Can a Billboard be Erected on Private Property in New Jersey?
Full Question:
Answer:
Signs are generally regulated by local ordinances. I suggest calling the local building department to ask about applicable permit requirements.
Please see the following Spring Lake, NJ ordinances to determine applicability:
Amended 3-14-1988 by Ord. No. 7-1988]A. General provisions. No billboards shall be erected. No sign of any type shall be permitted to obstruct driving vision, traffic signals, traffic directional and identification signs, other places of business, other signs or windows of the buildings on which they are located. No sign shall be attached to trees, fence posts, stumps, utility poles or other signs, but shall be freestanding or attached to a building in an approved manner.
(1) Animated, flashing and illusionary signs. Signs using mechanical or electrical devices to revolve, flash or display movement or the illusion of movement are prohibited.
(2) Height. No sign shall be higher at any point than the roofline of the building, except that no sign shall exceed any lesser height.
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).
(3) Illuminated signs shall be designed to reflect light and glare away from adjoining premises and roadways and shall be in accordance with the provisions specified in § 225-19 of this chapter. Internally illuminated signs are prohibited.
(4) Information and direction signs. Street number designations, postal boxes, on-site directional and parking signs and warning signs are permitted in all zones but are not to be considered in calculating sign area. No such sign shall exceed one square foot in area.
(5) Maintenance. Signs must be constructed of durable materials, maintained in good condition and not allowed to become dilapidated.
(6) Portable signs. No sign shall be exhibited which is portable, i.e., fixed on a movable stand; self supporting without being firmly embedded in the ground; supported by other objects; mounted on wheels or movable vehicles; or made easily movable in some other manner.
(7) Real estate signs. Real estate signs are permitted for the temporary advertising of the sale, rental, or lease of a structure. One sign per property is permitted. (No separate signs are permitted, including but not limited to directional signs). If not attached to the building, the sign shall be set back at least 12 horizontal feet from the curb. No such sign shall exceed six square feet in area and each sign must contain the words "For Sale" and the name and telephone number of the real estate company that the property is listed with. No other attachments, brochures, or any other types of forms of advertisement are permitted. Said sign shall be removed at the expense of the advertiser on the date that a certificate of inspection is applied for. No certificate of inspection shall be issued if a sign is in place. Permitted real estate signs do not need a construction permit.
[Amended 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 7-2004]
(8) Sign area shall be measured around the outside edges of a framed or enclosed sign or by the area utilized by isolated words and/or symbols including the background, whether open or enclosed, but said area shall not include any supporting framework and bracing incidental to the display itself.
(9) Signs with two exposures shall be measured for area by using the surface area of one side of the sign only. Both sides may be used.
(10) Professional signs indigenous to the property shall be permitted and shall not exceed two square feet in area and may be either freestanding or attached to the building.
(11) Church, school, business, hotel and municipal identification signs are permitted, provided that the sign is located on the premises and identifies that particular use and subject to the following conditions:
(a) When the building occupies two frontages, the permitted freestanding sign shall be limited to a surface area of 12 square feet and shall be set back at least 10 feet from all street rights-of-way and lot lines, and it shall not exceed eight feet in height;
(b) When the building occupies one frontage, the permitted freestanding sign shall be limited to a surface area of six square feet and it shall be set back at least 10 feet from all street rights-of-way and lot lines and it shall not exceed six feet in height.
(12) Permitted uses in the RC and GC Districts may have one sign per activity. The sign may be either an interior lighted sign displaying the name of the use, attached flat against the front of the buildings, not exceeding an area equivalent to 5% of the front of the building or 60 square feet, whichever is smaller. Where the building is designed for rear or side entrances, each sign shall not exceed the equivalent of 1/2 of the size of the sign on the front of the building.
[Amended 6-28-2005 by Ord. No. 21-2005]
(13) Additional standards in the RC District.
[Added 6-28-2005 by Ord. No. 21-2005]
(a) Signs affixed to the exterior of the building shall be architecturally compatible with the style, composition, material, colors, and detail of the building.
(b) Signs shall not interfere with the door and window openings, conceal architectural details or obscure the composition of the facade.
(c) Wood and painted metals are the preferred material for signs. Flat signs shall be framed with raised edges. Sign color shall be limited in number and be compatible with the colors or the building facade and nearby signs.
(d) Businesses with more than one facade are permitted one sign for each street frontage.
(e) Signs on roofs are prohibited.
(f) Signs shall be either spotlighted or backlighted with a diffused light source. Shielding of all light sources of the spill off onto other portions of the building and adjacent properties. Neon signs are prohibited.
(14) Political signs are permitted 45 days prior to Election Day and ending seven days after Election Day.
(15) Identification signs in the residential areas shall be permitted and may be either freestanding or attached to the building. Only one sign not exceeding two square feet in area shall be permitted for each property and it shall be set back at least 10 horizontal feet from all property lines.
§ 206-9 Advertising signs.
No person, firm or corporation which shall conduct the business of boarding or lodging one or more persons in any building in the Borough either with or without the service of meals, for a consideration, shall erect any sign or advertise the taking of roomers, boarders or lodgers, in any way, without first making application for a license and paying the fee therefor, as provided herein, and complying with all the other provisions of this chapter.
Signs Projecting Over Sidewalk:
The owner or occupant of any house, store or other building shall not hang or erect or permit or suffer any sign, show bill or other thing to be hung or erected which shall project into or over the sidewalk in front of and from the wall of any such building. Any person who violates this section shall, upon conviction, be liable to the penalty established in § 330-51.
