Mesa sign permit requirements

Permit required for permanent business signs; no permit needed for signs 6 sq ft or less in area (and not otherwise prohibited), and unilluminated portable signs 32 sq ft or less. Electric permit still required for exterior electric signs.

“A sign permit is not required for the following signs or defined actions if such sign or action complies with the provisions of this Sign Ordinance. (Note: An electric permit is still required for any exterior electric signs.)”

In NC, LC, GC, PS, PEP, LI, GI, HI: 2 sq ft of sign area per front foot of building occupancy; max area per sign 160 sq ft; aggregate up to 500 sq ft for occupancies 250 ft or more (80% of lineal front foot). Each occupant min 24 sq ft.

Sign attached to single tenant building shall not exceed 50% of the width of the building elevation; sign on a single tenant space of a multi-tenant building shall not exceed 75% of the width of the front of the occupancy.

“A sign attached to a single tenant building shall not exceed more than fifty-percent (50%) of the width of the building elevation upon which the attached sign is placed.”

In NC, LC, GC, etc.: standard detached sign 1 sq ft of sign area per lineal foot of street frontage, max 80 sq ft per sign. (Optional allowance for developments with 3+ occupants and >400 ft frontage: one sign up to 120 sq ft.)

12 feet (standard detached sign in NC, LC, GC, PS, PEP, LI, GI, HI). Optional allowance permits one sign up to 14 feet.

Set out in the same table as freestanding sign — maximum area above.

For streets/roads with 3 or more traffic lanes, a detached sign is not allowed within 15 feet of the face of curb or edge of pavement. No detached permanent sign allowed within 75 feet of another detached permanent sign on same parcel.

“For streets or roads with three (3) or more traffic lanes, a sign is not allowed within fifteen (15) feet of the face of curb or edge of pavement, when no curb exists.”

Projecting sign (in DC/DPA and Main Street transects): 1 sq ft of sign area per linear foot of street frontage up to a max of 36 sq ft.

Projecting sign: min 8 feet above pedestrian sidewalk, 14 feet above vehicular drive; shall not extend more than 4 feet from face of building and no more than 2 feet above the parapet.

“Min. of 8-feet above pedestrian sidewalk, 14-feet above vehicular drive”

25% of the area of the window in general commercial districts (all districts other than those in Tables 11-43-3-E and 11-43-3-F, which allow 30%).

“Window signs may cover up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the area of the window and shall not be counted towards the maximum attached allowable sign area.”

Illumination allowed but light source must be shielded/oriented so not directly visible from adjacent residential use or public thoroughfare; incandescent bulbs over 11 watts require dimming/screening, no bulb over 40 watts; flashing, blinking, rotating lights, metal halide, high/low-pressure sodium, and mercury vapor prohibited. Internally illuminated signs must have opaque backgrounds so only copy is illuminated.

“The light source, direct or indirect, for a sign(s) is oriented or shielded so the light source is not directly visible from any adjacent residential use, or from a public thoroughfare.”

Electronic message panels allowed if not animated: each message displayed minimum 8 seconds with no movement; transitions (fade, dissolve, travel, scroll) not to exceed 2 seconds. Automatic dimming required; nighttime illumination not to exceed 0.3 foot-candle difference; no illumination 11pm-sunrise if within 150 ft of listed residential districts with no screening structure.

“Each message is displayed for a minimum period of eight (8) seconds with no movement or motion. As defined below, message change is permitted through fade, dissolve, travel, or scrolling modes not to exceed two (2) seconds in transition.”

Each occupancy in a non-residential development may display one fabric sign for a maximum of 30 days per calendar year (need not be consecutive) with an approved Administrative Use Permit; additional fabric signs permitted during a valid Temporary Use Permit.

“The fabric sign may be displayed for a maximum of thirty (30) days per calendar year. The days do not need to be consecutive, and may be divided into several separate periods provided the number of days, in aggregate, does not exceed thirty (30) per calendar year”

Values reported are for General Commercial (GC), which is grouped with NC, LC, PS, PEP, LI, GI, HI in Tables 11-43-3-D-1 through D-4. The code varies materially by zoning district and transect, with separate tables for residential, office, downtown, main-street and mixed-use districts.

“The following four (4) Tables provide the attached and detached permanent sign allowances in NC, LC, GC, PS, PEP, LI, GI, and HI.”