Politics & Government

Ordinance Proposes Sign Size Cap

After receiving site plan applications with signs that were took big—and realizing the signs were legal—the Planning Board proposed a cap on sign size in two township districts.

Site plan applications with signs that are just too large prompted a ordinance that caps sign area on canopy and awning signs in two township districts.

The ordinance places a cap on canopy and awning signs in the town’s industrial and commercial districts, so the signs do not exceed either 10 percent of the ground floor façade area at a given location or 40 square feet, whichever is less, according to Bob Ringelheim, Township Planner.

Canopy and awning signs have been capped at 30 square feet, Ringelheim added.

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Under the town’s existing regulations, signs can easily exceed the area, which the Planning Board saw during a bank’s application.

“It was pointed out that, legally, they could (have the sign proposed sign size) under the existing ordinance,” Ringelheim said. “I’m recommending that the wording be changed to 10 percent of the ground floor façade area or 40 square feet for most of the commercial or industrial area.  .  . Now there is a cap, but it’s a little higher than it was originally.”

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The revisions do not include freestanding signs placed in front of a business, Committeeman Frank DelCore said.

“It’s really just what sits on a wall,” he said. “The view was that the square footage that was permissible now in the ordinance is really adequate given how big a sign would be at 40 square feet.”

The current regulations allow signs to be 10 percent of the area in which they are placed. Certain zones have a limitation of 20 to 30 square feet, and the larger measurement prevails for sign area, Ringelheim noted.

“What happens, when you get a façade area that was measured at 1,000 square feet, and, in fact, an application came in today that was over 3,000 square feet, so, taking that into account, you can get a sign that’s over 300 square feet in size,” Ringelheim said. “It far exceeds the size of any other signs permitted in town.”

The township’s Planning Board reviewed the ordinance at its Oct. 6 meeting, recommending it for introduction to the Township Committee. It will undergo a public hearing on Nov. 22.

 


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