SURVEY SIGNS
SIGNS SURVEYED IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA BY
PHILLY SIGNS
OUR NETWORK
A bad survey cost time and money bad sign survey can lead to costly charges
from your sign manufacturer or sign installer we exclusively offer sign survey
services in the Philadelphia tri state area
We offer, permitting, manufacturing, installation, service and repair. FOR OUT
OF AREA SIGN COMPANIES
Our quotation includes preparing drawings of your new signage for your Landlord, if required, and also for your City Sign Permit Application. This means we will either send our people to measure your property or have a subcontractor do the measurements. We will then produce detailed drawings of the sign, how it is built, and the property where it will be installed.
We deal with the City so that you do not have to! We also help you provide the necessary materials to get approval from your Landlord.
We will send our drawings to your Landlord, and deliver them to your City with a Sign Permit Application.
If your Landlord has sign criteria, please give us a copy. It will help us insure that the Landlord quickly approves the layout for your new sign.
When your City approves your permit they will usually require the sign company to return to City Hall to pick up the permit in person. This is also included in our quotation.
If your City requires a pre-installation sign inspection we will comply.
After the sign is installed, the City will inspect the sign, and your electrical connection to the sign.*
*NOTE: Most cities, and the National Electrical Code, require that a sign have a disconnect (switch). If your channel letter sign is being installed on a raceway, our price includes installing a switch on the raceway. If not, and if your electrical service to the sign does not have a LOCKABLE disconnect, we have a solution!
If your sign is being installed by us, locally, and you are present at the sign installation, we will tell you if your existing electrical does not have a lockable disconnect.
If we are shipping the sign to your location and you know that your electrical will not pass inspection because it does not have a LOCKABLE disconnect, for the same price we can include a switch when the sign is shipped.
The lockable switch price includes a label, installed by your electrical service panel, noting that your lockable disconnect is installed on a transformer box.
You will need to have a ladder available, or keep the transformer box visible, until the City Inspector has inspected your sign.
Some cities require that you have permit copies on-site before they will inspect, some do not. We will give you copies of what is required to be posted.
Government Regulations & Codes
Sign codes are written to protect the public health, safety, and welfare while remaining reasonable in light of Constitutional requirements that time, place and manner of display be controlled in a content-neutral manner. When you apply for a permit or variance, a basic understanding of the following points and operative phrases will help.
Governmental regulation of signs falls into two main categories:
Material, electrical, and structural
land use (zoning) issues.
Material, electrical, and structural
An electric or internally illuminated sign is wired to receive power from an electrical utility source and must meet certain weight and wind load standards.
Most sign companies laboratory test the electrical features on a sign. The laboratories used for testing include Electrical Testing Laboratory and Underwriters Laboratories. A label from a testing laboratory means that the sign has met electrical standards.
If your sign is built locally, electrical components may be checked by a reputable and certified local electrical inspector.
A sign has several structural components. For a ground-mounted sign, these components are the cabinet and the poles. A building-mounted sign will also have a cabinet to hold the sign faces. Structural components must pass inspections.
Sign companies will usually obtain the necessary permits and install your sign in accordance with the local code(s). Records concerning sign installation should be kept on file to verify that the sign meets minimum code standards.
Application for Permits and Variances
Location of your business is controlled by a local zoning or comprehensive land use code. Placement and the physical parameters of your sign are controlled either by a section of the zoning code or by a separate "sign code."
Most communities have an official, generally in the planning department, to whom you must go to obtain your initial application to construct and place your sign. Usually, the permitting criteria will be very specific, with ample instructions on how to complete the application.
If it appears that a size, height, lighting or placement requirement would not allow your sign to be easily visible or readable, you should apply for a "variance from" or "exception to" that requirement. However, it is generally safe to say that 95% of signs in the United States were built and placed pursuant to an "over the counter" permit. (For additional information about sign design, see the "Design Tips" page in the "Obtaining Your Signage" section.) .
Approach a variance by illustrating the benefit the sign will bring to the land use planning scheme, not to the business. For example, if you are in an older building, and seeking to renovate, point out how your proposed sign will contribute to revitalization of the district as a whole, thereby promoting a healthy tax base. A well-designed, optimally visible, and appropriately-placed sign fosters a partnership with the municipality and the chance to create financial opportunities for both the business and the community.
Another concern that may give rise to the need for a variance is that enforcement of the code may, in your case, create a signing deficiency in that the sign cannot be detected in time for drivers trying to find your business to safely respond under existing roadway configurations (e.g., numbers of lanes) and designated speeds. Traffic safety is always a foremost community concern. If an ordinance, as applied to your sign, would prevent adequate legibility, readability or conspicuity, thereby compromising traffic safety, then the reason for a variance is expanded beyond your immediate communication needs.
Almost all jurisdictions will consider a variance if the sign is not adequately sized.
Many jurisdictions are amenable to a variance that would permit the renovation or retrofit of a building façade in order to enhance a district theme.
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There are 54 municipalities in Bucks County. Many of them have their own website. click here for pa. new jersey and DelawarePA. LINKS
Abington, TownshipBrighton
Subdivision
&
Zoning, Township
(Beaver County)
NEW JERSEY
Alexandria, TownshipBernards,
Township
(Somerset County)
Cape
May, City
(Cape May County)
Carteret,
Borough
(Middlesex County)
Cranford,
Township
(Union County)
Fair
Lawn, Borough
(Bergen County)
Franklin,
Township
(Gloucester County)
Franklin,
Township
(Hunterdon County)
Franklin,
Township
(Somerset County)
Franklin,
Township
(Warren County)
Mendham,
Borough
(Morris County)
Middle,
Township
(Cape May County)