Millcreek, PA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 145-80 of the Millcreek Township Code lists the Signs that are permitted in all districts without a Permit, and item G covers Window Signs. The cap is a combined one: the total area of any such Sign or all Signs together cannot exceed five square feet, so a second poster in the same storefront counts against the same allowance as the first.

The code defines a WINDOW SIGN as a Sign affixed to or within 12 inches of the interior surface of a window with its message visible to the outside of the window surface. Customary displays of merchandise or objects and material without lettering behind a store window are not considered Signs, so an unlettered product display does not use up any of the five square feet.

Area is measured under § 145-78B(1). Where a Sign consists of individual letters, designs or symbols attached to a window, the area is the sum of the areas of each individual letter, design or symbol. Once window lettering passes the allowance, § 145-79A makes it unlawful to erect, install, locate or alter a Sign without first obtaining a Sign Permit. The Zoning Officer issues the Permit when the proposed Sign complies with the Chapter, the Permit fee and any deposit are set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, and every permitted Sign must display the Township Permit number label.

An exemption is not a free pass. Under § 145-79I, an exemption from the Permit does not relieve the owner of responsibility for erecting the Sign in a safe manner and in accord with the rest of the Chapter. Window Signs also stay subject to the § 145-81 prohibited list, which includes Reflective Signs or Signs containing mirrors, Signs that emit smoke, sound, odor or contain open flames, and Signs that prevent free ingress or egress from any door, window or fire escape. Under § 145-78E, internal illumination, including neon lighting, must be static in intensity and color, and Signs on nonresidential properties can be lit from 5:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., or one-half hour past the close of business, whichever is later.