Signdealz Blog | Commercial Outdoor Signage

Exciting Reasons To Go Electric For Your Next Business Sign

Written by William (Bill) Hayes | Nov 15, 2011 3:30:00 PM

Here at Signdealz, we do our best to try to educate the new business owner on how to make an informed decision when it comes to on-premise advertising. There are numerous advertising options for your new sign, from illuminated channel letters to non-illuminated dimensional letters. Look to Signdealz for quality shopping center signs.

This article will help you understand how to choose your new sign from the execution of your lease to the installation of your new sign.

Sign Programs:

Shopping Center throughout the United States often require the developer to create a master document upon the construction of a new shopping center, or retail mall called a sign plan. This document details the design standards negotiated with the city government for the shopping center or strip mall. Sign type, length, square footage, illumination type, and materials used for construction detailed throughout the document. These documents are always more restrictive that municipal codes. You often see property managers who take over a shopping center rewrite sign criteria as the development gets updated.

Sign Permits:

Example Sign Permit - Boulder County

In most parts of the country, it's impossible to get a sign installed without a permit. What is a sign permit? A sign permit is a document issued by a state, federal, or local municipality that illustrates a sign conforms with the community regulations regarding zoning. Through the issuing organization, the permit ensures the rules of the city or state municipality enforced. Sign permits have an application that needs to be filled out by the sign contractor, and included in the form is often a drawing detailing the sign specifications, color, location, and landlord approval. Municipalities usually process sign permit applications in 2 to 14 business days. A sign permit will have an administrative review fee, building permit review fee, use taxes, and even sales taxes. These fees can be under $100 or can exceed thousands of dollars depending upon the size of the project. 

Signdealz charges $395 to process sign permits in most municipalities. This can change depending on the complexity of the permit process. The complexity of the municipality or license requirements may require us to use other vendors to obtain permits. In some cities, Signdealz will hire a permit expeditor to process our permits. 

In conclusion, permitting is often one of the hardest and most complex parts of completing a sign project. In some instances, the time and effort to obtain a permit may exceed the time and effort required to fabricate and install a commercial sign.