# Sign Regulations in Mountville Borough, Pennsylvania

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Mountville Borough, Pennsylvania, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Mountville Borough, Pennsylvania (PA)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/pennsylvania/mountville-borough
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-28
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/42253454#42253454)

## At a glance

Mountville Borough, Pennsylvania regulates 9 sign types across 3 zoning districts. Address Sign on Freestanding Signs in the General Regulations For All Zones zoning district are capped at Not counted toward area calculation., with a Visible from public street. setback (Sec. § 503.1A(6)). Most commercial signs in Mountville Borough require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (3 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Town Center Zoning District, Commercial Zoning District, Industrial Zoning District | 5 | Must not extend more than 5 feet above lowest attachment point; may not extend above highest roof point. | 35 sq ft | — |
| Low-Density Residential Zoning District, Medium-Density Residential Zoning District | 2 | May be at any height on the wall to which they are attached, except no higher than the top of the wall. | 4 sq ft | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 3 | — | Not counted toward area calculation. | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements

### Town Center Zoning District, Commercial Zoning District, Industrial Zoning District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | No sign shall be higher than the district height limitation; see specific tables for district maximums. | — | — | Not in street right-of-way. | — | On-premises, not within the street right-of-way; must comply with clear sight triangle and setback requirements. | — | § 502.1B(2), § 503.1A(6), § 503.1A(8), § 503.1A(9), § 503.1A(31), § 505 |
| Wall Sign | May be at any height on the wall to which they are attached, except no higher than the top of the wall. | — | — | — | — | On any building wall, may not project over 18 inches when parallel to a building face; may not project more than 48 inches if perpendicular. | — | § 502.1B(3), § 503.1A(12)-(13), § 503.1A(31), § 505 |
| Roof Sign | Must not extend more than 5 feet above lowest attachment point; may not extend above highest roof point. | — | — | — | — | Mounted on roof of buildings. | — | § 502.1B(4), § 503.1A(31), § 505 |
| Flag with Corporate/Company Logo | — | 35 sq ft | — | — | 1 per commercial or industrial property | On property, on a standard flagpole. | — | § 503.1A(23) |
| Sequential Sign (Hourly Message Change) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | § 503.1A(24) |

### Low-Density Residential Zoning District, Medium-Density Residential Zoning District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | May be at any height on the wall to which they are attached, except no higher than the top of the wall. | — | — | — | — | On wall; parallel signs may not project more than 18 inches over a sidewalk, perpendicular signs up to 48 inches. | — | § 502.1B(3), § 503.1A(12)-(13), § 503.1A(31)-(34), § 505 |
| Garage Sale/Yard Sale Sign | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | 1 per event | On premises where the sale occurs. | — | Ch. 19 § 311 |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sign | — | — | — | — | — | As authorized elsewhere in ordinance; not permitted generally unless specifically allowed. | — | § 503.1A(7) |
| Government, Utility, or Nonprofit Organization Sign in ROW | — | — | — | — | — | Allowed within street right-of-way if issued or approved by the appropriate authority. | — | § 503.1A(8) |
| Address Sign on Freestanding Sign | — | Not counted toward area calculation. | — | Visible from public street. | As required | On permanent freestanding sign. | — | § 503.1A(6) |

## Prohibited signs in Mountville Borough

- All signs shall reflect the general character of the neighborhood.
- All signs shall be constructed of durable materials, maintained in good condition and secured in a safe manner.
- Signs must be made safe or removed immediately if they become unsafe.
- The areas surrounding all signs shall be maintained in a neat, clean and attractive condition.
- All signs shall be removed within three months if the purpose for which they were erected no longer exists.
- No temporary signs shall be permitted, except as authorized elsewhere in this Part.
- No sign shall be located within a street right-of-way, except a government sign, a public utility sign, a sidewalk sign, a nonprofit organization sign, or another sign approved by the governing body or the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
- No sign within the clear sight triangle should obstruct vision between the heights of 30 inches and eight feet above the elevation of the center line of the street.
- No signs shall be painted, pasted, nailed, stapled, or otherwise attached to utility poles, trees, fences, fire hydrants, or in an unauthorized manner to walls or other signs, except per rules adopted by Mountville Borough Council.
- Any freestanding sign within a floodplain must receive approval as a special exception.
- No sign shall be placed to obstruct any door, stairway, window, fire escape, or other means of egress or ingress.
- No sign shall be placed to obstruct ventilation or light from a building.
- No overhead sign shall have a clearance of less than eight feet between any pedestrian walk and the lowest part of the sign and less than 17 feet six inches between any roadway and the lowest part of the sign.
- No sign parallel to and attached to the face of a building shall project more than 18 inches over a public sidewalk.
- No sign perpendicular to and attached to the face of a building shall project more than 48 inches from the building.
- No sign shall have lights or illuminating devices that constitute a public safety or traffic hazard.
- No sign shall imitate or be confused with official traffic signs or signals, including by containing words such as 'STOP' or 'DANGER', or by including red, green or yellow lights.
- No sign or window display shall include a revolving beam or beacon of light resembling an emergency vehicle or facility.
- No sign shall advertise activities or products illegal under federal, state, or local municipal laws or regulations.
- No sign shall include statements, words or pictures that are considered vulgar, obscene, or pornographic.
- No streamers, pennants, spinners, reflectors, ribbons, tinsel, balloons or similar materials shall be displayed outside a building, except as allowed for special event signs.
- No animated, sequential, intermittent, flashing, rotating, or oscillating signs shall be permitted, except for time-and-temperature signs, and sequential signs that change messages on an hourly basis (with additional location limits).
- No sign shall emit smoke, visible vapors, particles, sound, or odor.
- No sign shall be placed on an automobile, truck, or vehicle if that vehicle is being used primarily for displaying such sign.
- No inflatable signs shall be permitted.
- No open flames shall be permitted as part of a sign or to attract attention.
- No lighting is permitted to outline buildings or structures or parts thereof using exposed neon tubing, strings, lights, or other means, except for holiday decorations (within 30 days prior and 21 days after the holiday).
- Existing business signs in districts other than the Town Center, Commercial, and Industrial Zoning Districts shall not be illuminated when the business is closed.
- All electrically illuminated signs must meet Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. and the National Electrical Code standards.
- Signs not provided for in Tables 5-1 or 5-2 or elsewhere in this Part shall not be allowed.

## Signs exempt from permit in Mountville Borough

- Center signs are exempt from the street address display requirement.
- Government signs, public utility signs, sidewalk signs, nonprofit organization signs, or other signs approved by the governing body or PennDOT are exempt from the prohibition on placement within a street right-of-way.
- Customary holiday decorations are exempt from lighting outline prohibitions if installed up to 30 days prior to and removed 21 days after the holiday.
- Any sign authenticated as historically significant and accurate for its specific location may be exempted as a special exception.
- The area of a street address displayed on a permanent freestanding sign does not count as part of the sign area.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- The purposes of the ordinance include regulating the use of signs through a sign permitting process.
- Permits for placement of new signs or changes to existing signs are required as indicated by Tables 5-1 and 5-2. Sign permit application requirements, such as forms, plans, and fees, are established by Mountville Borough Council.

## Full detail

Complete sign requirements for Mountville Borough, including every field PermitPal tracks for each sign type, are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Mountville+Borough+PA&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-mountville-borough

---

PermitPal — AI sign code research. Full HTML page: https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/pennsylvania/mountville-borough