Anyone familiar with sign enforcement? I was talking to a friend who owns a small business and he was telling me how the city is giving him 10 days to remove all signs/banners from the outside of his business and premise..ALL of them, even the name of the business itself, which he had painted over the top of the front wall ( not excessive compared to others). he had two banners on his gate, plus some stuff painted on the side wall and front wall..again nothing excessive in size. Now, he didn't have permits for any signs, so obviously he has some fault here...but looking over the citation and it's requirements for signs, i'm not sure how most businesses on his street are complying either. Do inspectors pick and choose what they enforce and to what business? I know people will say to only worry about himself and comply, but if he does then he's severely limited in what he can advertise, while others in the same industry aren't limited. How is that fair to him? He could go out of business by complying. He's also been there for about 6 yrs and never had any problems. I wanted to see if anyone here had any input before I advise him to start asking questions about how they pick and choose what to enforce. Thanks.
The city is pretty strict on permitting for signs. I've been in the sign industry for the last 8 years and deal with permitting on a daily basis. Off the bat, banners will get the inspectors to notice you a lot quicker, as they are not allowed if they are just tied to a gate. If the signs are painted, he might be able to get them permitted himself without a sign contractor, depends on the overall height of the painted signs. There really is no point in fighting it, if others around the area are out of code they will get to them eventually. It's what we always tell our customers who want us to install a sign without a permit in the city. They will eventually get you. Best bet is to go to the sign administration on 1002 Washington and meet with a plan checker, that will also show the inspector you are in the process of complying, and the plan checkers will be able to more accurately describe what they can do.
Banners had been up for over 2 yrs.. Everything else was painted on the walls. Looks like he had a base/pole put into the ground for a sign and that's what got their attention recently. It's kind of disheartening to see so many violations down the street, including competitors, and now his business is bare. It looks like he's closing the place down.
I hate this stupid rule because my boss is super cheap and I have to set up a stupid A-frame sign balancing on a flemsy stand every single morning. We are in a warehouse park and every single business around us has signs except us. Our customers get so mad trying to find us if we dont put the sign out that day.
He's had the business for just over 6 years...I don't think he realized he needed permits for painting some words on his wall or banners on his gate. He was under the impression permits were only necessary for electrical signs or something separate from the building.He had it built from the ground up and i guess it never came up with all the other inspections he had done at the time. He'll look into it going forward of course, but again, he'll be limited compared to others. For example, under banners, the citation states it's only limited use and can only be displayed for 7 consecutive days out of a 30 day period. That's with a permit. Everyone else around him with a banner has them up permanently.
You make out like this is somehow someone else's fault. His competitors might have illegal banners, but they probably at least got a permit for their permanent signs. He got on their **** list for never seeking a permit. He should get a permit for his permanent sign, then play nice for a little while until inspectors forget about him. Then he can go back to leaving his banners up too long. Obviously, enforcement is spotty. The next time they bust him for banners years from now, at least he won't have to take down his permanent sign.
not having a legit business sign is just hurting the business itself. you don't want to make it hard for people to find you
He knows for a fact many don't have permits, for any signs. Some of these business owners he deals with from time to time and even knows personally. He doesn't want to bring it up to the city for that reason. Some of these businesses have banners, signs, and things painted on the building. We're not talking just a sign or two they overlooked. It's several, more than my friend had. I believe what happened is that he put up a pole for what eventually would be an electrical sign and that's what caught the inspector's eye. My guess is they have been told to let the other stuff go, but not electrical. He's going to finish the electrical sign and get that permitted as a start...His citation is actually a notice/warning only, but it's on file, so i doubt it's a good idea to cheat going forward because then he'll be fined.
Literally I am not putting in almost any effort anymore yet my boss keeps rewarding me. I feel like Peter on Office Space.
