The following temporary signs may be installed in all zone districts:
A.Project Signs. Temporary non-illuminated project signs shall be permitted for residential and new major non-residential development pursuant to final approval from the approving authority. No more than one (1) project sign shall be permitted on any lot identifying builders, contractors, architects, engineers or others associated with the construction of any building situated on any such lot. Project signs are to be removed within two (2) weeks of the completion of a project, or if work on the project has substantially slowed.
1. Residential Projects. Such signs shall be set back at least ten (10) feet from all property lines, and shall not exceed fifteen (15) square feet in area.
2. New Major Non-residential Development. Such signs shall be setback at least ten (10) feet from all property lines, and shall not exceed twenty (20) square feet in area or twelve (12) feet in height.
B. Freestanding or wall mounted real-estate signs of up to twenty (20) square feet for non-residential uses may be erected in non-residential zones for a period of ninety (90) days. A window sign of up to twelve (12) square feet may be used for the same purposes. Freestanding signs must be setback from all property lines at least ten (10) feet. The Zoning Officer may extend the ninety (90) day period by an additional ninety (90) days if it is shown that this additional time period is necessary to facilitate the sale or rent of a particular site.
C. Contractor signs are permitted in all zone districts to a maximum area of fifteen (15) square feet. Such sign shall be setback a minimum of ten (10) feet from all property line, and may not be illuminated. Contractor signs may be permitted for the duration of the exterior improvement activity, and must be removed within two (2) weeks of completion of improvement.
The following signs shall be prohibited in all zone districts within the Township of Neptune, unless otherwise specified within this Ordinance:
A. Any sign for advertising purposes that mimics or is substantially similar to a public purpose sign; Signs which use the words stop, look, caution, danger or any similar wording which may confuse or mislead the public.
B. Signs with lights or illuminations which flash, move, rotate, scintillate, blink, flicker, vary in intensity, vary in color, or use intermittent electrical pulsation;
C. Signs within designated sight triangles, and signs which directly obstruct driver's lines-of-sight;
D. Non-public banners that stretch across a public right-of-way between telephone poles, trees or other structure; No advertising flags, banners, pinwheels, portable signs, or similar advertising devices shall be permitted.
E. Any sign erected, constructed or maintained on or above the roof of a building.
F. Freestanding signs of any type in historic zone districts;
G.Reader board signs;
H. Signs with continuing visible moving, revolving or rotating parts or visible mechanical movement of any description or other apparent visible movement;
I. Signs that advertise or identify a use which has ceased operation;
J. Any illegal non-conforming sign, as defined herein;
K. The continuous parking or storage of a motor vehicle or other mobile unit displaying an advertising message;
L. Signs containing obscene, pornographic or lewd messages;
M. Signs that obstruct a fire escape, door, window or other required access way;
N. Signs that are not accessory to a principal use on a property;
O. Painted Signs. No sign may be painted directly on the surface of any building faade, wall, fence or similar structure.
P. Signs painted on or attached to any trees, rocks, fence posts, utility poles or similar structures or objects.
Q. Commercial Advertising Billboard Signs.
1. the further erection, construction or enlargement of signs known as commercial advertising billboards is prohibited.
2. Existing commercial advertising billboards may be repaired or maintained in the same location, but may not be enlarged, relocated to another lot, or replaced in the event of the total destruction thereof.
R. String of lights outlining rooflines, door, windows, or wall edges of any building except seasonal decorations.
S. Any sign not expressly permitted by this ordinance is prohibited
The following signs shall be permitted in all Non-Historic zone districts per Zoning Schedule C. Standards for permitted signs in historic zone districts are contained in §416.08.
A.In commercial, industrial and mixed use zones one freestanding sign in accordance with the following standards shall be permitted.
1.Where a lot has multiple street frontages, then two (2) freestanding signs subject to the following standards shall be permitted. Where two (2) freestanding signs are permitted by virtue of multiple street frontage, each permitted sign shall be allowed to have the maximum square footage allowed based on the formulas shown below. In addition, the sign area allowed may be transferred from one (1) sign to another; provided, that no freestanding sign shall exceed four hundred square feet in area.
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3. For double-faced signs, each sign face can have the maximum square footage allowed.
4. Landscaping. All freestanding signs shall be placed within landscaped areas.
5. Permitted Areas.
*In computing allowable sign size, only the footprint of the structure can be used. The floor area of gas station and drive-thru canopies cannot be applied toward the freestanding sign allowance.
Step 1: Determine the square footage of the building:
Building size (in square feet): ___________ (This will be inserted in the formula below)
Step 2: Complete the appropriate allowable signage formula:
The "allowed sign size" may be placed on each side of the freestanding sign.
6. Setback. Freestanding signs shall be setback from the property line 3/4 of the height of the sign.
7. Height.
B.Wall-mounted signs. Wall-mounted signs may be constructed as follows (see also Appendix D):
1.Single tenant structures.
