Combined Sign Code

[dlndesign]

I know this can't be a new idea. But here it is. Has anyone tried to gather the sign code information for a number of cities within a county and took the most detailed permit package requirements and used that as a unified tool so it could be used in all the cities, some having more information than required, but really nothing that got overlooked. And just make that a standard? Has anyone worked with the cities planning departments to make that standard so that all sign shops would be on the same page in the permitting process? Just curious.

 

[wildside]

we have not "tried" that, but the Kansas State Sign Association does things just like that, or at least tries, they lobby the government and push for the most practical end to all sign shops in the state

look into your local sign association, being a member should have plenty of benefits. The ISA and the USSC are good ones, but not really looking out for you locally by any means

 

[Marlene]

no to combining all the regs. each city has what it has. we have a city that only allows colored backgrounds on signs, no white. we have another that allows only halo lighted channel letters. another that only allows carved or sandblasted. just those three examples makes it pretty clear that there is no combining, you have to deal with each city's regs. maybe you don't live in a crazy place that has all that many regs and it might work, for me, there isn't a chance.

yes we have reps from our company sit in and are consult with city planners concerning regs. it helps some. they don't think in terms of business and the needs of business, only some strange warped sense of what will make their city "pretty". right now we are working with a city that wants to change their regs so that a business has to put their sign within so many feet of their curb cut. sounds reasonable but really isn't as there are areas in this city that has no curb cuts off the main road and they route people around to side streets so ther aren't so many people turning off the main road. with the sign around the corner, what good is it to a business or the person looking for that business?

it's always better to try to work with these planners, but unless your part of the world is different from mine, it is hell.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

i have been hired by multiple municipalities to help in the rewriting of their signcodes and i have been a part of countless committess (omittees) that have revised / rewritten / and done not a damn thing to their sign codes.

in almost every instance that i have been involved in we have reviewed the neighboring cities codes and tried as much as possible to make them as similar as possible..but there is always some official or another that has their 'own ideas' / prepredjudices / etc and has some odd ball thing that they want included.

i would absolutely love to see a standard and then individual communities modify it as they see the need but i doubt it will ever happen..seriously doubt it. the only way any of this will ever change is if people from the trade get involved. the last city sign code i was asked to form a committee of local sign people to voice their concerns, etc...in a city with over 400 sign companies, all of whom were invited to participate and all were sent out a questionaire (with prepaid postage)18 shops showed up at the initial meeting, 6 commited to the project and 47 took the time to fill out their questionaires..but i guarantee you every shop bitched about the changes that were made to the code that had an effect on how they do business but couldnt be bothered to give their input.