FEATURE NAME PERMITS BY DAVID AUTHOR HICKEY
PERMIT US to Explain
T
he permitting saga might seem like a joke—unless you’re the sign company trying to get a permit. Or the business waiting on the sign to be installed before you can open your new venture. This particular story starts in May 2018 when a sign company sought a variance for a community in Ohio. They were told only minor documentation was needed, including a site plan, proof of ownership and taxes paid, and surface development documents. Even with this minor level of documentation needed, the city asked for a thirty-five-day review period and a three- to four-month process to schedule a meeting of the board that heard variance requests. 32
Sign Builder Illustrated
April 2020
A month later, the city came back with requests for more documentation and a bill for the variance fee (over $700). Two more months and the sign company was notified that the city’s case manager was changing. The new case manager requested an additional application for variance and advised another four-week review process. By now, four months had passed and still no permit; not even a hearing. There were additional requests for documentation, including a soil vapor report. Fast forward a few more months and there was another new case manager— who was actually the first case manager. He again requested more plans, including a landscaping plan. This required a formal resubmittal—and again, the
clock started over with the review cycle. As this story approached the one-year mark, the sign company was asked to add utility locations to the landscaping plan—even though utility locations were included in the site plan. Finally, fifteen months later, the company had its variance hearing. While the frustrations this company faced in securing the permit variance might be a bit over the top, permitting is one of the biggest headaches that faces local sign companies. When the International Sign Association (ISA) recently asked members for their permitting “sob stories,” there were a few commonalities that emerged. The specifics may be somewhat different based on the cities involved, but signshop.com
Photo: shutterstock/ Brian A Jackson
The permitting process can be purgatory.
