Bristol Township, PA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Bristol Township's sign article does not contain a stand-alone electronic or digital billboard section. The rules that reach a digital face come from three places. First, § 205-155 defines a changeable copy sign as one whose message can be changed through attachable letters or through electronic switching of lamps or other illuminated devices, and provides that a sign whose message changes more than eight times a day, other than time or temperature, is an animated sign and not a changeable copy sign. An animated sign is any sign that uses movement or change of lighting to depict action or create a special effect or scene. Second, § 205-161 makes animated signs, along with beacons, unlawful and prohibited. Third, § 205-165 A(3) allows changeable copy on the freestanding and building signs permitted under A(1) and A(2), while billboards are listed separately in A(6).

Billboards are a conditional use that Township Council decides under § 205-178, in the C and CS Districts under § 205-165 and in the M-1, M-2 and P-I Districts under § 205-167. A billboard is a sign on uprights anchored in the ground, with an area not in excess of 200 square feet, that directs attention to something not conducted on the same premises. Each billboard must sit 1,000 feet from any other billboard on the same side of the road, 500 feet from any residential use, and 24 feet from any building. Height is capped at 20 feet, and area at 200 square feet, or 400 square feet in total for a back-to-back sign or a V-shaped sign with a horizontal angle not greater than 45 degrees. Required landscaping includes five evergreen trees, four flowering trees and shrubs in front of the sign. The Planning Commission reports to Council within 45 days under § 205-176.

Lighting and permits add more. Under § 205-159, no sign can interfere with traffic through glare or through confusion with a traffic control device. Under § 205-169 B, signs must be lit only by electrical means that meet the National Electric Code and bear a UL seal, plans for a sign over 100 square feet must be sealed by a structural engineer, and every sign permit renews each year on or before January 15.