# Sign Regulations in South Annville Township, Pennsylvania

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

- **Jurisdiction:** South Annville Township, Pennsylvania (PA)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/pennsylvania/south-annville-township
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-20

## At a glance

South Annville Township, Pennsylvania regulates 24 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Off-premises Directional Signs in the General Regulations For All Zones zoning district are capped at Max 8 ft, min 3 ft above ground tall and 3 sq ft, with a See 'location_of_sign' and 'sign_size_restrictions' setback (Sec. §1604.B.1). Most commercial signs in South Annville Township require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 10 | 35 feet | 24 sq ft | — |
| Agricultural Districts | 5 | — | 25 sq ft | — |
| Residential Districts | 3 | — | 16 sq ft | — |
| General Commercial Districts, Highway Commercial Districts, Industrial Districts | 5 | 35 ft | 300 sq ft | — |
| General Commercial Districts, Industrial Districts | 1 | — | 32 sq ft (may be more by Special Exception, except for billboards) | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 5 zones)

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All Signs | 35 feet | — | — | No sign within road right-of-way or clear sight triangle. Additional setbacks as specified within zone regulations. | — | Generally on-premises; not within the road right-of-way, clear sight triangle, or attached to prohibited objects (trees, rocks, poles, etc.) | — | §1603 General Regulations, Ord. 10-11-17, 10/11/2017 |
| Temporary Sign - Contractor/Real Estate/etc. | — | 16 sq ft | — | — | — | On-premises | — | §1604.A.1 |
| Temporary Sign (Civic/Event) | — | 12 sq ft | — | — | — | On-premises | — | §1604.A.3, §1604.A.4, §1604.A.5 |
| Off-premises Directional Sign | Max 8 ft, min 3 ft above ground | 3 sq ft | — | See 'location_of_sign' and 'sign_size_restrictions' | 6 per principal use | Off-premises, within 2 miles of use. Not within clear sight triangle. | — | §1604.B.1 |
| Home Occupation Name Plate | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | 1 per home occupation | Dwelling | — | §1604.C |
| Institutional Sign/Bulletin Board | — | 16 sq ft | — | See location_of_sign | 1 per street frontage | Places of worship, schools, hospitals, libraries, museums, social clubs; not closer to road right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 25 ft (whichever is less). | — | §1604.D |
| Subdivision Sign - Temporary | — | — | — | Not within clear sight triangle | 1 per road frontage | At entrance to subdivision, on property to be subdivided. | — | §1604.E.1 |
| Subdivision Sign - Permanent | — | 24 sq ft | — | Not within clear sight triangle | 1 per road frontage | At entrance to subdivision, on property to be subdivided. | — | §1604.E.2 |

### Agricultural Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Agricultural Business Sign - Wall or Projecting | — | 16 sq ft | — | 1/2 front yard depth or 25 ft, whichever less | 1 per property | No closer to right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 25 ft (whichever less) | — | §1605.A.1 |
| Agricultural Business Sign - Freestanding | — | 25 sq ft | — | 1/2 front yard depth or 25 ft, whichever less | 1 per property | No closer to right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 25 ft (whichever less) | — | §1605.A.2 |
| Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Sign - Projecting | — | 12 sq ft | — | 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft, whichever less | — | No closer to right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft (whichever less) | — | §1605.B.1 |
| Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Sign - Freestanding | — | 16 sq ft | — | 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft, whichever less | — | No closer to right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft (whichever less) | — | §1605.B.2 |
| Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Sign - Wall or Window | — | 12 sq ft | — | 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft, whichever less | — | No closer to right-of-way than 1/2 front yard depth or 15 ft (whichever less) | — | §1605.B.3 |

### General Commercial Districts, Highway Commercial Districts, Industrial Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | No projection more than 3 ft above roof line | — | — | — | One or more per road frontage | On wall of principal building, per road frontage. | — | §1607.B.1 |
| Projecting/Marquee/Roof Sign | 35 ft | 20 sq ft | — | No part within 2 ft of right-of-way | One per road frontage | Per road frontage | — | §1607.B.2 |
| Freestanding Sign | 35 ft | 60 sq ft | — | No part within 2 ft of right-of-way | One per road frontage | Per road frontage | — | §1607.B.3 |
| Shopping Center Identification Sign | 35 ft | 100 sq ft | — | — | Max two per shopping center | Separate from building; per shopping center | — | §1607.B.4 |
| Billboard/Advertising Sign Board - Off Premises | 35 ft | 300 sq ft | — | No closer than 25 ft to right-of-way; 500 ft from other billboards | — | Off-premises, special exception required | — | §1607.C |

