Bensalem, PA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Digital billboards in Bensalem fall under the Township's off-premises outdoor advertising rules, not the general electronic-sign section that governs on-site digital displays; Section 232-717(a) expressly excludes digital billboards from its own scope. Section 232-353(a) confines off-premises advertising signs, including billboards, to locations where the bottom edge of the sign is within 100 feet of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) or I-95 and is primarily visible from the main travel lanes, available by conditional use approval, or by right if the applicant removes another off-premises sign elsewhere in the Township.

Section 232-353(b) permits a digital face to replace an existing non-digital billboard face only if another non-digital billboard is removed from a different location. Section 232-354(13) sets the digital-specific operating standards: only one digital billboard structure per property, with up to two faces; each message must be a static display held for a minimum of eight seconds, with no more than a one-second transition and no flashing, scrolling, or appearance of movement; and the display cannot use the words 'stop' or 'danger' or otherwise imitate a traffic control device.

Brightness is capped so the sign cannot operate at more than 0.3 foot candles above ambient light, measured at a preset distance keyed to face size, running from 150 feet for a 12-by-24-foot face up to 250 feet for a 14-by-48-foot face, with automatic dimmer software or solar sensors required to hold that limit as ambient light changes. Section 232-354(14) offers a bonus: an applicant who permanently removes an existing non-digital billboard of equal size can build a new sign up to 672 square feet per side and display 100 percent of its face in digital copy.