Sign Permits and Regulations

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All signs in the city limits are subject to the sign regulations found in Chapter 29  of the Zoning Ordinance. Signs can be permanent or of a temporary (< 60 days) nature.  

PERMANENT SIGNS

monument signPermanent signs are designed for long term use.  Permanent signs can be wall signs, free-standing signs, or monument signs.  Permanent signs may also be attached to not more than 10% of a business’s glass window and door area.  Which type of sign you can have depends on the zone in which the business is located.  Please check the  Zoning Map to verify zone first.

Whether you are installing a new sign or modifying an existing sign all permanent signs require a sign permit.  Please fill out a sign permit application, provide a site plan and photos/ sketches of the proposed signs and the $ 25 review fee to the Inspections Department for review.  All monument signs and free-standing signs 20 feet or more in height require engineering and foundation plans as well.  Upon approval, a permit will be issued upon payment of the permit fee, which follows the building permit schedule.  (Signs valued at less than $ 1000 will be charged a $ 15 permit fee.)  Please allow one week for application review. 

Foundation inspections are required for all signs taller than 20 feet in height and for ALL monument signs.  Please call prior to constructing a permanent sign to schedule a foundation inspection.Once the sign has been installed, a final inspection will be performed by the building inspectors and the applicant will receive a certificate of completion when all is done.

All permanent signs installed or modified without a permit are subject to penalties up to and including a citation for each day the sign remains in violation. 

TEMPORARY SIGNS

Home-For-Sale-SignTemporary signs can be notices of yard sales, birthday parties, property for sale, political preference, sales, hiring, going-out-of-business or others along those lines.

Temporary signs in all residential zones are limited to 5 signs not exceeding a total of 20 square feet and must be at least 10 feet from the roadway and out of the sight distance triangle.

Temporary signs in all other zones are limited to 2 (LB/OMP/ CBD)or 5 (IB/ LI/HI) signs with a total area not exceeding 32 square feet and must also be placed at least 10 feet from the roadway and out of the sight distance triangle.  Signs shall be free-standing, staked to the ground and must be less than 6 feet tall except for feather flag signs, which must not exceed 10 feet in height.  Feather flag signs are allowed ONLY in IB, PCD, LI, HI and ALI zones.  Please see additional feather flag guidance here.

Temporary signs will not be attached to existing signs, light poles, fences, buildings or other structures.  Temporary window signs may not cover more than 25% of the available window/ door glass.

Temporary signs are limited to 60 days per calendar year.

Temporary signs placed in violation of the ordinance may be removed and disposed of without notice.

TEMPORARY SIGNS IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY

right of way setbacksA limited number of signs may be placed in the right-of-way (< 10 feet from the roadway) if they are individually permitted and approved by the Police Department and display a temporary use sticker purchased from the Tax Office.   Please see Right-of-Way Sign Application for further details.

For any further information regarding signs or to submit a sign permit application for review, please contact Josh Cole with the Planning Department at (423)585-4624 or email at jcole@mymorristown.com.