## Prohibited signs in South Annville Township

- No sign shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, replaced, altered, removed for repair, enlarged, or relocated until a permit is obtained from the Zoning Officer, except for signs exempted in §1603(A).
- Every sign must be maintained in a safe, presentable, and good structural condition at all times.
- No sign shall be so illuminated as to have a glaring effect upon vehicular traffic or adjacent properties. No sign shall be illuminated so as to constitute a nuisance. No sign shall contain moving parts or use flashing or intermittent illumination. The source of the light shall be continuous and stationary.
- No sign shall be higher than thirty-five (35) feet from the ground to the highest part of the sign.
- No sign shall be erected so as to obstruct entrance to or exit from a required door, window, fire escape or other required exit way.
- No sign shall be erected that screens traffic signals or signs or utilizes red, green or amber lights or reflectorized material that creates a flashing action and is so located as to render ineffective any traffic sign or signal. Any sign which resembles an official traffic sign or signal, by way of its appearance or content, shall be prohibited.
- Unless otherwise provided, no sign shall be painted, pasted, or otherwise affixed to any tree, rock, utility pole, hydrant, bridge, sidewalk, curb, or street.
- Unless otherwise provided, no portion of any sign shall be erected within or placed on an existing structure in the road right-of-way.
- No portion of any sign shall be erected in the "clear sight triangle" as specified in § 1401.
- Unless otherwise specified, all signs shall be on on-premises, and no sign shall be erected until a permit has been secured from the Zoning Officer and approval has been received from any other applicable state or local agencies.
- No sign shall contain obscene material.
- For the purposes of this Chapter, portable signs, if utilized, shall comply with the requirements for freestanding signs and shall be included in the calculation of the maximum allowable sign area for the use.
- For the purposes of this Chapter, canopy signs and suspended signs, if utilized, shall comply with the requirements for projecting signs and shall be included in the calculation of the maximum allowable sign area for the use.
- All signs not expressly permitted under this Chapter or exempt from regulation hereunder in accordance with §1603(A) are prohibited.
- The following types of signs are specifically prohibited: beacons, pennants, strings of lights not permanently mounted to a rigid background (except for holiday lights and decorations with no commercial message), inflatable signs and tethered balloons.

## Signs exempt from permit in South Annville Township

- Signs not exceeding two (2) square feet in area and bearing only property numbers, postal box numbers, or names of the occupants of the premises.
- Flags and insignia of any government, except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion.
- Legal notices, official traffic signs, community facilities signs, municipality identification signs, non-commercial historical or geographical identification information, or directional signs erected by government bodies (these may be placed within the road right-of-way).
- Geographical identification and greeting signs erected by civic and service organizations not exceeding four (4) square feet in area and comprised of the organization's standard emblem or seal.
- Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts, or moving lights.
- Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property, provided they do not exceed three (3) square feet and do not contain advertising copy.
- Temporary signs as described in §1604 and §1606.C.
- Signs identifying farms, farm associations, and agricultural products, provided no farm/association identification sign exceeds ten (10) square feet (one per road frontage), and agricultural product identification signs do not exceed two (2) square feet.
- Hunting, fishing, and trespassing signs and signs indicating private ownership of roadways or property, not exceeding two (2) square feet in area and spaced at intervals of not less than one hundred (100) feet along street frontage.
- Signs up to four (4) square feet in area which are necessary for the identification, protection, and operation of public utility facilities.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- No mention is made in the provided text of a master sign plan, general sign plan requirement, or any procedure requiring a sign variance meeting except for specific references to applying for a permit from the Zoning Officer or special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board for certain sign types; thus, a general sign plan is not required by this ordinance.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 5 zoning districts in South Annville Township — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=South+Annville+Township+PA&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-south-annville-township

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