(a) Size: 48 square feet, or one- and-five tenths (1.5) square feet for each lineal foot of wall face that the sign is mounted on, whichever is less.
(b) Mounting Height: 8' maximum (including hardware) and not to extend more than 2' above the roof line.
(c) Quantity: 1 maximum
(d) Maximum permitted horizontal sign dimension: 75% of the wall face
(e) Projection: 1' maximum
2. Multi-tenant retail structures.
(a) Size: 48 square feet, or one-and-five tenths (1.5) square feet for each lineal foot of wall face that the sign is mounted on, whichever is less.
(b)Mounting Height: 8' maximum (including hardware) and not to extend more than 2' above the roof line.
(c)Quantity:1 per tennant
(d)Maximum permitted horizontal sign dimension: 75% of the wall face
(e)Projection:1' maximum
3.Secondary wall-mounted signs.
(a)Business uses that have a side or rear building facade fronting on a parking lot or face a secondary street frontage may have a secondary wall-mounted sign not to exceed 50% of the area of the primary building sign. This provision shall not apply in situations where a parking lot is located between a building and a public street.
(b)Service station canopies may have a secondary wall-mounted sign not to exceed 50% of the area of the primary building sign. In no instance may a service station canopy sign face a residential use, or have changeable lettering.
4.Wall-mounted signs on larger buildings in Planned Development Districts. Buildings and uses in the Planned Development Districts (LI, PUD and C- 1) in excess of 75,000 square feet in floor area may provide two (2) wall signs per building with a maximum area of up to five (5%) percent of the wall area, not to exceed two hundred and forty (240) square feet.
C. Awning signs. Awning signs may be constructed as follows (see also Appendix D):
1. Quantity: maximum 2 per awning
2. Sign face vertical dimension: max. eighteen (18) inches
3.Letter/number/ character/image height: 10" maximum
4. Letter/number/ character/image width: 1' maximum
5. Colors: 2 maximum including sign lettering
6. Awning signs shall only be permitted on first-story awnings.
7. The minimum height from ground level to lowermost portion of awning shall be eight (8) feet.
8. The maximum horizontal projection dimension of an awning from the building wall, including any appurtenances, shall not exceed five (5) feet. Such awning may project over a public sidewalk only and shall not extend over any other portion of any other public right-of-way. No canopy may project over a public right-of-way, unless approved by the Township Committee.
9. The maximum vertical dimension of an awning shall not exceed the horizontal projection dimension.
10. The sign shall only be located on a portion of the awning that is both parallel to the vertical orientation of the building wall to which it is attached and is parallel to the building line of the building wall to which it is attached. This portion is more commonly known as the "valance."
11. The horizontal dimension of the sign shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet, or sixty percent (60%) of the length of the awning occupied by the use, whichever is less.
D.Directory Nameplate.
1. Size: maximum 12 square feet
2. Height: maximum 5'
3. Quantity: maximum 1 per lot
4. A directory sign may not be located so as to be visible from a public street or any adjacent property.
E.Directional Signs.
1.Size: maximum 3 square feet
2. Height: maximum 3'
3. Setback: minimum 0'
4. No directional sign may be located within a sight triangle.
5. A directional sign must contain a clear message which directs the flow of traffic, and should be designed to blend harmoniously with other on-site signage
6. No directional sign shall extend into or over any public right-ofway.
F.Permanent Window Signs. A business establishments located below the third story of a building shall be permitted to display permanent window sign(s), subject to the following regulations:
1. Sign Content. The sign(s) shall be limited to the resident business name, resident business logo, resident business type, street address, and/or telephone/fax number. No permanent window sign shall depict brand names and/or logos of products, commodities, services, etc. other than those owned by the local resident business establishment itself.
2. Sign materials and placement. A permanent window sign shall be:
(a) Professionally painted on the interior side of a window; and/or
(b) A fixture constructed by a professional sign manufacturer hung on the interior side of a window
3. Sign Area. Maximum area of any and all permanent window signs shall not exceed thirty-five percent (35%) of the total window area within which it is displayed, not to exceed eighteen (18) square feet.
4. Quantity. One (1) sign per business per window shall be permitted, up to a maximum of two (2) signs per business on any wall, not to exceed four (4) signs per business on any building.
5. Location. No permanent window sign shall be permitted in a window above the second-story of a building.
6. Visibility. No permanent window sign shall be displayed in a window unless it is visible from a public street or an approved parking area.
7.Illumination. The sign(s) may be internally illuminated or externally illuminated from the interior of the building. Framing of a window with neon lights and/or tubing shall not be permitted as a method of illumination for window signs.
G.Window Stencil Signs. For all non-residential properties where one or more businesses or uses occupy a single building, side and rear entrances may contain a sign indicating the occupant of that space. Such signs shall be stenciled or professionally lettered. Each letter shall be three (3) inches to five (5) inches in height. No information other than the name of the occupant may be included in the sign. Upon the change of the occupant, the sign must be removed or relettered with the name of the new occupant.
