Permits -> For Sign Companies
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Permits, Preliminary Notices, and More!
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
...
Can't you see the sign?
Five Man Electrical Band, 1971
For each sign project there are three sets of plans: What the customer sees, What the fabrication department sees, and What the building department sees. They are all different! The plans shown to the customer show the sizzle not the steak. The fabrication plans are all steak. The plans submitted for permits are more steak than sizzle. The person pulling the permits and the people on the other side of the counter do not care about the customer nor the fabrication.
Sign companies have a bad reputation at many planning and building departments. Partly it is because sign codes are confusing. But mostly it is because sign companies submit substandard plans. For some reason, many sign companies seem to forget that they are part of the larger construction industry and need to use the same standards for submittals. A good set of plans makes a good first impression. Make them want to give you a permit!
Each set of plans should start with a Site Plan, an actual hand or computer drawn site plan. The City of San Diego and the County of San Diego, among others, will not accept a Google satellite image for a site plan. The site plan should show the property lines with dimensions, the location of all buildings on the site with their dimensions. driveways, parking lots, streets, and sidewalks should also be shown. Now it is time to show the location of the signs to be permitted. The City of San Diego now requires the APN and legal description be included as well. The County of San Diego requires a Sign Schedule.
The following items may be placed on the same sheet as the Site Plan,
if there is room. If not, they should be at the front of the plans, maybe
on an index sheet. A Sign Schedule is an important tool to help the planner/plans
examiner quickly see the scope of the project. Be sure to include the square footage for each sign. A Vicinity Map lets the reader know the general area of the project. Add a short, narrative Scope of Work statement. It is a good idea to add a List Of
Codes that covers the construction and installation of the signs. For
instance, you may list
The next sheets should show Building & Sign Elevations with the proposed signs superimposed where they are to be installed. Be sure to include the dimensions, length and height, of each elevation as well as the dimensions of each sign.
The last required page or pages are the Sign Details. Here is where you show the construction of each sign type and how each is attached to the wall or the footing. For wall signs show attachment details for the various wall types you may encounter. For ground signs, show all three dimensions of all footings. If the sign is illuminated, show how it is illuminated, where the disconnect is to be located, and note that the sign is UL listed.
You may download an Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) version of my "Make Them Want to Give You a Permit Checklist for Sign Contractors" by clicking this link. It is one tool we use to determine if a project is ready for submittal.
The permitting will be faster and less expensive if, in the words of Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes & Holmes Inspection), you “Make It Right.”, right from the start.
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Last revised on 12/09/11.