Amended New Beaver zoning ordinance addresses signs in borough

Nicholas Vercilla, Ellwood City Ledger
·5 min read
New Beaver council approved an amended borough zoning ordinance, making new additions and changes, most notably with signs in the borough.
New Beaver council approved an amended borough zoning ordinance, making new additions and changes, most notably with signs in the borough.

NEW BEAVER — Borough council approved an amended zoning ordinance earlier this month that made different changes, clarifications and amendments to the previous ordinance that was adopted in 2011.

Lot and property changes

The new ordinance makes changes to the lot and yard requirement chart, as well as lot area requirements for single-family and two-family dwellings in residential districts.

For example, in a residential district where public sanitary sewer and public water are not available, the lot area for a single-family dwelling is 1.5 acres, and 2 acres for two-family dwelling units. If public water is available and used, but public sanitary sewer is not used, the requirement goes down for single-family dwellings to 1 acre.

One element added to the ordinance states that if an accessory structure or use is less than 160 square feet in size, and is to be part of a lot, the owner or agent must contact the borough office to obtain the affidavit, which must be submitted to the borough detailing the project.

In addition, accessory structures or uses up to 160 square feet in size shall not be located less than 10 feet from the side lot line.

Signs change

The vast majority of the new changes and additions to the ordinance involved signs in New Beaver.

After having the topic of signs discussed in great detail in previous council meetings, the amended ordinance details that signs can be erected and maintained only when it is in compliance with the ordinance and other regulations.

Certain signs are excluded from the amended New Beaver ordinance, such as signs for public safety or noting construction matters.
Certain signs are excluded from the amended New Beaver ordinance, such as signs for public safety or noting construction matters.

Some signs are excluded from the ordinance unless otherwise noted: Signs of a duly constituted local, state, or federal governing body, such as traffic/safety/regulatory devices, legal notice, or railway warning signals; signs not exceeding a surface area of 4 square feet for the direction or convenience of the public that identifies landmarks, parking areas, convenience facilities, or similar features; one temporary non-lighted sign on a construction site, not exceeding 50 square feet, denoting the engineer, architect, contractor, funding agencies, and other related information regarding the development.

Residential district signs

In residential districts, permitted signs include: One permanent identification sign for each dwelling unit, not to exceed 4 square feet; one temporary, non-lighted real estate sign, not to exceed 6 square feet; one announcement sign designating home occupations, group residential facility, or daycare service, not to exceed 4 square feet; one permanent announcement sign for churches, schools, cemeteries, hospitals, clinics, and multi-family dwelling developments with five or more units, municipal facilities, or similar permitted uses, not to exceed 50 square feet; temporary signs advertising a garage sale, street fair, or other temporary activity, not to exceed 10 square feet, and must be removed 24 hours after the end of the event; and signs related to funeral homes, greenhouses, convenience commercial establishments, private and commercial recreation, agricultural supply and garden centers, commercial stables, kennels, veterinary clinics, tourist homes, and mobile home parks.

For the last category, property owners are permitted two signs for each such use, with individual signs not to exceed 50 square feet, or, when two signs are used, the combined area of both signs can’t exceed 50 square feet.

All signs in the residential district must be located a minimum of 10 feet from the street right-of-way.

Other zoning district signs

The ordinance gives specific permitted uses and instructions for signs in agriculture, commercial and industrial zoning districts.

The amended ordinance gives rules and guidelines for all manners of signs in all borough zoning districts. For electronic signs, no signs with blinking or flashing lights or animation is allowed.
The amended ordinance gives rules and guidelines for all manners of signs in all borough zoning districts. For electronic signs, no signs with blinking or flashing lights or animation is allowed.

These include guidelines for building or wall signs, individual free-standing signs or projecting signs, temporary signs advertising the sale, rental, or development, portable or mobile signs, electronic signs, billboards, the sale of farm products in the agricultural district, and signs related to motels, hotels, auto service repair shops and RV parks.

For electronic signs, they can’t exceed 50 square feet, and can’t be illuminated in any manner that causes undue distraction, confusion, or hazard to vehicular traffic.

Billboards are permitted in the I district, and cannot exceed 300 feet.

General sign rules and regulations

The ordinance details standards that apply to all signs in all zoning districts.

Signs cannot interfere with any traffic control signal, sign, device, or intersection sight triangle, and cannot be attached to utility poles except for authorized public purposes.

Signs must be removed within 30 days when either the circumstances that led to its placement no longer apply, or if safety violations occur.

In addition to electronic signs not being allowed to cause distractions or hazards to drivers, electronic signs with flashing, moving, of similar lighting or animation are prohibited in all districts.

The ordinance states a separate zoning permit is required for the erection/placement of signs, unless specifically exempted.

A drawing to scale showing the proposed sign, size, general characteristics, method of illumination, exact location, and other requirements by the zoning officer will be a part of the application.

Fees for the application will be established by council.

The see the full list of changes, amendments, and additions to the ordinance, go to the borough website, newbeaverborough.org, click on the side tab that states “Zoning ordinance, amendments, district map, and applications,” and click on Ordinance-1-2022.

Solicitor suggests research on Bitcoin ordinance

Borough solicitor Ryan Long suggested that council do research and consider adopting an ordinance in regards to Bitcoin mining in the borough.

Long said Bitcoin mining is very popular nowadays, with other communities in the western Pennsylvania area adopting ordinances regulating the mining.

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More: Company to mine Bitcoin on idled Midland steel plant site

Nicholas Vercilla is a staff reporter for the Beaver County Times and Ellwood City Ledger. He can be reached at nvercilla@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: New Beaver Council adopts amended zoning ordinance